Conducting SoTL of a web-based artwork historical past course: utilizing discourse evaluation of debate boards

By AHTR editor Aly Meloche

For these of us who’re simply starting to show on-line, the idea of conducting scholarship of educating and studying along with the entire different new duties should sound about as a lot enjoyable as working a digital assembly whereas making an attempt to homeschool new math. However these are necessary occasions for artwork historical past pedagogy, and educating and studying has modified quickly. Many people really feel like we’re thrashing in an uncontrollable tempest, in search of out the perimeters of our personal talents to not simply cope, however to be taught. And on this studying there are classes — classes that when shared may present a well timed lifeline that one other is in search of. However once more, who has time for that?

The aim of this put up is to introduce one sort of SoTL that’s potential with out essentially including a whole lot of further work on the a part of the teacher/researcher. Discourse analysis is a qualitative analysis methodology that enables researchers to trace many alternative components corresponding to identification exploration, agentic motion, social growth, and content material mastery and (right here’s the great half!) knowledge might be collected from on-line programs utilizing dialogue boards.

Many people already use dialogue boards, typically one for each week. In my very own on-line artwork historical past class I’ve used dialogue boards to trace and assess scholar’s understanding of sure “massive image” ideas that I hope they take away from our content material materials, corresponding to textbook readings, recorded lectures, or different issues. Right here’s a pattern of two prompts that I take advantage of in my 16^th century in Northern Europe module:

Instance 1

• What was the affect of the Reformation on artwork in Northern Europe? Talk about creative fashion, patronage, subject material, and/or the general impact on the artwork world.
• How does the artwork produced in 16^th century Northern Europe examine or distinction to what was occurring in Italy? Embrace particular examples.

In these examples, I’m trying to see sure themes that I do know have been offered within the content material materials parroted again to me. However I additionally search for areas the place college students come to their very own conclusions. A part of the rubric gives factors for originality, which discourages college students from repeating an idea that was talked about by one among their friends. College students are additionally inspired to type a dialogue by commenting in a manner that builds off of the conclusions of their friends.

Typically I take advantage of dialogue boards as a extra open discussion board by which college students are inspired to replicate on one thing that stood out to them for a sure motive.

Instance 2:

• This week we coated many alternative artists and types and subjects from the historical past of Mid to Late nineteenth Century artwork in Europe and the Americas, however we didn’t cowl every little thing. What’s one thing that you simply want had been a part of our course supplies? Or, if you’re not very acquainted with the Late 19^th century, what’s one thing that we touched on briefly that you’d get pleasure from additional discussing?

In these dialogue boards there’s a larger emphasis positioned on the feedback that college students depart on their friends and the dialogue that they create.

I’m sharing these two examples as typical varieties of dialogue boards. In instance 1 I’m in search of content material mastery, in instance 2 there’s much less of an emphasis on “getting it proper” and extra on facilitating a web-based neighborhood. I’m additionally trying to honor college students’ prior data, which permits them to bridge what they know to what they’re studying.[1] Each of all these dialogue boards might be collected as a part of a SoTL mission.

Whether or not you’re an skilled on-line teacher, otherwise you’ve only recently made the change out of necessity, you’re most likely utilizing dialogue boards just like one or each of the examples I shared. The truth is, yours are most likely a lot better!

Now it’s time for the even higher information: Dialogue board knowledge is straightforward to gather as a result of it’s already digital (no scanning or transcribing obligatory) and might be exported or copy/pasted right into a phrase processing doc.

And the better-er information? Most SoTL initiatives that contain the gathering of scholar knowledge which they’re already doing for sophistication are seemingly IRB exempt [2]. Because of this the committee reviewing your analysis plan ought to push it via fairly shortly and, as soon as you’re permitted, you’ll seemingly solely want verbal/written consent. No prolonged consent varieties, YAY! As a part of your IRB description you need to make the next issues clear: 1. the information being collected is a part of a traditional class task, 2. college students are in a position to have their knowledge not included, if they want, with out grade penalization, 3. you’ll shield scholar’s identification utilizing pseudonyms and redacting identifiable data in any publications.

If that didn’t scare you away, let’s do a really temporary introduction to a few of the varieties of SoTL you’ll be able to conduct utilizing on-line dialogue boards.

