Moodle Discussion Prompt: Taking Responsibility

by Anne Karoly - Wednesday, October 25, 2017, 11:29 PM

In our course textbook, Palloff and Pratt describe three roles -- knowledge generation,
collaboration, and process management - vital for students to assume responsibility for their
learning process (Ch. 5). Compare and contrast these roles and their importance for student
participation in online learning. Are they of equal or different in value? Would you emphasize
one more than another other? How would you evaluate whether students are engaging in all three
roles?

Re: Taking Responsibility by Person #1 - Thursday, October 26, 2017, 7:04 AM

Hi Anne,
Your questions reflected careful framing which leads to deeper thinking and engagement. This
is an element of process management. To my mind, this is the catalyst or root from which
knowledge generation and collaboration evolve. Here is where learning outcomes are developed
and the tools needed to reach them are identified. Palloff and Pratt speak of building community
(p. 107), which is the initial phase of student engagement with online learning, which leads to
more effective collaboration and the generation of knowledge.
As part of the process, reflecting on how instructor participation is affecting collaboration (p. 99)
is crucial. Additionally, what the students are being asked to do is a vital element of process
management. Is it feasible? Do students engage successfully with the system being offered and
the expectation for discussions? This would impact knowledge generation and engagement,
leading to transformative learning (p. 114).
"How would you evaluate if students are engaging in all three roles?" I think process
management primarily rests with the instructor, and the consistent monitoring of collaborative
activities and discussions would enable the instructor to evaluate student learning and provide a
responsive response to student needs.

Re: Taking responsibility by Anne Karoly - Friday, October 27, 2017, 2:07 PM
Hi Student #1:
Are you suggesting there is a hierarchical order between knowledge generation, collaboration
and process management? Your answer suggests that process management as the instructor's
primary function is dependent on the instructor setting up activities that encourage knowledge
generation, i.e., education process in a collaborative environment. The instructor being the
primary driver of process management to empower learners to take on the responsibility of their
own learning and working with others in the classroom.
I have also been considering how these three key components overlap with utilizing different
voices as being discussed in our other threads. Putting different voices - generative guide,
conceptual facilitator, reflective guide, personal muse, mediator and role play - strengthens the
learning environment especially in the context of discussions. Doing so by the facilitator leads to
an environment that has "flexibility, openness, and willingness to relinquish control are
characteristics that, when shared by both instructors and their students, make for a successful
online learning experience." (pg. 148)
References
Palloff, Rena and Pratt, Keith. Lessons from the Virtual Classroom The Realities of Online
Teaching. 2nd Edition. Jossey-Bass. 2013
Collision, George. Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators. Atwood
Publishing. 2000
Re: Taking responsibility by Student #1 - Saturday, October 28, 2017, 5:22 AM
Hi Anne,
Ive revisited the readings since I read the initial post and your questions, and I realize that
students need to manage the process of learning and generate their knowledge if the structure
lends itself to making that something that engages their learning styles and has value to
them. Im not sure if I could assign a hierarchical value among the three areas as they are so
interdependent. I think I was thinking in terms of technical process, but there is process
management in the classroom, in business, wherever learning occurs. Ruggles (1998) wrote that
in business, the knowledge officers should concentrate on leveraging knowledge, enabling
knowledge (training/technology, and making knowledge visible (p. 85). This was the gist of
my thinking in the role of the facilitator.
Ruggles, R. (1998). The State of the Notion: Knowledge Management in Practice. California
Management Review, 40(3), Spring 1998.

Re: Taking responsibility by Person #2 - Thursday, October 26, 2017, 2:23 PM

This is a good question, Anne - it really makes me think! Since I'm in student role this week, I'm
going to respond. :)
I actually think knowledge generation is most important. Currently, I'm working on a project in
my main discipline (composition studies) on invention and writing process; and one difficulty
that first-year students have is that they see knowledge as something discovered, not created.
Linda Flower & John Hayes address this in their essay, "The Cognition of Discovery," writing
that the "myth of discovery" leads students to think that if they only work hard enough, they can
find knowledge waiting for them, either in the depths of their mind or in books or data. The
problem is, knowledge isn't discovered in this way; we may discover facts, but that's not the
same thing as knowledge; and as long as students expect to just discover knowledge, they may
struggle to develop and articulate creative, in-depth thoughts. Without their thought, their
collaborative work, or the process management, becomes much ado about nothing.
As far as evaluating this, that's something I'm still working on. :) I do think that
instructional/assessment design has a lot to do with it; insofar as we can design assignments that
invite students not only to find data but process it, verbalize it, and make it into something new,
we invite them to try their hand at "constructing" knowledge and invite them to enter more fully
into the learning experience.
Flower, Linda, and John R. Hayes. "The Cognition of Discovery: Defining a Rhetorical
Problem." Norton Anthology of Composition. W. W. Norton & Co. 2017.

Re: Taking Responsibility by Anne Karoly - Friday, October 27, 2017, 10:58 PM
Hi Person #2:
You make a very good argument for knowledge generation being the most important. I connect
your statement that knowledge is "created" to Bloom's taxonomy. The ability to think at a higher
level nescitates being able to create knowledge versus only being able to discover it.
Collaboration and procee management still are important because they can influence students to
move from knowledge as discovery to creating it themselves. Collaboration gives possibilities of
generating deeper levels of knowledge while process management empowers learners to become
active learners.
Many sources describe online learners wanting to learn for the sake of learning. Your invitation
to "constructing" learning offers a place for it to happen.
Collaborating to Generate Knowledge by Person #3 - Friday, October 27, 2017, 7:23 PM
Hi Anne,
Can we really separate the three, particularly collaboration and knowledge generation? Are they
not intertwined and interdependent (Palloff & Pratt, p. 143). By collaborating, either by
responding to weekly discussion forum topics discussing readings and relating them to their
personal or professional experiences, or working through an assigned project or case study in a
group, the students generate and share knowledge. In the same vein, as students collaborate,
particularly through group work, process management also occurs, as an inevitable result of
group work. That is, one of the students will take on the lead role, either because the group has
agreed to do so, or in order to evaluate the students, the instructor has requested that each
member experience leading the team, or because one member simply steps up and becomes the
default facilitator. As we continue to read, and indeed discover through our own online learning
experiences, knowledge simply cannot be dispersed from teacher to student or student to
student; knowledge must be developed through collaborative learning that instills deep
knowledge of content (Hartshorne 2003, p. 184).
Reference:
Hartshorne, R., Heafner, T. L., Petty, Teresa. (2003). Teacher Education Program and Online
Learning Tools: Innovation in Teacher Preparation (p. 184).
Paloff, R. and Pratt K. (1999). Defining and Redefining Community. BuildingLearning
Communities in Cyberspace. P. 143.

Re: Taking Responsibility by Person #4 - Saturday, October 28, 2017, 8:36 PM

Hi Anne,
I believe that all the roles are important equally in online learning. I believe that those roles are
actually sequential process which in the end would create knowledge generation. If I were asked
to pick which one that I need to emphasize, it would be the collaboration. I believe the other two
would not exist if we don't have collaboration. It is through the collaboration that we engage
them and supervise the process so that they can produce knowledge generation. I hope referred
article below would help in the argument.
References
Jaleel, S., and Verghis, A. M. (2015). Knowledge Creation in Constructivist Learning. Universal
journal of Education Research. Vol. 3(1). http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1053918.pdf