The community of learners in an asynchronous online learning environment: an illustrative case study in graduate courses

Abstract

Online learning has been growing steadily as an essential instructional mode in most higher education settings. In response to its popularity, many studies have been conducted to provide a better understanding of how learning occurs in this environment. Various frameworks and theories have been adopted to examine learning in this environment. Drawing upon the community of learner model, the present study aimed to expand the understanding of online learning, moving more toward a situative, sociocultural approach to learning from an individualistic, self-regulated approach to learning. This study examined two graduate online courses as cases to illustrate how learning as a collective process of participation in activities work in an asynchronous online learning environment. The findings of this study could help expand and deepen the discourse on how everyone learn in online learning environments, providing a new approach to examining teaching and learning in online learning environments from a more situative, sociocultural perspective.