Online pedagogy: reaching out to the “hard‐to‐reach” learners

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how an online virtual academy utilises a different approach to learning in order to engage hard‐to‐reach learners; for whom traditional methods of learning are not effective.Design/methodology/approach – Small scale research using case studies of the students, phenomenographic professional development research for the tutors and academic results to demonstrate impact.Findings – The findings appear to support the “community of inquiry model” proposed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer as well as the recommendations from the Framework for the National Curriculum (DfE), i.e. this interactive and experiential process between what is taught (subject knowledge) and the learner (individual development).Research limitations/implications – The learning circle proved to be an excellent tool for visually representing the phenomena and it was observed that this tool could also prove beneficial to learners in future application of this pedagogy.Practical implications...