Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

1. Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth! Jackie Krause, PhD - Central Washington University – PresenterJan Tucker, PhD – Higher Learning Institute – Co-investigatorStephanie YoungGonzaga– Ashford University – Co-investigator

2. How to obtain these slides • A QR Code has been added to the bottom-right corner of some slides. This will take you to my blog for download: http://jackiekrause.wordpress.com • Email: • Krausej@cwu.edu • Dr.Jan.Tucker@gmail.com • YoungGonzaga@yahoo.com • A handout is available with this information! 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

3. Publication • This presentation is based on a research paper published in the International Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 3, No. 2; 2014 • The full text can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v3n2p106 • doi:10.5430/ijhe.v3n2p106 A Proposed Model for Authenticating Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

4. Who is in the room? • A few questions to start: • Who is teaching online? • Are you using discussion boards in your classrooms? • Do you have any control over the discussion questions? • Public/Private/For-Profit? 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

5. Problem Statement • The flexibility of online college programs often appeals to non-traditional students but does this instructional format provide a vehicle for authentic transfer of knowledge? If authentic knowledge transfer is occurring in online discussion forums, what does it look like? How can we facilitate it? 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

6. How is Knowledge Transfer different than Learning? • Knowledge transfer = • Learning from the experiences of others • Learning or creating knowledge = • Acquiring knowledge and skills through study (Kiehl, 2004) • Highly social process Creating and transferring knowledge is a core principle of higher education 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

7. Online Discussion Forums • Backbone for the online class • Fosters faculty-to-student and student-to-student connections • Promotes collaborative learning and problem solving • May help students apply classroom knowledge to real world experiences 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

8. Drivers • Little research that examines the role of online discussion forums in knowledge transfer • Authentic knowledge transfer may be possible in online discussion forums, but there is not enough empirical evidence to support this • Currently there is a focus on application of classroom knowledge in the work place 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

9. The Research • Our team examined 21 sections of a graduate course in organizational behavior • In order to capture student-student and faculty-student interactions, one discussion question was chosen for review. • Across the 21 sections (sources) there were 2,045 replies with an average of 97.38 replies per source. What was especially interesting was that there were 285 (13.9%) responses from instructors across all courses. More on this later. 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

10. The Research, cont. • After an initial review of the data, we developed a framework for investigation. • We developed keywords and phrases that we felt demonstrated knowledge transfer • We developed an initial 42 nodes • Additional passes of the data ensued • We continued following process coding to determine the major themes and child nodes 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

11. The Research, cont.

12. The Research, cont. • We further refined the data by suggesting three categories: • Knowledge Transfer • Possible Knowledge Transfer • Commentary • Knowledge transfer is subjective • The coding represents our interpretations 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

13. The Research, cont. • In some cases, phrases may have been coded to multiple nodes/themes • All three researchers reviewed the data/coding and came to agreement 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

14. The Numbers • 21 unique sections of a single course • 13 unique instructors • 710 unique students • An average of 34 students per course 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

15. The Results • 23% of all student responses were categorized as (authentic) knowledge transfer in some form! • Knowledge Transfer or Possible Knowledge Transfer • NO faculty responses were coded as knowledge transfer in any form! • 26 out of 284 responses from faculty coded as commentary 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

16. The Surprise • There was clear evidence of knowledge transfer occurring student-student, but not faculty-student. • This finding refutes our original beliefs that faculty are an integral part of the knowledge transfer process. 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

17. Some Possible Reasons • Faculty may have a difficult time transitioning from classroom to online (Nash, 2011) • Faculty are not able to implement Socratic methods within the existing online discussion framework. 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

18. Some Possible Reasons • Faculty need to facilitate “active learning” in the online discussion (Halstead, 2005). • Optimum number of students in an online discussion to construct knowledge is 16 (Reonieri, 2006) 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

19. Discussion • If faculty are needed to facilitate online discussions through active learning and engagement as suggested by the research (Halstead, 2005; Albion & Ertmer, 2004), than how do we improve instructor performance? • Training? Are faculty truly trained in facilitating online discussions past asking probing questions? • Do faculty understand the importance of adding personal experience and “war stories” (Powell & Murray, 2012)? 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

20. Discussion, cont. • Is this a quality problem? Quality discussion questions? Quality interactions (Maor & Volet, 2007; Persico, Pozzi, & Sarti, 2010; Thorpe, & Gordon, 2012)? • Is this a domain problem? For-profit institute? • Is it a student problem? Most online students are working adults. Is this a problem of just the minimum to get by and faculty enabling? 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

21. Benefits of the Research • This research provides insights into the nature of knowledge transfer that occurs in the classroom • This research should prove beneficial for: • instructional designers/content experts • faculty development specialists 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

22. CONCLUSION • It is important that these discussions yield the expected results by providing students a mechanism for authentic knowledge transfer to occur. • Is the lack of evidence to support faculty-student KT an issue of training? • At present, there are improvements that need to be made in both the content of the discussion questions and the types of engagements that occur during the discussions. (student-student, faculty-student) 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

23. Conclusion (continued) • Faculty should share their own “real world” experiences and seek comments from their students. Trust! • Students should be encouraged to share their own experiences with a critical eye on what worked well and what might be done differently to encourage a different outcome. 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

24. Future Research • We are interested in learning how faculty can better support KT in online discussions. • Training? • Opportunities to explore how the wording of discussion questions impacts student interactions. Additional research to follow. Please email me to be included. krausej@cwu.edu 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!

25. Questions? • Jackie Krause, PhD krausej@cwu.edu • Jan Tucker, PhD Dr.Jan.Tucker@gmail.com • Stephanie YoungGonzaga YoungGonzaga@yahoo.com 20th Annual Sloan-C International Conference for Online Learning Knowledge Transfer in Online Discussion Forums: The Surprising Truth!