ABSTRACT
Bryan Fede: Guidance in the Design and Implementation of an Online Mathematics Education Course
(Under the direction of Susan N. Friel)
The number of students taking online distance education (ODE) courses as part of their programs of study has steadily increased since 2012 (Seaman, Allen, & Seaman, 2018). This has led to a proliferation of resources related to online teaching pedagogy (Dennen, 2013). In many cases, instructors of ODE courses are left to sort through this information on their own as they decide how to design and implement ODE experiences for their students. The overarching goal of this research is to develop A Field Guide for Mathematics Educators in the Design and Implementation of Learning Environments in Online Distance Education that incorporates what is known about the best practices in teaching ODE courses as well as in applying high leverage teaching practices in mathematics education.
The study addresses two questions:
(1) In what ways does the instructor respond to, interpret, and apply the underlying premises and guidance provided in the Field Guide in course planning and implementation?
(2) What are students’ perceptions of the distance education classroom in terms of any impact they consider it makes on their sense of transactional distance?
The researcher followed one instructor as she applied advice from the Field Guide through one iteration an algebra course in a K-5 Elementary Mathematics Add-on Licensure (EMAoL) Program. After providing the instructor with a copy of the Field Guide, research analyzed the ways that that the instructor applied the guidance in the Field Guide to the design and implementation of her course and collected ‘instances of practice’ that might be used to illustrate principles contained in the Field Guide.
The goal of this research is to inform a revision of the Field Guide that provides more detailed support for mathematics educators in design and implementation of ODE learning experiences. The work highlights the need for instructors to adjust their teaching practices in an ODE environment and resist the temptation to translate what is done in a face-to-face class setting and “put it online” (Pollock, 2013, p. 3).