Lindenwood University Professors Received Best Theoretical Paper Award

Lindenwood University professors Fletcher Glancy, Ph.D., of the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, and Susan Isenberg, Ph.D., of the School of Education, recently received the Best Theoretical Paper Award at the 2011 European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern Conference on Information Systems. The pair traveled to Athens, Greece, in May to present their concept of a new online learning format to academics from more than 20 countries around the world.

The title of the paper is “A Conceptual E-Learning Framework.” The piece details a new method of conducting online education that’s centered around three theories, which include andragogy, transformative learning, and media synchronicity.

The andragogy theory asserts that adult learners are self-directed and self-motivated. The transformative learning theory states that reflecting on information creates new perspective for students following a learning experience. The media synchronicity theory centers on selecting media to best meet the needs of the learner and the objective.

“By examining these three theories, we were able to find the major parallels and come up with an online framework concept that makes online education more learner-centered,” said Glancy. “It operates under the ideals of helping learners understand how to meet and define their own needs and pace, identify what they need from the material, and decide how best to apply that information.”

Key components of Glancy’s and Isenberg’s framework concept include information seeking, reflection, discussion, integration, and assessment. Each portion is necessary in order for adult learners to reap the full benefits of online education.

“Instead of the typical online format that attempts to mirror the traditional face-to-face, hierarchal setting of a classroom, our framework offers the potential to create something different with better outcomes,” said Isenberg. “It also offers a sense of direction that could potentially exceed the learning outcomes of not only current online learning systems, but also face-to-face learning.”

Glancy and Isenberg are in the process of submitting a proposed taxonomy for online learning media to the 30th Annual Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference, which will take place Sept. 21-23 at Ameristar Casino in St. Charles, Mo. They also plan to submit their work to education and information systems journals for publication.