<p> Higher education has a long-standing relationship with veterans. Under the auspices of federal funding such as the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Act and the 1944 GI Bill, scores of veterans and active duty personnel have used their educational benefits to earn a college degree. In the 21<i>st</i> century, the 2009 enhancements to the post-9/11 GI Bill amounted to $53 billion in education benefits for servicemembers and their families. In addition, the military is increasing its education plan for servicemembers to include more frequent and more specialized training since the demands of 21<i> st</i> century warfare requires agile tactical teams to be able to act independently from large troop mobilizations or command centers. Both higher education and the military are increasingly gravitating toward online learning. Therefore, Gulf War II-era student veterans&mdash;individuals who served after 9/11&mdash;are more likely than any previous student veteran cohort to have undergone extensive military education by the time they return to civilian life and pursue college degrees. Although Gulf War II-era student veterans pursue educational opportunities as much or more than earlier cohorts, they also struggle with transitioning to civilian life. </p><p> The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative study was to explore the intersection of military education, postsecondary education, online learning, and transitioning in one context. The overarching research question was: What are the lived experiences of student veterans who have engaged in online learning in two capacities: (a) during active duty within the military education system, and (b) after separation within higher education? The study employed Knowles, Holton, and Swanson&rsquo;s adult learning theory and Schlossberg&rsquo;s transitioning theory. The study used a phenomenological approach to examine the lived experiences of Gulf War II-era student veterans who have engaged in online learning while on active duty and after separation. A purposeful sample of 16 student veterans was used, and open-ended interviews were conducted to answer the research questions. Using the Modified Van Kaam method of data analysis proposed by Moustakas (1994), the interview data yielded 14 emergent themes. </p><p> The study revealed that participants had different experiences with online learning during their active duty service than they did as civilian student veterans in public colleges and universities. Participants found that the military education system&rsquo;s online courses were repetitive, but they had clear objectives and structures. Failing online military courses was nearly unheard of and could lead to direct reprisal or loss of life. As civilians, many found online learning to be overwhelming and alienating. College online courses were of better quality but were easier to fail. Participants also reported that online learning was not a direct part of their transitioning experience, but their prior experience with it had provided them basic technological literacy that was useful. The research findings were reflective of transitioning theory but did not fully support adult learning theory. The findings suggest that a deep-rooted military persona or identity is probably developed by active duty military personnel and that such an identity is likely related to a military-specific learning style that does not align to traditional andragogy within higher education (e.g. group versus individual learning). The findings also posit that a new theory should be developed that centers on military learners, their styles and their unique system of postsecondary education.</p><p>

I have devoted 8 years to prepare for this ethnographic case study. I have analyzed through Bakhtin’s lenses of dialogicality and intertextuality, focusing on exploring an ESL college student, Chen Hua’s online social identity construction through his use of L1 and L2. I have collected multiple layers of data including formal and informal interviews, observational field notes, interactive emails, narratives and online discussion forum contents ever since the focal participant started his 9th grade in a high school, throughout his college and military career. I used ethnographic coding, grounded coding, Gee’s five theoretical tools and critical discourse analysis to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the ESL college student (an ROTC member) constructed his multiple identities through discursive social practices by making use of available resources, making multithreaded social connections from the online texts/discourses to the real world in which he was living. His unique multiple identities constructed through his use of L1 and L2 in computer-mediated communication practices and through other offline social practices, are reflected and embedded within the current macro sociocultural, political, and historical context of the U.S.A., which helped transform and shape him into what he is and how he participates in “serving and sacrificing” for the community and for this country.

<p>The primary purpose of this study was to design a valid and reliable survey instrument gauging three concepts; (a) utilization of technology-enhanced instructional practices, (b) perceptions of Missouri higher education faculty concerning self-reported instructor role and (c) perceptions of millennial students&rsquo; preferred learning styles. The secondary purpose of this study was to identify differences and similarities among various subsets of the data, examined by investigated concepts, as well as disaggregated by each demographic for individual survey items. </p><p> The six independent variables included type of institution, size of institution (based on Carnegie Size Classification), department, rank, gender and age range. The study also included 34 dependent variables divided into three sections. First were 8 items (items 7&ndash;14), designed to discern the HE faculty&rsquo;s self-reported utilization of technology-enhanced instruction in their classroom. Next were 10 items (items 15&ndash;24), focusing on faculty perceptions of their instructional role in the classroom. Following were 16 items (items 25&ndash;40) asking for self-reported faculty perceptions concerning the learning preferences of higher education students. </p><p> The population for this study included 2,978 faculty at a randomly selected group of 15 two-year and four-year, public and private Missouri higher education institutions based on a listing of Missouri higher education institutions provided by the Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE). The survey was completed by 249 of these faculty members. Cronbach&rsquo;s alpha and a pilot survey were conducted to determine validity and reliability. Univariate analyses, including cross tabulations and graphs showing frequency counts and percentages and measures of central tendency and dispersion, consisting of mean, median, mode, standard deviation and variance, were employed to determine utilization of technology-enhanced instruction by Missouri HE faculty as well as perceptions concerning instructional roles and millennial students&rsquo; learning characteristics as identified by research. Finally, Chi-square analysis and cross tabulations showing frequency numbers and percentages of each survey item were generated for each of the six demographic items. </p><p> The findings confirmed that the Survey of Higher Education Instructional Practices (SHEIP) was a valid and reliable instrument for collecting information concerning utilization of technology-enhanced instruction as well as perceptions of instructor role and students&rsquo; preferred learning styles. It was also shown a majority of Missouri higher education faculty are employing technology-enhanced instruction. Findings also indicated percentages of faculty using traditional and contemporary instructor roles were nearly equal. A small percentage more faculty did report using more contemporary instructor roles, but this is a point that could be explored in further research. Furthermore, outcomes indicated that a majority of faculty did agree with the manners which current research indicated millennial students prefer to learn. The theory of disruptive innovation indicated manners in which higher education can implement the change needed to &ldquo;disrupt&rdquo; the current system in academia. Research indicates change is needed if higher education is going to prosper in the rapidly changing academic world. </p>

