2 | Beyond the Studio
How Online Communities Shape My Learning and Teaching Journey
Subject Learning Outcome: “Participate actively as a member of an online community, and describe the impact of this participation for own and others’ learning”
This trimester, I have been teaching my first ‘Hyflex’ class at Torrens University, where half of the students attend in person and the other half online.
Engaging with peers in the Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (GCLT) has helped me evolve as a facilitator and enriched my learning through our shared understanding of the challenges of education, despite our diverse teaching backgrounds. I am finding through active engagement in discussion boards and lectures, I have noticed a common ground between challenges faced by facilitators, such as imposter syndrome writing or reviewing new course content or discovering constructive alignment isn’t as effective as it could be.
Being able to contribute and be part of such a diverse range of expertise has benefited my own learning journey; which has been a social practice involving continuous interaction and mutual support within a group (Smith, 1999). Interaction with the online community has positively impacted my own personal development, through engagement with the lectures and online discussion boards. Noting this, without clear Learning Objectives, Activities, and Performance assessments my motivation might have lacked, and learning inhibited as a result.
My own learning process has reminded me that as a facilitator, fostering an active and collaborative learning environment is key to engaging learners and being able to build a positive community of practice. Constructive alignment of the course content needs to be evident in the way coursework is designed so that students can achieve the required course outcomes. (UTL EduMedia ETH Zürich, 2022).
At the start of the trimester, we were asked to reflect on the idea of a Community of Practice, here’s what I thought:
Q: What do you see as the value of membership in a CoP to your Professional Identity?
A: A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common interest, profession, or passion and interact regularly to learn from each other, solve problems together, and develop professionally. Engaging in a CoP enhances professional identity by offering opportunities for continuous learning, networking with peers, insights into emerging trends, and refining professional practices through shared experiences and feedback. It provides a platform to stay updated with industry standards, challenges, and innovations.
To what extent have you been successful in achieving the subject learning outcomes?
This outcome has been a difficult one to persist with throughout the trimester, because we are all busy. Working, teaching, and doing life. Some weeks have been busier than others, when I miss a weekly module post, I do my best to contribute or respond to someone else’s post. Because I know that contributing will impact my peers learning. I have found myself at times feeling vulnerable sharing my challenges and frustrations with teaching, but this is where the growth happens. Learning for me is not a stationary process, it’s about continuing to evolve and challenge myself through new experiences.
Further Reading and watching:
Abood, B., & Zaidan, E. (2023). Investigating the impact of online learning on architecture education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of a Saudi Arabian university. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 26(3), 34-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jets.2023.01.003
Smith, M. K. (1999). The social/situational orientation to learning, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education. [https://infed.org/mobi/the-socialsituational-orientation-to-learning/.
UTL EduMedia ETH Zürich, (May 4,2022) Constructive Alignment. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIiDjwLWs4I&t=27s