Artifact 1 – Research Methods in Distance Education

My first Artifact is MDDE 602: Research Methods in Distance Education – Spring 2021. This is a core course in the M.Ed. program. This course focuses on tenets of sound research practice, it helps to develop the relationship between research and knowledge growth in distance education. 

Being familiar with data collection methodology for quantitative and qualitative data and analyzing and interpreting the results is a fundamental competency for every educator. As a college instructor and facilitator at WorkBC, constantly we move in the cycle of the ADDIE model, I collect feedback from learners to better evaluate my courses and analyze the need to redesign and develop curricula. (how). (1.13, 3.6).

All three assignments of MDDE 602 provided insightful information about the research methodology. However, I relate to Assignment #2 Analyzing Qualitative Data Analysis.

This assignment describes qualitative research data analysis by application of grounded theory to analyze the interview transcripts. I examined the transcripts of three consecutive meetings of four distance education students by an instructor. I learned to code the transcripts of discussions, label the codes, and provide definitions, flags, qualifications, and examples. I put the codes into categories and waive codes to define new categories. To conduct qualitative data analysis, the key concept is reading between lines to summarize what the interviewees are saying with the purpose of developing a theory out of abstract concepts to solve the puzzle (what). This assignment reflects the journey of a learner’s concept toward distance education in different stages of learning, beginning, middle and last semester. (3.4).

Completing this course and assignment, enriched my competencies by fulfilling the four pillars of learning. I learned the knowledge to codify data and extract new information out of the raw interview scripts. I learned vocational-technical knowledge to apply at the workplace. I learned the value of living together and supporting each other doing this assignment. And finally, I learned to be a new person with a broad vision of distance learning and education. Some of the competencies attained are illustrated in the image below.

Having this course in the third year of my M.Ed. program reading the interview transcripts of three distance education students who had either negative, neutral or positive attitudes towards distance education resonated with my personal story. Coming from an in-person class environment to distance education and losing my peers’ support made me skeptical of learning efficacy.  

In the journey of my master of the instructional design program, I faced the challenges of unfreezing in the first course and then moved to the stage of change in the second year of education and finally passed the rollercoaster of change and moved to the third stage of freeze. The transcripts discover the puzzle of the writer’s journey in distance education. I realized other distance educators took the same rollercoaster journey as I did. (why). (1.5).

Although the course was delivered in distance education mode, the instructor had weekly meetings to elaborate on assignments and answer the students’ questions via Teams meeting. The students from all over Canada with different time zones tried to manage their time and attend the meetings. Holding weekly meetings created a culture of communication and interpersonal skills among students which I never experienced in previous courses. I was working closely with a team of four students, we had our own weekly meetings in addition to the class meeting to go over the materials together and reinforce learning materials. I created google meetings invitations every week and sometimes shifted to Zoom or Teams’ meetings based on the connectivity of participants (what). In our meetings, every student tried to teach and mentor the other ones with learning materials (how) and provided constructive feedback to each other. (how) (4.4,4.5,6.2).

When I started my program with Athabasca, my role was WorkBC facilitator, by the time I enrolled in MDDE 602, I was a case manager. In this role, I meet clients who are looking for work. This assignment improved my abilities in terms of problem-solving, analysis, and reflective decision-making. I interview the clients, try to understand their employment barriers (how), and record the details of the meeting as it was stated. The appropriate media for communication methods is agreed upon by both parties. During the job search journey, a case manager will review the recordings (coding), summarize, and synthesize information by putting them in categories and come up with a solution to remove the client’s barrier. (how). (1.1).

The list of Artifacts Competencies