Net-bridged Constructivism: Exploring the online interaction of Japanese ESL and native English speaking students

Transcription

1 February 2007 Net-bridged Constructivism: Exploring the online interaction of Japanese ESL and native English speaking students by Stuart M Sepp Sandra Daffron, Stanford Goto Woodring College of Education Western Washington University 1

2 Introduction When we think about online learning, the word flexible comes to mind, in that online courses need to be flexible enough to give all participants the same opportunity to learn the same skills. With the use of rapidly evolving online education systems, the question comes to mind: Is it flexible enough? All classes are now inherently diverse; meaning students from different backgrounds can interact and share the same educational experience. But do they interpret content the same way and thus, do they construct knowledge in the same way? The purpose of this study is to explore the interaction of Japanese ESL students and native English speakers in an online environment. The intention is to gather details about the interactions between learners, the perceptions of roles in the learning environment, the learning tasks, and the congruencies therein. Main Question: 1. How can online pedagogy be flexible to give all participants the same experience and opportunity to learn? Research Questions 1. To what extent are students affected by difference in language? 2. How do the interactions between cultural groups differ? 3. How do the different cultural groups view learning tasks? 4. What challenges do all participants (including the instructor) feel they encountered? 5. How do the different cultural groups view the role of their instructor? 2

3 Limitations of the Study This study will look specifically at the interactions between Japanese ESL and native- English speaking undergraduate students enrolled at a four-year higher education institution with an established online learning program. By limiting the scholastic level, issues such as popculture, exposure to technology and general aptitudes will be more aligned. The online course(s) studied will have no more than two face-to-face meetings for the entire duration of the course. This will seek to limit the interaction between the students so that a clearer picture of the online interactions may come about. Significance Current face-to-face pedagogy has had a long time to evolve, as students and instructors have been meeting in classrooms or out of classrooms since the beginning of recorded history. Online education, on the other hand, is still rapidly evolving, and with technology evolving too, the standardization of online pedagogy is far from realized. Current research is broken into two groups; one deals specifically with online pedagogy, addressing multicultural issues in a broad sense, speaking to the need for cultural understanding and flexibility, while the other deals with face-to-face multicultural pedagogy. It is the hope of the researcher that through this study, these two branches of research can begin to integrate into one cohesive branch and eventually lead to standardized practices in international online instruction. Researcher s Perceptions Having lived in five countries, including Japan, and having visited many countries in Asia, the researcher hopes to draw upon previous cultural knowledge and experience in order to understand the interactions of Japanese and Western students alike. Though the researcher has an in-depth understanding of Japanese social issues, the data gathered will be viewed as original findings, not used to dispute or support or generalize about the uniqueness of Japanese culture. 3

4 It is the opinion of the researcher that truth is derived from cultural understanding and having experience with both cultures involved in this study, the data will not be construed as anything but the attempt to construct knowledge. Review of Literature The way in which learners learn is fundamentally different from one society to the next. The roles of instructors, the interactions with the other participants, as well as the purpose of education itself can take on different meanings depending on what area of the globe you re in. But one never knows whether the experiences in class or online will have the same relevance and meaning to all students (McLoughlin, 2001). Vygotsky states individuals create or construct knowledge by attempting to bring meaning to new information and to integrate this knowledge with their prior experience in their communication with others (Vygotsky, 1978, from Murphy, 2005). So learners who have had different experiences in life and in education create knowledge by interacting with others, but based on that previous experience. When discussing these issues within an online environment, the situation becomes more and more complicated. In a face-to-face classroom, when culturally diverse learners have the opportunity to interact, the experience can be somewhat clumsy, but through body language, gestures and other communicative tools, mutual understanding can be reached. Of all the senses relevant to learning through interaction, how many of these exist in a virtual environment? That is where the challenge lies; to provide culturally diverse learners the same experience online, as they would have in a face-to-face environment. International students have the hardest time adapting due to factors such as sociocultural adjustment, language issues, and teaching/learning issues relating to different expectations and perspectives on learning (Biggs, 1999 from McLoughlin, 2005). It s a given that East Asian students learn in different ways than those of Western students. Students in Hong Kong, for example are very shy and unwilling to put themselves out into the open for fear of being ridiculed (Felker, 2001) or because they are concerned about their 4

