Abstract:

The Covid- 19 pandemic has affected businesses, institutions of higher learning, and populations alike, leading to the abrupt shift to “working from home”, and learning and teaching online. This presentation will report on the formulation of a community of practice for blended and online learning (CoP-BAOL) developed at a higher education institution based in Australia, for increased understanding of the needs of online learners, the challenges of remote learning faced by learners, and for developing a deeper awareness of the theories and practices that relate to communities of practice. The Higher education sector has consistently regarded learning communities as essential to support collaborative learning and discourse associated with higher levels of learning. The asynchronous nature of online communication and the potential for disconnectedness has focused attention on the issue of learning communities. In support of this perspective, there is evidence that a sense of community can be successfully created online, challenges notwithstanding.

The framework adopted for the community of practice for blended and online learning (CoP-BAOL) was derived from a “collaborative constructivist” view of teaching, linked to the theories by John Dewey as cited by Armelleni & De Stefani (2016). The CoP-BAOL activities focused on increasing knowledge of the various types of interaction in online learning, supporting students effectively in online modes, appreciate how the design of online content could be optimized to engage and motivate learners, and encourage interaction between the academic and learner communities through adopting three main criteria: teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence. The CoP-BAOL comprised 80-100 members from multi-disciplinary backgrounds and faculties who participated in collaborative webinars and shared discourses held online throughout 2020-2021. The presentation will outline some of the challenges and outcomes achieved within this continuing community.

Keywords:

Community of Practice, Blended and Online Learning, Collaborative constructivist.