Online instructors’ pedagogical beliefs and choice of student learning activities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between online instructors’ pedagogical beliefs and their choices of online learning activities. Data were collected from 167 faculty members with the use of online instructors’ pedagogical beliefs and student learning activities surveys at a medium-sized masters-level public university located in the western United States. A canonical correlation was conducted to determine whether relationships existed between the pedagogical beliefs and enacted online learning activities. Results showed that participating instructors had more student-centered beliefs than teacher-directed beliefs. Most instructors implemented activities such as reading textbooks, articles, and lecture notes frequently or extensively, whereas student-centered practices such as collaborative projects and peer review or feedback were implemented less frequently. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that online courses tend to include more student-centered activities when instructors lean more toward constructivist pedagogical beliefs. However, the data showed that student-centered beliefs co-exist with traditional teaching practices. The results of this study may be useful for online educators, professional development professionals, instructional designers, and administrators supporting online programs who aim to influence faculty’s beliefs to derive more learner-centered education.