5 English skill level (Milton, 2001). East Asian Students as a whole tend to view the teacher as an expert and have trouble participating in critical debate, and thus are more teacher-centered opposed to learner-centered (Pratt, 1998 from Wiesenberg, 2005). Japanese learners are very similar, yet quite unique in the way in which they learn. Without going into much detail, Japanese learners differ from western learners in areas such as tolerance for ambiguity, intrinsic motivation and analytical debate (Kawachi, 2003). Suffice it to say, the cultural difference in learning preferences is so great between East and west that in (Western) global online learning programs there are few if any Japanese participants studying in Japan (ibid.) In prior research, the differences in learning preferences have been well documented, but the specifics of the interactions in an online environment have not. By seeking to document these interactions and taking past research and findings into account, another missing piece of the multicultural online puzzle will be found. In finding this piece there are several areas that must be appraised. Geer s Model of Technology Mediated Interaction points to seven factors that can affect collaboration on line. These are culture, student characteristics, informal socializing, prior knowledge, assessment, available technologies and instructor involvement (Geer, 2001), with culture being the predominant variable in this study. It is clear from the literature that online instructional design must take into account cultural differences, because its this difference in culture, combined with social interaction with other of diverse backgrounds that leads students to acquire critical awareness of how they construct their own understanding (McLoughlin, 2001). With this being said, each culture constructs their understanding in different ways, and for an accurate picture of pedagogy to appear, each culture must be studied so the range of construction of knowledge is taken into account. The role of the instructor, no doubt, takes on a different role online as well. Instructors, who are used to simply grading and returning assignments, are now thrown into a completely different role, one that requires a much higher degree of interaction with their students. It s not enough to simply disperse knowledge now, instructors must model social encouragement, while 5

6 at the same time convey their content in a culturally responsive way (Wiesenberg, 2005). But how is this done? Online education should provide the same experience to all students, regardless of their cultural background, and to know the range of ways of learning would be extremely beneficial so that instruction could be adapted to better suit all participants. On the other hand, not all responsibility lies with the instructor. The learner s success, ultimately resides with their own desire to achieve the goals set before them, and more importantly to meet the challenges that cross-cultural learning presents to them (Wang, 2001). If the instructor is providing a supportive environment, its up to the learner to seek that support should they need it, and to be aware that their way of learning, is not necessarily the same around the globe. Prior research shows that a diverse body of students will have different ideas about what it means to participate in a class. Many of the students will have different opinions about the nature of their education, their role, and even the tasks presented to them. Its not enough to say that we are being flexible with regards to diversity in the online classroom, but now there is a need to assess this flexibility. Through previous research, constructive learning has shown to be most insightful in a diverse, online environment. As the learners will undoubtedly have different ways of constructing meaning from the content presented, working together to arrive at a consensus. As many online learners feel isolated in a social sense, this collaborative approach is essential to bring the learners closer to a face-to-face learning experience (Pratt, 2003). Within any community, there are challenges to be met and in an online community these challenges are often more numerous. A definite prerequisite for any learner is a willingness to be respectful of other s perspectives and above all, to be flexible themselves, with regards to group work, support and cultural sensitivity (Wang, 2001). When it comes to this particular study, the challenges will also apparent. When dealing with learners who don t share the same native language, there are two areas in which these challenges will manifest themselves. One is with regards to ways of learning and the other is within cultural integration, including language and social barriers. 6

