Overview
The purpose of the EDDE 801 course is to provide doctoral students with understanding of the key theories, principles, concepts, practices, and opinions of the field, so that they may successfully participate in dialogue, debate, and discussions with their peers and instructors, begin the process of developing their dissertation, and engage in advanced study of the remaining topics in the program.
Outline
The course consists of the following units:
Unit A. Fundamental theories, concepts, and basic research in distance education
- Theory in distance education
- Learning theories
- Taxonomy of the cognitive domain
- Presence (cognitive, teaching, social, emotional)
Unit B. Distance education as a field of study and practice
- Transactional distance
- Research models, paradigms
- Andragogy
Unit C. Issues in distance education
- Industrialization of distance education
- Hyper-normal, temporally retarded communications
- Media effectiveness debate
- The no significant difference phenomenon
Unit D. Principles of practice in online education
- Cohort learning; the cohort model
- Interaction theory
- Multimedia learning principles
- Principles of good teaching
Objectives
Consistent with the course title, the purpose of EDDE 801 is to provide information about basic research findings, concepts and principles, accepted practices, and respected opinion in the field of distance education and training. Students are required to participate successfully in intellectual debate and discussions with their peers and instructors, to continue to prepare for the process of doing research for the dissertation, and to participate in advanced study as the program proceeds.
Specifically, at the conclusion of the course students should be able to:
- Draw on, or contribute to, as required and appropriate, the social and interpersonal resources of the student cohort, to support the personal, social, and learning needs of the EDDE801 course group;
- Discuss analytically (compare, contrast, critique, and evaluate) the content of the readings and other topics and resources that constitute the course subject matter, including the contributions of classmates and faculty, through various synchronous and asynchronous processes and activities;
- Describe and critically examine personal teaching and training beliefs and practices, in light of the findings, principles, concepts, and viewpoints found in the distance education and related literature.
- Apply to personal practice appropriate knowledge and skills acquired from various sources, including reading, observation, discussion, and critical analysis and reflection.
- Participate in various course activities: produce written treatments of course topics, as assigned or as personally designed, and submit these in a timely manner for consideration by the seminar group and for assessment by the course instructor(s); lead synchronous seminar sessions and asynchronous conference or forum discussions; support other members of the cohort, as required and appropriate.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Jeffrey, L., Palalas, A. A., Robert, K., & Wong, Y. L. R. (Eds.). (2023). Presence in the online world: A contemplative perspective and practice guide for educators. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.