Building Critical Inquiry in the Online EdD: Examining Successes & Challenges

In this essay, we apply Garrison et al.’s (2000, 2003) framework for critical inquiry in online learning to a review of a cohort-based online EdD at a large public research-intensive university. We examine the technological, pedagogical, and organizational successes and challenges we have experienced and encounter in building and sustaining critical inquiry in a fully online doctoral program. Includes considerations for faculty and administrators in developing and managing online EdD programs committed to engaging in critical inquiry and reflection.

Accessibility Matters: Universal Design and the Online Professional Practice Doctorate

Online doctoral programming geared toward working professionals can provide unprecedented flexibility in terms of time and place that affords greater access to a broader student demographic. At the same time, online learning poses its own unique set of challenges and limitations for students with and without disabilities. Universal Design (UD) is a framework built around the idea of proactively identifying and removing barriers to learning in the environment, pedagogical practices, and materials. In this essay, we highlight the necessity and relevance of UD to online doctoral programs and share insights related to its use in our program from faculty and student perspectives.

An Approach to an Online EdD in Community College Leadership Program

The purpose of this article is to provide an example of how an EdD in Community College Leadership program is offered in an online format. First, the benefits of online programs, including increased access and flexibility for working professionals and higher levels of diversity among the student body are discussed. Then, several strategies to promote connection among students and to facilitate a supportive, engaging learning environment virtually are shared. For example, the value of using a cohort model, a carefully designed curriculum with assignments that have practical value, and a balance of synchronous and asynchronous learning activities is described. Finally, the important role of and strategies for incorporating models and mentors into an online doctoral program are discussed.

Building Community in Online Professional Practice Doctoral Programs

Despite high attrition rates and abundant criticisms, online graduate programs continue to grow. This paper describes the efforts of one online doctoral program that focused on developing programmatic support structures to increase community. Utilizing a qualitative, case study research design, including surveys and semi-structured interviews, this study examined two research questions: 1) In what ways did students experience a sense of community? 2) What elements of an online professional doctoral program did students find most influential in developing a learning community? Findings indicate that students experience community through peer collaboration, program support, and shared learning and networking. A sense of community was developed through the cohort model, strong student support services, synchronous live sessions, and relationships formed with faculty. As a result, a community of practice was formed among program participants. Findings from this study have the potential to aid other online graduate programs as they design and implement structures to foster student success and retention.

When Qualitative Research is Taught Virtually: Drawing on Experiential Design to Build Deeper Knowledge of Qualitative Observation

This essay discusses the EdD Program design and qualitative research course sequence at Drexel University, a private, non-profit institution. This large program admits up to 140 EdD students annually with approximately 100 attending fully online and 40 attending hybrid offerings at the main campus and at a satellite program in Washington, DC. The essay features a qualitative course observation activity designed by Janesick (2011) to be used face-to-face and details how the activity has been adapted for virtual delivery at East Coast University. As a literature review revealed a paucity of published works on teaching observation qualitatively, the authors seek to contribute to the knowledge base with particular emphasis on faculty teaching in an online program. Based upon the East Coast University faculty’s use of this observation activity, students develop increased understanding of the roles of perception and perspective in qualitative observation.

Asynchronous Online Course Designs: Articulating Theory, Best Practices, and Techniques for Everyday Doctoral Education

Early online course materials were text-based and relied heavily on discussion forums as the de facto tool for interactions. Faculty members today, however, have many other choices for course design and course materials. There is not consensus for online course design guidelines or principles, though. Choices in course design by faculty members directly impact the quality of instruction and student learning experience. This article shares some of our theoretical and practical decisions faculty members at the University of South Carolina employ for online course design. Our experiences and decision-making may be useful for other members of the Online Ed.D. CPED Improvement Group (Online Ed.D. CIG), as well as other programs who may be experiencing emergency remote teaching as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, making an evolutionary transition to online or blended education, or considering a future transition to a fully online program. Links to the strategies and tools mentioned throughout this essay are collated in a list at the end.

Forward Momentum: Providing Supportive Space for EdD Students’ Dissertation Progression through Weekly Online Writing Sessions

This essay describes an online writing group introduced to a CPED EdD program at a research-intensive, land-grant university during the summer of 2020 when the existing face-to-face program shifted to fully online delivery. The purpose of the writing sessions was to support EdD student practitioners with dissertation writing productivity by offering multiple weekly opportunities for synchronous writing sessions via Zoom online video conferencing. Although this new program is still in development, initial student feedback suggests that the writing sessions not only supported students’ dissertation progression, but it also established a sense of community and social support in an online environment. Lessons learned are shared, and we argue that this could be an ideal time to offer online writing sessions, especially since the pandemic will continue into the coming months.

Building and Sustaining Community in an Online EdD Program

In this essay, we have described how we build and sustain community in our online EdD program. Initially, we discussed our understanding of community and its influence on our efforts. Then, we discussed three important theoretical frameworks—Wenger’s Community of Practice, Garrison et al.’s Community of Inquiry, and Morris and Stommel’s Critical Digital Pedagogy—and how those frameworks helped to shape our efforts in building and sustaining an online community. Next, we discussed strategies/processes that we have successfully used to build and sustain community in our online program. These strategies were grouped around three kinds of relationships that have been central to community formation, interaction, and continuation—student-to-student, student-to-faculty, and student-to-broader-community. We discussed specific strategies such as the Leadership Challenge, Doctoral Research Conference, an online program “Hub,” comprehensive and immediate feedback, mentoring, and Leader Scholar Communities, that we have found to be particularly useful in building and sustaining an online community.

Erratum to:

The article metadata for Brochu, K. J. ., Jensen, A. J., Robinson, R. M. M. ., Bryant, T. R., Desjardins, D. R., & Bent, L. (2021). Redefining Roles: Female Scholars’ Reflections and Recommendations for Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 6(2), 54–60. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2021.170 listed the authors with an incorrect order and contained an incomplete affiliation of author Lauren G. Bent. The PDF of the article is correct. This error occurred during the journal editing phase. The correct order of the authors is Kelly J. Brochu, Trina R. Bryan, Amanda J. Jensen, Danielle R. Desjardins, Regina M.M. Robinson, Lauren G. Bent. The affiliation for Lauren G. Bent is Regis College Department of Education.

Creating Community in EdD Programs during COVID-19: Challenges, Strategies, and Opportunities

Building community in online EdD programs can be a challenge, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of doing so. In this essay, we will situate community building within the larger Community of Inquiry framework and focus on the element of social presence. By understanding more about the various aspects of social presence, faculty who design and deliver online programs can build stronger learning communities with and for their EdD students.