7 When any population of diverse learners enters an unfamiliar environment, a certain degree of adaptation occurs. This usually manifests itself in the social area, with the learner becoming more familiar with their social surroundings, whether it is pop-culture, diet or even daily routines. In the academic area, a different type of adaptation has to occur. Auyeung s study gives great insight into the possibilities of academic adaptation. While many subjects were very apprehensive about online collaborative learning, almost three quarters of the participants ended the course with a positive attitude towards it (2004). This is an amazing result since this type of learning was a challenge to their previous experiences in constructing knowledge. Based on this result, one could assume that breaking the mould of previous experience within a non-native environment would help the learner to become more confident within that environment and with the second language. In the case of Japanese higher education students in particular, the structure that existed in high school is no longer present. The pressure in studying for exams is over and the students can relax and enjoy their education (Hendry, 1987). This however does not mean that the ways of learning change, only that they are more open to change. If the students have no previous experience both in an online class or interacting with native English speakers in an academic sense, the advancements they will make would be astounding, as far as adapting their learning as well as social interaction. Methodology Participants and Site Based on the researcher s previous experience in interacting with Japanese ESL students, this study will employ purposive sampling in order to maintain a more representative sample. A number of undergraduate online courses will be chosen within the United States, Canada, England or Australia at four-year universities that have an exchange program which seeks to integrate Japanese exchange students into regular campus classes. 7

8 The courses will need to be focused more on social sciences as opposed to sciences, to give more opportunity for both groups of students to interact, instead of working on analytical problems together. The participants themselves will number less than 30 and be both native English speaking undergraduates and Japanese ESL students with at least a conversational level of English proficiency. As demographics are out of the control of the researcher due to self-determined enrollment, generalizability will be determined at the time of the study. A detailed analysis of the sample demographics will be conducted to determine the degree of representation. Once this analysis is complete, the sample students may represent a single class, the population of their program, institution or the entire population. As Japanese education has changed to varying degrees in the last thirty years, demographics will all play a key role in the interpretation of data. The instructor of this course will also be a participant, so that his or her methods of instruction can be taken into account to set the environment in which the student participants will be interacting. Data Collection Procedures At its core, this study is a discourse analysis of the interactions between native English and Japanese ESL students. As a research approach, phenomenology was chosen, since the key to understanding the current flexibility within multicultural online courses lies in understanding how each student perceives their experience. Conducting research in an online environment such as Blackboard or WebCT serves many advantages for the researcher. One is that everything that is said stays online. There are options for the students to change their discussion board posts, and for the instructor to change instructions, but for the majority of the content, it can be reviewed in real time as well as after the course has been concluded. The participants will be studied in their own context; with absolutely no interaction from the researcher while the normal proceedings of the course is in session. 8

9 During the time before the coursework begins, a more thorough review of previously conducted empirical research in this area will be conducted in order to assist in the design of each specific survey instrument. By taking into account cultural research as well as previous data on online collaboration, issues such as validity and reliability can be addressed. In the first few days of each course, a pre-survey of the participants will be conducted to determine demographics, as well as the students perceptions and preparedness for the course, most likely in the form of an informally phrased survey. Once the course has begun, observation will be the sole method for gathering data, meaning the researcher will observe all interactions in the course, including those between students and those between students and instructors. If students should contact the instructor through a medium other than the online environment, privacy will be maintained and these interactions will not be observed. Probable sources of observation data include discussion boards, collaborative web pages, blogs, support forums, posting of assignments and peer reviews. Once the coursework has been completed, a post-course survey will be done to determine the perceptions and feelings of the course. Based on the observation findings, this post-course survey will either be in survey form or in an informal interview form. For the survey form, the native Japanese and English speakers will be given the exact same questions so that data cannot be skewed to one group. The instructor will be informally interview following the course as well. Limitations As not all students will have the same level of language proficiency, there may be some misunderstandings within the survey instruments proposed. As an option, each survey or interview will be conducted in either Japanese or English so that a higher level of understanding and articulation can be achieved in the data collection procedure, though at the time of the writing of this proposal, the researcher has only basic conversational proficiency in Japanese and will most likely need to seek the assistance of a fluent Japanese speaker. Possible Expansion of Research 9

