Full metadata
Title
Learning in an online jazz history class
Description
This study examines the experiences of participants enrolled in an online community college jazz history course. I surveyed the participants before the course began and observed them in the online space through the duration of the course. Six students also participated in interviews during and after the course. Coded data from the interviews, surveys, and recorded discussion posts and journal entries provided evidence about the nature of interaction and engagement in learning in an online environment. I looked for evidence either supporting or detracting from a democratic online learning environment, concentrating on the categories of student engagement, freedom of expression, and accessibility. The data suggested that the participants' behaviors in and abilities to navigate the online class were influenced by their pre-existing native media habits. Participants' reasons for enrolling in the online course, which included convenience and schedule flexibility, informed their actions and behaviors in the class. Analysis revealed that perceived positive student engagement did not contribute to a democratic learning environment but rather to an easy, convenient experience in the online class. Finally, the data indicated that participants' behaviors in their future lives would not be affected by the online class in that their learning experiences were not potent enough to alter or inform their behavior in society. As online classes gain popularity, the ability of these classes to provide meaningful learning experiences must be questioned. Students in this online jazz history class presented, at times, a façade of participation and community building but demonstrated a lack of sincerity and interest in the course. The learning environment supported accessibility and freedom of expression to an extent, but students' engagement with their peers was limited. Overall, this study found a need for more research into the quality of online classes as learning platforms that support democracy, student-to-student interaction, and community building.
Date Created
2011
Contributors
- Hunter, Robert W. (Author)
- Stauffer, Sandra L (Thesis advisor)
- Tobias, Evan (Thesis advisor)
- Bush, Jeffrey (Committee member)
- Kocour, Michael (Committee member)
- Pilafian, Sam (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
- Music Education
- Education
- Community College Jazz History
- Democratic Education
- distance learning
- Music Technology
- Online Learning
- Teaching Online
- Jazz--History and criticism--Web-based instruction--Arizona--Case studies.
- Jazz
- Distance education--Arizona--Case studies.
- Distance education
- Internet in higher education--Arizona--Case studies.
- Internet in higher education
- Democracy and education--Arizona--Case studies.
- Democracy and education
- Interaction analysis in education--Case studies.
- Community college students--Arizona--Attitudes--Case studies.
- Community college students
Resource Type
Genre
Extent
ix, 229 p. : col. ill
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.14285
Statement of Responsibility
by Robert W. Hunter
Description Source
Viewed on January 29, 2013
Level of coding
full
Note
thesis
Partial requirement for: D.M.A., Arizona State University, 2011
bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-189)
Field of study: Music (Music education)
System Created
- 2012-08-24 06:07:44
System Modified
- 2021-08-30 01:50:22
- 3 years 3 months ago
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