Technology has evolved to allow for graduate education to occur outside the traditional classroom walls. Graduate studies offered through the online world are becoming increasingly more popular but present unique challenges for the adult student. This presentation served to explore the unique challenges faced by online learners.
Advantages of online studies include flexibility, accessibility, learner autonomy and ability to self-pace. Online studies allow students to keep a balance between personal, professional and academic responsibilities. They also offer opportunities for students to interact with a variety of people from diverse locations. An increase in career opportunities, financial compensation, achievement and satisfaction are associated with the successful completion of graduate studies.
Disadvantages of online studies include students (adults in particular) may have difficulty adapting to the use of computer technology. The technology itself can be unreliable. Socialization is challenging; students may develop feelings of loneliness and isolation working in the online environment. Successful completion requires a major time commitment and the student requires sound self-discipline and time-management skills. The ability to decipher meaning from interactions is also difficult and time-consuming in the online world with the absence of verbal and non-verbal cues. Socialization is viewed as an integral part of adapting to the new role of graduate student and also to the new online environment. Group D has proposed the development of a mentorship program to facilitate successful adaptation of adult students to online graduate studies. The forces for and against change were discussed using Lewin's Force Field Analysis. A class survey was administered to measure peers' perceptions of the factors for and against change. Findings suggest that the forces for change outweigh the forces against. We used the results of the Force Field Analysis to target areas that have strong potential to influence the success of the online learner.
The literature indicates that the mentee can benefit from support and friendship in addition to professional advice. Goals of the mentorship program are to guide the mentee through course work, provide tips for success, decrease feelings of frustration with technology and to help ease feelings of isolation. Benefits and challenges of telementoring were identified. A program outline was proposed for use in the Athabasca University online learning environment.
Using Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership Theory, a selling style of leadership that places high emphasis on task completion as well as relationship building may best serve the mentor in the relationship.
Telementoring is a viable option for online adult graduate students that can serve to facilitate successful adaptation to the online learning environment.
Discussion Questions
Please return to the MHST/NURS 621 class group forum to discuss the following questions:- After reviewing the Overcoming Resistance to Change clip on the website do you see yourself as a resistor to change? What strategies could be used to decrease this resistance in you, or in others?
- Think about the driving and resisting forces you experienced during your first online course as a graduate student. How did the forces you experienced compare to the results in the class survey? Describe how an informal telementoring relationship with a more experienced graduate student would impact your ability to adapt to the change.
- Is mentoring a strategy that deals with forces for or forces against change? Which is more helpful, implementing strategies to deal with forces for or forces against, and why?
- What is your experience with mentoring; is it practiced within your organization? Have you ever had a mentor, or been a mentor? Was it a rewarding experience, or not? What strategies could have improved the mentoring experience?
- What do you think are important qualities for a mentor to have? What would motivate one to become a mentor? What ideas can you offer to use as incentive for students to become mentors in the program described on the website?