10 As this research seeks to portray the multicultural flexibility within online courses, yet is limited to an English speaking-based environment, another, identical study could be performed in a Japanese speaking-based environment, to gather data from another setting s perspective. This expansion of research would be beneficial in showing any correlations or differences that appear within each environment. Data Analysis Survey Analysis Each survey or interview conducted will focus on the individual s perceptions of the issue in questions, and no doubt will have a cultural basis. Further readings of prior research will need to be done in order to explain or interpret these findings. Observational Coding Each noted observation made within the formal coursework period will be grouped into categories and themes based on the initial research questions above. All observations will be tagged based on the themes outlined below: Language o Grammar o Vocabulary o Idioms / Popular Culture Interactions o Level of Formality Addressing students Addressing instructor Misunderstandings o Cultural o Task-based o Instruction-based Preparedness o Content o Language Proficiency 10

11 o Online Environment Conclusion This study will no doubt be a challenge to complete, with so many cultural differences within a given ethnic population, these differences will need to be sorted out and taken into account when analyzing all data and learning about all participants involved. Through observation, and a survey of the perceptions of all those involved, enough data could be gathered to put the puzzle together so that an picture of flexibility in multicultural online education will start to emerge. The next step is to attempt to bring that picture into focus. Qualitative Rationale This survey could have easily have been done in a Quantitative fashion, collecting data as to the frequency of certain interactions, misunderstandings etc., though through qualitative methods, the participants show their true colors in how they act, and respond to certain stimuli. Collaboration in an online environment, but more importantly a sense of community is the most important things in multicultural online education; and to make all feel welcome. Feelings of belonging and being part of a group are not something that can be measured through numbers. 11

12 References Auyeung, L. (2004). Building a Collaborative online learning community: A case study in Hong Kong. J. Educational Computing Research, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp Biggs, K. (1999). Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press, Oxford. Felker, G. B. (2001, December 3). Motivating dialogue with Web-based instruction tools [online]. In: proceedings of Teaching & Learning Symposium Teaching innovations: Fostering a creative and collaborative learning environment, Hong Kong. Geer, R. (2001, June). The necessity of considering Cultural Influences in Online Collaborative Learning. In: proceedings of Ed-Media 2001 World Conferences on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia, and Telecommunications, Tempere, Finland. Hendry, J., (1987). Understanding Japanese Society: 2 nd Ed. New York, NY, Routledge. Kawachi, P. (2003). Initiation Motivation in Online Education: Review of the Current State of the Art. Interactive Learning Environments, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp McLoughlin, C. (2001). Inclusivity and alignment: Principles of pedagogy, task and assessment for design for effective cross-cultural online learning. Distance Education, Vol.22 No.1, pp7-29. Milton, J. (2001, December 3). From parrots to puppet masters An online role-playing tool to foster language acquisition [on-line]. In: proceedings of Teaching & Learning Symposium Teaching innovations: Fostering a creative and collaborative learning environment, Hong Kong Murphy, K., Mahoney, S. et al (2005). A Constructivist Model of Mentoring, Coaching, and Facilitating Online Discussions. Distance Education, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp Pratt, D.D., (1998). Five Perspectives on teaching in adult and higher education. Malabar, FL, Krieger. Pratt, K., (2003). The Virtual Student: A Profile and Guide to Working with Online Learners. San Francisco, CA, Josey Bass. Vygotsy, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University. Wang, C.Y. ( 2001, November). Handshakes in Cyberspace: Bridging Cultural Differenes through Effective Intercultural Communication and Collaboration. In: Annual proceedings of Selected Research and Development [and] Practice Papers presented at the National Convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Atlanta, GA. 12

13 Wiesenberg, F., Stacey, E. (2005). Reflections on Teaching and Learning Online: Quality program design, delivery and support issues from a cross-global perspective. Distance Education, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp