vancouver powerpoint

A Q METHODOLOGICAL

STUDY ON PERCEPTIONS OF

WHAT WOULD ENHANCE

DISTANCE EDUCATION

Dr. Joseph A Meloche and Dr. Ying Sun

A philosophical and cross-disciplinary framework for studying different

forms of human practices as developmental processes, with both

individual and social levels interlinked at the same time” (Kuutti, in

Nardi, 1996).

Activity Theory

Activity Theory

Activities are the basic units of analysis

An Individual’s actions + meaningful context = an Activity

Activities are not static

Each activity has a history of its own

Activities are under continuous change/development

Activities always contain various mediating artifacts

There is an relationship between people and these artifacts

Notion of consciousness as something directly related to the conditions current in a person’s situation

Unifies consciousness and activity

Activity Theory Tools

Q Methodology

Originally developed by the British physicist-

psychologist, William Stephenson (1935). He

introduced this method in a letter to the Nature.

A research method used to study people's

"subjectivity" -- that is, their viewpoint such as

personal thinking, notion (Stephenson, 1968).

Currently used in the social sciences with research

settings to examine how people think about a topic.

Q Study Process

Q population, collecting statements

Q samples, selecting statements

P sample, collecting Q sorters

Q sorting, rank-orders of a set of statements from “most agree” to “most disagree”

Q analysis

Q Study Brainstorming Session

Q Study Factor Analysis

Q methodology referred to "a population of n different tests (or essays, pictures, traits or other measurable material), each of which is measured or scaled by m individuals“ (Stephenson, 1935). Given a set of statements, Q will analyze the factors among the m individuals (Q-sorters).

The number of factors identified depends in part depends upon the degree of agreement among participants, and in part on how much detail the researchers feel is useful to analyze.

The selected factors will then be interpreted in order to present the social discourses revealed.

Experiment: Q Study with 2 Sessions

Session 1: a concourse/brainstorming session where participants’ views on effective distance education were sought.

Session 2: seeks the views students and educators hold based upon their opinion and experience with distance education.

The topic for the brain storming session was:

What is important for effective learning in distance education?

Session 1: Brainstorming & Concourse

Q

Samples

for

Enhancing

Distance

Education

(N=40)

presented

in the

order and

original

way they

were

collected

1. Classes that are interactive

2. Classes that are not dependent on interactions

3. The ability of students to decide on the level of interaction they have with other

students

4. Having a pre-established meeting time for classes

5. Having no established class meeting time

6. Opportunities to teleconference or videoconference with other students easily

7. The opportunity for online students to interact with on-campus students taking

the same course

8. Having a set of rules to apply to group work

9. Flexible group participation

10. Advanced notice of synchronous sessions

11. Continuity among different distance education software platforms

12. The incorporation of multimedia

13. Having a user friendly distance learning interface

14. Having a tutorial session for the learning software that will be used at the

start of the semester

15. Easy to use software

16. Reliable software

17. Use of familiar technologies

18. Taking full advantage of the features of distance education software

19. Explicit information about the technical requirements for utilizing distance

learning software

20. A class structure which keeps pace with new technologies such as tablets or

smart phones

21. Use of podcasts and YouTube videos as a substitute for live lectures

22. Detailed instructions and expectations for assignments and participation

23. A solid, stable class structure

24. Classes that are structured as similarly to a classroom setting as possible

25. Clear instructor guidance

26. Timely feedback from instructors about grades

27. A set submission area for assignments and announcements so that confusion is

decreased

28. Assignments tailored specifically to fit an online setting

29. Practical assignments

30. A well-planned syllabus

31. Incorporating of aspects of a traditional lecture into the class structure

32. Access to different modes of communication

33. Having a contact person to assist online students with administrative needs

34. Regular communication with instructors outside of class meetings

35. Having a contact person to assist online students with technical difficulties

36. Frequent communication with instructors

37. Instructors having proactive contact with students

38. Consistency in announcements

39. Having access to contact people who are affiliated with the organization

offering the course

40. Having ways to access and participate in associations, activities, information

related to the program

Session 2: Q Sort

Sorting

Spreadsheet

Agree Neither Agree Nor Disagree Disagree

-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Strongly

Disagree←

Neither Agree

Nor Disagree→

Strongly

Agree

Once you have Pre-sorted the Statements via the Statement-Blocks, you are to arange the statements based upon the extent to which you agree or

disagree with them relative to the scale provided. Do this by moving the Statement-Blocks into place on the Sorting Grid. On the scale, -5 represents

total disagreement with a given Statement, and 5 represents total agreement with a Statement.

Position is only important in terms of horizontal placement along the scale. Vertical placement is unimportant.

Sorting Grid

Results

Reported here are the analytical results of the 27 participants’ sorting 40 statements on the question:

What is (most) important for effective learning in distance education?

