Dr. Ana-Paula Correia presented two papers at the 2019 American Educational Research Association annual meeting, which took place on 5-9 April in Toronto, Canada.
In the first paper “Examining Online Learning Experiences in Collectivist Cultures through the Community of Inquiry Framework,” Dr. Correia extended the existing research on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. Traditionally, studies have applied the CoI framework within North American online learning environments, which tend to have students from individualist cultures. Dr. Correia considered how CoI applied to collectivist cultures, such as Portugal, Brazil, Chile, and Costa Rica. She discovered that high percentages of agreement for social, teaching, and cognitive presence resulted in a significant level of student engagement in online learning within these cultures. She also observed that the members of the community felt a need for additional ways to show affection and care towards the other people within it.
In the second paper “Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Educational Technology Use in College Teaching”, Dr. Correia and her co-author Dr. Karly Good drew on a large set of institutional data to understand how college students’ perceptions of educational technology related to other key instructional elements. In particular, they examined the relationship between educational technology use and important elements such as teaching methods, progress on learning objectives, and course features. Their study showed that an increase in the use of educational technology corresponds to an increase in effective teaching methods and higher scores on the overall quality of the teaching and the course offered. These results are exciting, because they can help universities and colleges to offer more timely and targeted faculty development, based on data-driven decision-making.
In addition, Dr. Correia hosted the AERA Special Interest Group Online Learning and Teaching Business meeting, and shared her vision for the SIG as the incoming Chair as she interacted with members and guests. She will continue contributing to AERA as SIG chair, presenter and reviewer. Her extensive national and international leadership in educational technology adds much value to the SIG and the association.
References:
Correia, A.-P. (2019). Examining Online Learning Experiences in Collectivist Cultures through the Community of Inquiry Framework. Presented at American Educational Research Association 2019 Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, April 5-9, 2019.
Correia, A.-P., & Good, K. (2019). Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Educational Technology Use in College Teaching. Presented at American Educational Research Association 2019 Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, April 5-9, 2019.