Designing a Preliminary Model of Coaching Pedagogy for Synchronous Collaborative Online Learning

Abstract

In recent years, webinar platforms have been broadly utilized in online learning where students meet one another synchronously online. This research’s underlying value is its recognition of the utmost importance of the awareness that online learning is a social process, as is all learning. This study aims to find out what kinds of synchronous collaborative online coaching pedagogy models have been used in previous research and proceeds to construct a preliminary pedagogical model for a coaching pedagogy for synchronous collaborative online learning (CPSCOL). The methods comprise a systematic literature review and qualitative-data and theory-driven content analysis. Through the systematic literature review, peer-reviewed articles spanning 2014–2018 are carefully examined. The results identify the following pedagogical framework, theory, and model combinations for synchronous collaborative online learning: the Community of Inquiry framework, including social, cognitive, and teaching presence; social presence in conjunction with the media synchronicity theory or the broaden-and-build theory, or the 4E Learning Cycle (engagement, exploration, explanation, and extension); no specific pedagogy; problem-based learning with Community of Inquiry framework or FISh (focus, investigate, and share); collaborative learning and collaborative learning connected to social presence; Carpe Diem with the Five-Step Model; and coaching pedagogy. The preliminary results indicate a scarcity of research on synchronous coaching pedagogy in online education. Consequently, the CPSCOL model for collaborative online learning, including cognitive, social, and teaching presence, is introduced to formulate a new perspective regarding webinar pedagogy. The process of learners, skills, and competences should factor in the pedagogical methods designed by a coach (teacher), and the results show that webinar pedagogy enables and enhances active collaborative learning and knowledge construction in groups. In addition, 18 CPSCOL principles of practice have been developed to support the practical implementation of the CPSCOL model.