E-Moderators are \"the new generation of teachers and trainers who work with learners online\" (p. viii) using Computer-Mediated Conferencing (CMC) as a learning tool, regardless of the subject they are teaching. They are the focus of E-Moderating, a recent book which provides both a theoretical framework for developing online learning using CMC (part one), and a wealth of practical advice (part two). The book is supported by a Web site. The author, Gilly Salmon, a distance education specialist with the Open University Business School in the UK, provides a five-step model of effective online education, along with copious examples of how the model relates to real-life online learning contexts. Salmon proposes that, by basing learning on a constructivist model, it is e-moderators that can make the difference in online education as they convene, direct, summarize, and archive synchronous and asynchronous discussions.

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E-Moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online

Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn

This article examines a review of literature related to online learning and teaching. The authors provide a brief historical perspective of online education as well as describe the unique aspects of online teaching and learning. The barriers to online teaching, the new faculty roles in online learning environments, and some implications for online learning and teaching are also provided. This article is intended to stimulate reflections on effective strategies to enhance faculty success in their transition from traditional pedagogical platforms to online learning and teaching.

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Towards Best Practices in Online Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

Web sites are increasingly being used by educators in place of traditional content media and instructional approaches, such as texts and lectures. This new teaching philosophy has led to a myriad of questions concerning instructional design principles, learners' cognitive strategies, human-Internet interaction factors and instructional characteristics of Web media that transverse political, geographic and national boundaries.Instructional and Cognitive Impacts of Web-Based Education is a compendium of materials by noted researchers and practitioners that addresses national and international issues and implications of Web-based instruction and learning, offering suggestions and guidelines for analyzing and evaluating Web sites from cognitive and instructional design perspectives.

网络教育 : 教学与认知发展新视角 = Instructional and Cognitive Impacts of Web -Based Education

This study develops an instrument-the Online Instructor Role and Behavior Scale (OIRBS)-and uses it to examine students' perceptions of instructors' roles in blended and online learning environments. A total sample of 750 university students participated in this study. Through a confirmatory factor analysis, the OIRBS was validated in five constructs: course designer and organizer (CDO), discussion facilitator (DF), social supporter (SS), technology facilitator (TF), and assessment designer (AD). The results show that the five factor structures remained invariant across the blended learning and online learning. Both students in blended learning environments and students in online learning environments exhibited the greatest weight in the CDO dimension, followed by the TF and DF dimensions. In addition, students in the online learning environments scored higher in the DF dimension than did those in the blended learning environments. This study explores five main roles for online teaching.This study examines instructors' roles in two different learning environments.Factor structures of instructors' roles remain invariant.Students' mean scores for social supporter are the lowest.

Students' perceptions of instructors' roles in blended and online learning environments

Drawing from the online experiences of teachers across the United States who participated in online professional development courses, this article focuses on what educators/participants consider to be the roles and responsibilities of the online instructor. They see the online instructor as facilitator, model, planner, coach, and communicator. They describe how these roles are uniquely tuned in the online environment. With the proliferation of distance learning through online courses, many educators find themselves considering the role of online instructors. As such, they may realize that online instruction is similar yet different from face-to-face learning, requiring new or different skills and strategies for effective online direction. This study, based on online adult learners’ experiences and expectations, provides empirical elaboration on what some of these approaches are. Online instruction is often recognized as particularly suitable for practical, multitasking adult learners because it offers anywhere, anytime instruction. Exploration of the role of the online instructor is appropriately grounded in the literature of adult learning and distance education through online learning. This perspective guides our investigation of how the online environment of instruction and delivery develops the role of the instructor and a different “rhythm” or way of teaching and learning than face-toface environments have traditionally promoted. Andragogical principles assume that adults tend to be self-directed, practical, and social, and that they bring varied experiences to their learning. Grow (1996) points out that adult learners may be at different levels of self-direction in different situations. They require different kinds of intervention from their teachers at these different stages. Bandura (1986) describes the importance of social learning and the validity of learning by observation. These principles suggest that learning environment s should build on prior experience, promote active participation, use collaborative learning, and provide transferable, real applications (Lawler & King, 2000). They also underscore the need for the instructor to adopt flexible roles in response to the needs of adult learners. Discussion of the instructor’s role in adult learning is guided by a constructivist perspective where adult learners create their own knowledge and which is learner- rather than instructor-centered (Palloff & Pratt, 2001). The “sage on the stage” is replaced with the “guide on the side” approach wherein the teacher, while an expert, facilitates dialogue so that students learn from each other as much as from her (Collison, Elbaum, Haavnd, &

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Leading the Band: The Role of the Instructor in Online Learning for Educators.

