This Special Session at the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education Conference invites student and faculty research.

See http://www.csshe-scees.ca/06_01_conference_en.htm for conference details, or contact Dr. M. Cleveland-Innes (martic@athabascau.ca).

Crossroads in Higher Education: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in a Wired World

Organizers:

M. Cleveland-Innes, Athabasca
A. Davis, Empire State College, USA
H. Kanuka, Alberta

What research direction is now needed in the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education? Over a decade ago, Windschitl (1998) advocated for more research on increasing student inquiry through the World Wide Web and illuminating Web-based student communication. The release, and then extensive development, of a model of online communities of inquiry (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000) responded to Windschitl's call. In addition to continued work in these two areas, a stronger research focus on learning theory and everyday use of Web 2.0 technologies is required (Greenhow, Robelia & Hughes, 2009, Zawacki-Richter, 2010).

The CSSHE Affinity Group Teaching and learning in blended and online higher education invites you to share your research in these important areas. Our research agenda supports improvements in education access and quality learning experiences afforded by online education delivery, in addition to research on use of the Internet for interaction and collaborative engagement previously unavailable to teachers and students. What changes are required to the role of student and role of faculty member to allow access and engagement in online learning and teaching? Any effective teacher must be true to the learning objectives of the subject-matter at hand while attending to the multitude of characteristics students bring to the experience. Effective teachers bridge content and student needs through appropriate student engagement; a tactic as old as education itself. The role of effective teacher in online learning environments is newer and more complex. Even more complex are the implications of adopting the new teaching requirements into the current role of faculty. In addition to the change required for individuals, changes to institutional infrastructure are also required. What leadership actions, reward structures, support services and technology training and maintenance will take us to new places in the foundations of teaching and learning?

This session invites presentations that build the knowledge base in this area; results of recent research, meta-analyses of research to date, and critical analyses of key aspects of this important area. High quality research papers may also be submitted for a special edition of the Canadian Journal of Higher Education on the same topic: Teaching and Learning in a Wired World. --

"We must give more attention to the interplay between the science of teaching - pedagogy - and the art of teaching.
A teacher must be anchored in pedagogy and blend imagination, creativity and inspiration into the teaching learning process to ignite a passion for learning in student." Peyton Williams

Dr. Martha Cleveland-Innes
Professor and Program Director
Centre for Distance Education
Athabasca University
1 University Drive
Athabasca, Alberta
T9S 3A3