Autoethnography as an Authentic Learning Activity in Online Doctoral Education: an Integrated Approach to Authentic Learning

Kyungmee Lee

doi:10.1007/s11528-020-00508-1

Abstract

Under the constructivist learning paradigm, which emphasises authenticity as a required condition for learning, distance educators have been striving to create authentic learning environments that reflect the real world. However, it is inevitably challenging to make an online learning environment authentic for learners when it is ultimately separated from their real-life contexts. Particularly, in online doctoral education, given the diversity among online learners, even defining “what is real and to whom” is a difficult task. This paper argues that the epistemological approach to authentic learning, based on the constructivist learning paradigm, is not sufficient to make online learning “authentically” meaningful. The paper introduces an alternative, ontological approach stemming from the transformative learning paradigm, and suggests autoethnography as one authentic learning activity that can effectively integrate the epistemological and ontological approaches to authentic learning in online doctoral education. Such a comprehensive conceptualisation of authentic learning, as an integrated process of both knowing and becoming, allows each doctoral student to become a more authentic self across their learning and living environments.

Highlights

The constructivist learning paradigm emphasises authenticity as a required condition for meaningful learning (Jonassen 2010)
Under the regime of that learning paradigm, educators and instructional designers have for decades been striving to create authentic learning environments that reflect the real world (e.g., Herrington and Oliver 2000; Ozverir et al 2016; Rule 2006)
While providing authentic learning activities, which are relevant to individual learners’ real-life situations, instructional designers have focused on facilitating learner reflection and collaboration— on the grounds that this is the way in which problems are solved and knowledge is constructed in the real world (Scardamalia and Bereiter 1994)

Summary

Introduction

The constructivist learning paradigm emphasises authenticity (i.e., the quality of being real or true) as a required condition for meaningful learning (Jonassen 2010). While providing authentic learning activities, which are relevant to individual learners’ real-life situations, instructional designers have focused on facilitating learner reflection and collaboration— on the grounds that this is the way in which problems are solved and knowledge is constructed in the real world (Scardamalia and Bereiter 1994). Given the increasing diversity among today’s online students in terms of their needs, backgrounds, and learning and living conditions, even defining “what is real and to whom” is a difficult task. When it comes to online doctoral education, there is mounting pressure on tutors to make learning authentic to their diverse student group (Lee and Oztok under review; Kung and Logan 2014). Given the huge distance of TechTrends (2020) 64:570–580 doctoral students’ real world— from their tutors’ but from each other’s—the question of “what is real and to whom” becomes more complex to answer

Objectives

Conclusion