Transformative Learning in Adult Basic Education

[] This research article includes an unusual opportunity and format to present a research tested and transformative learning (Mezirow, 1975) model (King, 1998, 2005) used across several contexts of adult learning. Readers see the empowering results of applying new forms of this model among varied contexts in which adults learn. O'Sullivan (1999) recognizes that transformative learning does not have a monolithic application or interpretation; similarly we have experienced evolving understandings and outcomes by closely addressing contextual needs. A cross-study approach is used to present findings and demonstrate how research and practice dynamically inform one another. [Keywords] Transformative learning; adult learning; contextual model of adult learning; formative revision; problem-solving; empowerment. Overview: The Life, to Date, of an Evolving Research Model This research began with transformative learning research among 700+ adult learners enrolled in higher education, and was conducted using an original instrument, the Learning Activities Survey (King, 1998). Through many different research studies in different contexts, it evolved in scope, methods and focus. By the 2002-2003 project among ABE learners, based on the context studied and research needs, the implementation of the Learning Activities Survey included varying emphases on researcher- guided interviews of participants to complement the data. By 2004 the work had enabled us to introduce an instructional model which meshed with the findings of the research. This approach was titled the Contextualized Model of Adult Learning (CMAL) and was a derivative of the Transformative Learning Opportunities Model which was published in 2005. At that time we were also able to work with educators of adults in several settings and introduce the CMAL. This experience provided many realizations regarding ways to explain and understand transformative learning among practitioners. The final project we discuss in this article is our opportunity to use these models with learners in the workplace. This project has had significant findings and provides a rich source from which the field may gain much insight. As adult educators, we also are encouraged about the vibrant intersections of transformative learning and workplace learning in this study. Like the theory itself, this framework for examining adult learning in adult learning settings challenges conventional perspectives. It probes assumptions and provides first-hand accounts from students, educators and the researchers about the impact that transformative learning has in ABE classrooms. Unique characteristics of the article include reflections by the model's creator and a closely working associate about the development of studying and working with transformative learning in instruction and research settings. We also articulate benefits of working across multiple efforts with an evolving, dynamic model. Purpose While many formal education settings, such as higher education, Adult Basic Education (ABE), and workplace training, privilege instrumental learning, a transformative learning lens provides a more comprehensive perspective on gains in student lives. This article reviews and synthesizes the evolution of research, conducted by the authors and colleagues over eight years, which applied a transformative learning model to ABE and workplace learning. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to synthesize the findings of these alternative approaches to practice and uniquely extend the implications of applying transformative learning theory for additional research in varied contexts of adult learning. Theoretical Framework Mezirow's (1975, 2000; Cranton, 2006) theory of perspective transformation is intrinsic to the work here in describing the social, affective, and dialectical aspects of transformative learning. Key concepts of the transformative learning process are the disorienting dilemma, critical reflection, and new, lived perspectives. …

Evolution of an Educational Research Model: Transformative Learning Research Intersecting with Learners’ Lives across Varied Contexts

The process and effects of applying a model of transformative learning to three adult learning settings are examined. They suggest benefits of collaborative learner centered adult education and qualitative evaluations. Introduction and Purpose While many Adult Basic Education (ABE) and workplace settings privilege instrumental learning, a transformative learning lens provides a more comprehensive perspective on gains in student lives. This paper reviews and synthesizes the evolution of research, conducted by the authors and colleagues over eight years, which applied a transformative learning model to ABE and workplace learning. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to synthesize the findings of these alternative approaches to practice and uniquely extend the implications of applying transformative learning theory to ABE and workplace settings.

https://faculty.fordham.edu/kpking/presentations/AERC-heuer-and-king-paper3_15-FINAL.pdf

Through the Fears and Years: Applying a Transformative Learning Model to ABE and Workplace Learning

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Barbara P. Heuer

Papers

Leading the Band: The Role of the Instructor in Online Learning for Educators.

Transformative Learning in Adult Basic Education

Evolution of an Educational Research Model: Transformative Learning Research Intersecting with Learners’ Lives across Varied Contexts

Through the Fears and Years: Applying a Transformative Learning Model to ABE and Workplace Learning

Contextualizing Professional Development in Adult Learning with Alternative High Schools