The factor analysis produced 4 factors:

1. Traditional Distance Learning

2. The Independent Learner

3. Highly Structured Instructor Driven Courses and Collaborative Opportunities

4. The Highly Collaborative, Web 2.0 Factor

Factor I: Traditional Distance Learning

22 detailed instructions and expectations for assignments and participation (1.953)

25 clear instructor guidance (1.834)

30 a well-planned syllabus (1.698)

5 having no established class meeting time (1.681)

26 timely feedback from instructors about grades (1.240)

38 consistency in announcements (1.223)

10 advanced notice of synchronous sessions (1.019)

23 a solid, stable class structure (1.002)

39 having access to contact people who are affiliated with the organization offering the course (-0.883)

1 classes that are interactive (-1.172)

6 opportunities to teleconference or videoconference with other students easily (-1.291)

4 having a pre-established meeting time for classes (-1.528)

7 the opportunity for online students to interact with on-campus students taking the same course (-1.749)

24 classes that are structured as similarly to a classroom setting as possible (-2.021)

31 incorporating of aspects of a traditional lecture into the class structure (-2.089)

High Positive Q Sample & z-score High Negative Q Sample & z-score

Factor II: The Independent Learner

2 classes that are not dependent on interactions (1.791)

3 the ability of students to decide on the level of interaction they have with other students (1.490)

5 having no established class meeting time (1.270)

14 having a tutorial session for the learning software that will be used at the start of the semester (1.160)

9 flexible group participation (1.110)

18 taking full advantage of the features of distance education software (1.080)

7 the opportunity for online students to interact with on-campus students taking the same course (1.010)

26 timely feedback from instructors about grades (-0.840)

13 having a user friendly distance learning interface (-0.910)

36 frequent communication with instructors (-1.010 )

29 practical assignments (-1.020)

1 classes that are interactive (-1.400)

30 a well-planned syllabus (-1.551)


Factor III: Highly Structured Instructor Driven

Courses and Collaborative Opportunities

22 detailed instructions and expectations for assignments and participation (0.872)

4 having a pre-established meeting time for classes (0.828)

25 clear instructor guidance (0.784)

16 reliable software (0.722)

13 having a user friendly distance learning interface (0.678)


26 timely feedback from instructors about grades (0.590)

1 classes that are interactive (0.493)

40 having ways to access and participate in associations (-0.537)

activities, information related to the program (-0.572)

7 the opportunity for online students to interact with on-campus students taking the same course (-0.572)

12 the incorporation of multimedia (-0.590)

39 having access to contact people who are affiliated with the organization offering the course (- 0.616)

21 use of podcasts and YouTube videos as a substitute for live lectures (-1.004)

5 having no established class meeting time


Factor IV: The Highly Collaborative,

Web 2.0 Factor

21 use of podcasts and YouTube videos as a substitute for live lecture (0.939 )

15 easy to use software (0.756)

6 opportunities to teleconference or videoconference with other students easily (0.692)

12 the incorporation of multimedia (0.557)

14 having a tutorial session for the learning software that will be used at the start of the semester (0.533)

28 assignments tailored specifically to fit an online setting (0.493)


18 taking full advantage of the features of distance education software (0.438)

20 a class structure which keeps pace with new technologies such as tablets or smart phones (0.438)

8 having a set of rules to apply to group work (-0.517)

22 detailed instructions and expectations for assignments and participation (-0.517)

37 instructors having proactive contact with students (-0.541)

4 having a pre-established meeting time for classes (-0.557)

24 classes that are structured as similarly to a classroom setting as possible (-0.756)

31 incorporating of aspects of a traditional lecture into the class structure (-0.780)

23 a solid, stable class structure (-0.891)


Discussion & Implications

Enable the design of more effective learning systems and services to better support distance education

Inform the development of delivery that will improve the delivery by the informed use and design of the distance learning environments

Advance the understanding of collaborative information seeking in non-traditional library environment

Increase our understandings of this context and improve the ability of librarians and information professionals to work together collaboratively and effectively in non-traditional environments

Future Work

Conduct interviews of the participants and with an analysis of the material based on the framework provided by Activity Theory,

Activity Theory allows for a refined analysis that maintains the user’s perspective and incorporating a holistic approach to the ongoing evolution of learning environments.

Collect more data.

Expand the study to include researchers from other countries.

Schedule conferences and present findings,

Recently submitted proposal to16th Distance Library Services Conference, April 23-25, 2014, Denver, CO, USA.

Presentation designed by Sarah Harris, MA, MLS

Joseph A Meloche

School of Library and

Information Sciences

North Carolina Central

University

Durham, NC 27707,

U.S.A.

[email protected]

Ying Sun

Department of Library

and Information

Studies

University at Buffalo, the

State University of

New York

Buffalo, NY 14260,

U.S.A.

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]