Review by: Strell, Monika (2005-06-20)

This article outlines the results of a small-scale action research-study that investigated how well various instructional strategies translate to a text-based Internet learning environment, and which are most effective for facilitating higher levels of learning. The research involved 19 participants of on an on-line Education degree program at a Western Canadian research university, all of whom were mature learners.

A starting point for the study was the awareness that simple on-line group discussions are not necessarily effective in achieving higher levels of learning, indicating that what are really needed are well-designed activities and sound instructional strategies. Previous work by the author had already created a framework of ‘guiding principles’ that constitute ‘higher levels of learning,’ and a range of activities that would support these principles. Five of these strategies were chosen for the study: nominal group technique, synchronous brainstorming, debate, invited guest, and Web Quest. The aim of the study was to find out if they could be adapted to the on-line environment in a way that successfully facilitated higher learning.

The article provides a very thorough and detailed explanation and rationale for the chosen action research method and its implications for carrying out the project and analysing the results. Plenty of examples from students’ position papers are provided, including explanations of how they demonstrate the existence or lack of higher learning.

Whilst this makes the article interesting reading for anybody involved with educational research and the evaluation of learning in a higher education setting, practitioners will find inspiring and relevant information in the section that discusses each of the five investigated instructional strategies in some detail. All the strategies are described in sufficient detail to provide a real taste for of what how they looked like, something that is further reinforced by providing both the teacher and the participant perspective on how the activities worked in practice. Those, sometimes differing perspectives, are then related to the evidence of higher learning as evident from the students’ work.

The overall conclusion is that the strategies can be effectively translated to the on-line classroom, but that some of them are more effective than others. Weaker activities included the nominal group technique, partly because of the lack of a sense of community, and emerging tensions that were actually contravening any attempts to build an environment for collaborative learning. Debates were partly problematic due to the amount of work involved, and invited guests kept students in their comfort zone as all expertise was ‘provided’ rather than actively developed. The clear winner amongst the five activities was the WebQuest (including role-play and case studies), followed by Brainstorming. The strengths of the Brainstorming (carried out via synchronous chat) was attributed to the social interaction element or ‘social presence’, which seemed to promote higher learning, despite the weakness of mainly pooling existing knowledge during the exercise. The WebQuests were successful and popular as they fostered collaborative work in a structured and effective way, using role-play elements. Another benefit was the opportunity to gain and apply multiple perspectives on a subject, resulting in a deep and meaningful understanding.

This article should make interesting reading for a mixed audience of more theoretically-oriented readers as well as practitioners. The author acknowledges the small scale of the project and its limitations, but by presenting the results of the project in a detailed, lively and engaging way, many very useful lessons can be learned despite the small evidence base. Whilst particularly relevant to those involved in design or delivery of on-line learning in the post-secondary field, the findings should be equally valuable for any other e-learning practitioners using text-based methods.