Active Learning and Preservice Teachers’ Experiences in an Online Course: A Case Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine preservice teachers' experiences and meaning they gave to their experiences in a Technology Applications in Education online course. The theoretical framework was based on Rich Environments for Active proposed by Grabinger and Dunlap (2000). The attributes of rich environments for active are student responsibility and initiative, generative activities, authentic contexts, authentic assessment strategies, and cooperative support. ********** The study findings imply that online learning/teaching environment requires reconstruction of student and instructor roles, relationships, and practices. Student experiences showed that online environment influenced their learning. Preparing students for active engagement in and collaboration needs to be emphasized in both face-to-face and online environments. Understanding student expectations and motivations, and personas they may take during online can help support active learning. Instructor guidance and support as well as peer support are important for improved communication that can enable active learning. The convergence of technological, instructional, and pedagogical developments (Bonk & King, 1998) has helped a new paradigm of teaching and to emerge. Online is impacting current university practices and policies and quickly changing fabric of higher (Rowley, Lujan, & Dolence, 1998). This type of has potential to provide a catalyst for a total reconceptualization of in general (Daugherty & Funke, 1998). It is critical to understand pedagogical potential of online for providing active and dynamic opportunities for learners. Creating an active online environment requires learners and faculty to take active roles. Faculty can employ strategies and activities that will engage students in producing learning (Barr & Tagg, 1995) for active learning. A pedagogically effective convergence of active strategies and methods and technology tools can help faculty and students accomplish successful teaching and learning. The technology tools are important in way that they provide a medium for instruction to be delivered; however, there is not sufficient research on pedagogical integration of active into online teaching and learning. This study investigated preservice teachers' experiences and meaning they gave to their experiences in a Technology Applications in Education online course. The theoretical framework was based on Rich Environments for Active proposed by Grabinger and Dunlap (2000). The attributes of rich environments for active are: Student responsibility and initiative, generative activities, authentic contexts, authentic assessment strategies, and cooperative support. ACTIVE LEARNING Simons (1997) described active in two ways; one involves decisions about and second makes active use of thinking. The first definition implies self-regulated in which learner uses opportunities to decide about aspects of learning. The learner makes decisions in goal setting, planning, monitoring, and assessment phases of process. The second definition explains active in terms of mental activity which refers to extent to which learner is challenged to use his or her mental abilities while learning (p. 19). Learning is an active process and it requires active roles for students and instructors. Brown and Ellison (1995) emphasized that active is not merely a set of activities. They noted the objective of active is to stimulate lifetime habits of thinking, to stimulate students to think about HOW as well as WHAT they are and to increasingly take responsibility for their education (p. …