A phenomenological study of lived experiences of learning communties in online courses among undergraduate pre-service teachers

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This phenomenological study examined lived experiences of learning communities among pre-service teachers within online undergraduate college courses from a new literacies perspective. Online learning continues to grow rapidly in higher education. As institutions of higher education develop online courses and students participate in those courses, various issues arise: retention rates, feelings of isolation, and a decrease in feelings of success. Learning communities can combat these issues, but they must first be effectively implemented. This study addressed participants' common lived experiences of learning communities. To collect data, the researcher conducted three in-depth interviews with each of the 12 study participants. Based on these interviews, online undergraduate pre-service teachers' lived experiences of learning communities in their online college courses were relationship-based, generated by communication, and technologically bound.