<p> Hlinak and Delic and Becirovic, among others, addressed the connection between the use of the Socratic method and critical thinking development. Hlinak noted while there is an abundance of research on the Socratic method and distance learning, there are relatively few publications that address the intersection. With the continued growth of online education, there is a lack of research primarily on the perspectives of online faculty members. The purpose of the study was to gain the perspectives of online faculty members for effectively using the Socratic method in an online higher education environment to improve critical thinking skills and their application to decision making. An additional goal was the possible development of a research model to explain the use of the Socratic method in the online environment. Garrison's online community of inquiry was a primary supportive theory. Additional theories supporting this study included the Socratic method, James's pragmatism, Dewey's critical thinking, and Paul's formalized critical thinking. Globalization and Christensen's disruptive innovation also supported this research. Online faculty perspectives are essential; faculty are responsible for establishing pedagogy (e.g., teaching strategies, course design, and instructional intervention) for classrooms. The research questions addressed: (a) what teaching strategies, course design, instructional interventions, and delivery options are needed to implement the use of the Socratic method in the online classroom; (b) what influence does the use of the Socratic method have on cognitive presence; and (c) what effect does the increase of cognitive presence have on critical thinking and decision-making skills in nonclassroom activities and the workplace. Using qualitative exploratory research methodology, data were collected from faculty in an online educator forum using an online questionnaire and personal telephone interviews were conducted with faculty from an online doctoral program. Based on participant experiences, the Socratic method supports critical thinking development and fosters cognitive presence with students. According to the participants, the connection between the Socratic method and critical thinking extends these skills to nonacademic settings and the workplace. The participants made a number of recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the Socratic method in the online environment including integrating the Socratic method in course designs.</p><p>

<p> The objective of this examination was to determine if there were significant differences in reported levels of motivation across five teaching tasks, as well as time allocated to each teaching task, among online and onsite university-level social science faculty. One hundred thirty-six social science faculty members were allocated into two groups that reported teaching in either online or onsite settings. Each participant completed the WTMST measuring various types of motivation across various types of teaching tasks. A measure of estimated time spent on each of the five teaching tasks was also obtained. The two groups showed several similarities in amount of motivation across teaching tasks and types of motivation with greater motivation for teaching, class preparation and evaluation of students than administrative and complementary tasks and greater motivation for teaching than class preparation. Both groups showed greater identified regulation than intrinsic motivation and greater intrinsic motivation and identified and external regulation than introjected regulation and amotivation. However, the onsite group reported greater motivation for teaching and class preparation than evaluation of students that was not shown for the online group and the onsite group reporting greater external regulation than intrinsic motivation and greater introjected regulation than amotivation that was not shown for the online group. The onsite group reported more time teaching than evaluation of students while the opposite finding was shown for the online group. The onsite group reported more time on class preparation than the other tasks except teaching while the online group reported less time, or no difference in time, spent on class preparation compared to other tasks. Reported time estimates and motivation scores were shown to be positively correlated across teaching tasks. The patterns of motivation scores across teaching tasks and types of motivation are described relative to self-determination theory. Differences within groups in motivation scores, and reported allocation of time, across teaching tasks, and corresponding positive correlation between motivation scores and reported time estimates suggests a relationship between the distribution of required duties of faculty and their motivational experiences. The findings are discussed relative to potential future qualitative and quantitative research of college faculty motivation and time allocated to various tasks, and relative to benefits to college level faculty, administrators and faculty services, and to students, toward facilitating quality of the academic experience. </p><p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore how African American Online doctor of management students perceived engaging support to maintain motivation throughout the dissertation writing process. The study involved collecting and analyzing data from 10 African American online doctoral students who matriculated into an online doctor of management program or had completed the dissertation writing process. Participants shared perspectives on support through narrative storytelling and answered open-ended questions that described individual perceptions of engaging support to maintain motivation during the dissertation writing process. The general research question was as follows: How do African American online doctoral of management students engage support to maintain motivation during the dissertation witting process? Four themes emerged from the findings. The four themes were faith based support, collaborative coaches versus autonomous coaches, traditional faculty support versus nontraditional support, and chair lack of encouragement versus encouragement. The major implication was support to maintain motivation in an online learning environment must include communications and socialization on an ongoing basis during the dissertation writing process. Doctor of management organizational doctoral program leaders may use this study to examine doctoral student support issues, chairs&rsquo; encouragement strategies, and the need for dissertation coaching. The conceptual framework for this qualitative narrative inquiry was Bandura&rsquo;s (1997) self-efficacy theory, Atkinson&rsquo;s (1957) expectancy value theory, and Vygotsky&rsquo;s (1978) social constructivist theory.</p><p>