Evaluation of content material data:

Let’s think about you may have tried a brand new strategy to ship course content material, like a brand new video lecture or OER, and also you need to see if college students are nonetheless studying the fabric adequately. Or perhaps you need to know what a part of the fabric stood out to them. You may assess the efficacy of latest course content material by highlighting cases that this content material is referenced and qualifying the extent of understanding that the coed demonstrates. Here’s a pattern codebook that particularly assesses how the scholars discuss with course materials in a web-based dialogue put up:

Knowledge like this will even be quantified and tracked over time. For instance, in case you introduce a brand new content material materials, you would possibly ask if the standard of references to course materials improves by the top of the semester, as soon as college students get used to a brand new manner of studying.

Social community evaluation:

Let’s say one among your said targets in your on-line course is to develop a neighborhood of learners. A worthy and achievable aim for these of us who want to leverage the best way that social interactions results in sturdy cognitive impressions.[3] Social community evaluation is the research of interpersonal interactions and community ties. It has not too long ago been utilized to grasp on-line interactions to grasp peer to see interactions and the event of mentoring relationships.[4] This may be carried out in dialogue boards of both sort (instance) listed above, however proof of social community connection could also be extra natural in instance 2. Social community evaluation can be utilized to reply analysis questions corresponding to:

• Who’s reaching out to whom with dialogue responses that reply questions or supply recommendation?
• To whom do college students flip for help?
• To what extent is data travelling to all of the contributors?

The next is an instance of what a community evaluation from a web-based discussion board can seem like. This one makes use of shade to designate sort of scholar, measurement to designate participation frequency, and arrows to point out unidirectional or bi-directional communication.

Viewing the networks like this permit us to make conclusions about the best way that college students are interacting. There are 10 college students on this class, 4 of that are artwork/design college students. Visible evaluation of this diagram concludes that, for probably the most half, the non artwork/design college students are commenting on just one individual, usually one other non artwork/design main. There are quite a few free software program that permit school to add knowledge from their dialogue boards and create visualizations.[5]

Crucial discourse evaluation:

I’ve expertise utilizing Gee’s vital discourse evaluation as a framework to tell my analysis questions and coding[6] and I can advocate it to be used in on-line dialogue boards in artwork historical past programs. His framework presents 7 simple to grasp language constructing components that you may code and analyze for themes in your dialogue board knowledge.

What is beautiful is that you may choose to make use of just a few (and even only one) of his language constructing duties in your analysis, relying in your analysis query. Say, for instance, you need to discover scholar growth of identities as artwork historians. You need to use Gee’s query to start in search of examples of language that college students use to say their identification, and in addition examples by which they set up their identification by contrasting with identities they reject. Right here is an instance of a scholar establishing a brand new identification after taking part in a category exercise and reflecting on the expertise.

One may conclude that the pedagogical exercise, mixed with self-reflection, led to a brand new realization of the self. This might be a robust case (one scholar) however perhaps this pattern repeats for a number of contributors, cool!

Abstract of key factors:

• You may conduct SoTL utilizing knowledge from the dialogue boards that you simply’re already utilizing in your on-line artwork historical past course.
• IRB evaluate will most likely decide that your analysis is exempt, as long as you’re conscientious of your college students’ knowledge privateness.
• A pattern of the varieties of analysis that you may conduct utilizing on-line dialogue boards:
  • Demonstration of mastery of the course content material
  • Constructing of a social community
  • A deep dive into the best way that college students type and categorical opinions, identification, company.

[1] It is a educating and studying idea that Lev Vygotsky calls the “zone of proximal growth.” (1980) Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.

[2] In response to the IRB new insurance policies all analysis that hopes to be shared or revealed is topic to IRB evaluate, even assignments collected as a part of a course.

[3] Charles Brunner discusses this in his 1998 e book, The Culture of Education.

[4] Scott, J., & Carrington, P. J. (2011). The SAGE handbook of social network analysis. SAGE publications.

[5] Whereas I don’t personally endorse any explicit software program, I’ve heard good issues about NodeXL and UCInet.

[6] Gee, J.  (2011). Discourse evaluation: What makes it vital?  In R. Rogers (Ed.), An Introduction to critical discourse analysis in education (2nd Ed.) (pp. 23-45).  New York: Routledge.