Abstract
The purpose of this case study was to explore the application and outcome of appreciative inquiry as an online instructional strategy for the development of three specific factors: adult learner motivation, engagement, and performance. Appreciative andragogy was an original phrase developed for this study and is an adaptation of appreciative inquiry. Appreciative inquiry has been successfully utilized within organizations to facilitate change and development, while enhancing employee motivation, engagement, and performance. Because there is little research concerning the application of appreciative inquiry to an academic environment, elements of appreciative inquiry were implemented as an instructional strategy within undergraduate and graduate online classrooms. The appreciative inquiry model was adapted for this study as appreciative andragogy and utilized over a four-week implementation period. The participants worked with selected students from their online class and they measured the three factors (motivation, engagement, and performance) before and after the implementation phase. The findings of this study indicate that appreciative andragogy can be applied as an instructional strategy in any online classroom regardless of the subject matter and it holds the potential to have a positive impact on the online learning classroom environment. The study concluded that appreciative andragogy has an ability to take the distance out of distance learning.
Highlights
The online classroom has not impacted the basic principles of adult learning
What was learned from this study is that the use of appreciative andragogy had a positive effect on many aspects of online post-secondary classes
Through the use of appreciative andragogy the students felt a sense of value and inclusion in both the class and the learning process, which in turn had a positive impact on their motivation, engagement, and overall performance
Summary
The online classroom has not impacted the basic principles of adult learning. Rather the format of adult learning has been impacted by the enabled use of technology. The process of adult learning in any classroom environment involves the acquisition of information, interaction with that information through activities, and the creation of new knowledge. The classroom provides a learning environment that becomes the context for knowledge acquisition by establishing conditions that are conducive to learning. The instructor is available to observe, guide, and discuss the student's performance and address any potential issues. These physical observations are often absent from the online classroom environment. Within an online classroom environment, instructors and students will typically interact through class discussion boards and other activities that require instructor and student involvement. The primary methods of meaningful interaction occur through the submission of assignments by the student and the feedback that is provided by the instructor.
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