LEARNING IN CYBERSPACE: An Examination of Changes in Professional Identity and Practice Style in an Online Problem-Based Learning Environment

The research was conducted within the faculty of education at the University of Plymouth with a group of students recruited on the faculty Integrated Masters Program (IMP). Students tend to be employed adult learners who are interested in continuing professional development or in gaining a master’s qualification. The respondents in the current research were a group of students on the Information and Communication Technology: Theoretical Perspectives module. The module was designed with a flexibility that paid close attention to the needs of adult learners in mind and was largely structured around an online model of practice that employed a distributed problem-based learning (dPBL) approach. This approach was used to enable students to immerse themselves within situated aspects of the theory of information and communication technology, such as real purpose tasks and transformed teacher roles (Jonassen, 1996). A major online feature of the module encouraged the students to participate in discussion groups and multiple-response question assessment as part of the dPBL approach. Videoconferencing was also used to link cluster groups of students, to introduce forthcoming tutorials and to consolidate previous tutorials; this provided a dispersed student group with a potentially rich, dynamic, and discursive environment within which to explore and discuss course materials, with a view to helping to establish a virtual community of learners. The module process was further facilitated through the use of dual mode tutorial support in the form of synchronous contact via the telephone and asynchronous contact via e-mail. These multiple formats were designed to endow the problem-based learning aspect of the module with a range of contact modes and a flexibility of practice style (Wheeler et al., 2005).

Problem-based learning (PBL) methods were developed to address perceived difficulties in conventional pedagogical styles (Barrows, 2002) and are designed to facilitate deeper levels of cognitive engagement. According to Duch, Groh, and Allen (2001) PBL strongly promotes the development of skills through the use of complex, real-life problems and motivates students to adopt deeper approaches to study. PBL also helps to promote a range of skills, including critical thinking, collaborative learning, verbal and written communication skills and lifelong learning skills. PBL has the facility to present learners with authentic problems they might encounter in the “real world.” However, while practice-based problem-solving skills require facilitation and development though this approach, users need to ensure that the approach is embedded within an apprehending and cognisance of the wider structures and contexts of the presented problem. To accomplish this, tutors should act as guides and facilitators in the process, and can even adopt a learning role themselves (Roblyer, Edwards, & Havriluk, 1997).

dPBL is a version of PBL offered to students who are separated from their tutors and their fellow students by distance. Learning is mediated through information and communication technology (ICT), and students collaborate within a shared, virtual, distributed learning environment. This distributed “community of practice” (Lave & Wenger, 1991) therefore has the potential to encourage self regulation and autonomy with student learners. In some versions of dPBL the learner group is encouraged to collaborate as a team with each member monitoring the progress of others whilst at the same time assessing their own (Barrows, 2002). Online collaborative knowl-edge-building approaches have previously been used to promote effective learning in in-service teacher training (Ahlberg, Kaasinen, Kaivola, & Houtsonen, 2001) and to establish communities of practice in computer mediated communication-based initial teacher training (Clarke, 2002; Tsui & Ki, 2002).

The research was designed to assess the impact of these online learning strategies on the professional identities and practice styles of master’s level students within a managed online learning environment. Implicit in the research process and the conclusions that are finally drawn is an evaluation of distributed problem based learning and online learning generally. However, the main focus of the research was on the relationship between the online learning environment and those who are participating as learners within it. It became relevant to ask a number of questions. In what sense does the online learning environment constitute a cultural influence on the learners? In what ways do different individuals within the group influence the emergence of a particular cultural identity? In working through these analyses a third critical consideration began to emerge: this involved an examination of the applied value of previous research into professional identity, practice style, and group dynamics within face-to-face learning contexts. Are the theories that emerged from this kind of research relevant to our understanding of the way in which online learning environments operate and to the experiences of those who are involved in them?

Data were obtained from semistructured interviews that were conducted with a small group of six students from the online learning group. These data were, first of all, transcribed and analysed by the research team, the resulting interpretations were then further discussed and analysed and presented independently at three education conferences in the following year to facilitate further peer review and in depth analytical consideration.

Initially the data analysis involved a close examination of the way in which a relatively nascent and emerging online culture played a role in shaping the development of individual identity and practice style and, conversely, the way in which individual agency influences the online culture. Escobar suggests an “anthropology of cyberculture” which entails a close discursive and ethnographic examination of “the cultural constructions and re-constructions on which the new technologies are based and which they, conversely, contribute to shaping” (2000, p. 56).

In the approach to the data professional identity is seen as being the teacher’s representation of self within the context of professional practice. It is seen to emerge from an iterative process of reflection on practice through continual evaluation of performance, bringing into play the culture of the group and the agency of the individual. The mediated discussion groups were of particular interest and signifi-cance in this respect. Generally, each student appears to abstract the meaning he or she feels to be uppermost, both from an examination of the problem space and in the presented dialogue, and this becomes an issue or set of issues that impact on his or her own professional practice in some way. Some students recognize elements of their own professional practice represented in the PBL scenarios, or may identify the attitudes or beliefs of their colleagues from say, a dialogue in the problem. Further, the data appeared to suggest that discussion of these issues often brings about a greater sense of self-awareness and a deeper examination of one’s own professional practices and mores (Wheeler et al., 2005). Humans are social beings who seem to depend on feedback from their peers as a way of validating their own beliefs (Jonassen, 1996) and online discussions are ideal environments within which this kind of self examination can be propagated. The online discussions seem to encourage students to challenge and further construct and reconstruct their own personal sense of meaning from the problem and its implications. The evidence suggests that this in turn has an impact on the formation of professional identity, involving challenges to their assumptions and modifying their images of the self in the online context.

As people work, play, and solve problems together, so their ways of thinking, talking, and acting, the ideas that come to mind, the words they choose and the tools they make use of, embody the accumulated set of cultural values and beliefs that have been constructed and refined over time. This also acts to constitute processes of group identification, through the recognition of norms, values, and language construction. The data analysis provided support for the view that membership of online learning groups serves to promote identities that, in Foucault’s (2002) terms, are representative of individuals’ “situated selves.” For Foucault individual subjectivity and group membership is inflected by differential relations of power and will align the members both as the subjects of the discursive regulations of the group; and through regulatory effects as being subject to these discursive regulations.

While this was essentially a small-scale study, the analysis of the data provided some rich insights into online identities and group formation. It was also felt necessary to ensure that this data was theorized using a number of approaches previously tried and tested within face-to-face contexts and situations.

Resonating with the findings of Lave and Wenger (1991; Wenger 1999), the research suggested that as they “get things done” together, less-experienced people pick up habits and attitudes from their more experienced friends, relatives, teachers, and colleagues. The following comment from Alison regarding her early initial uses of online communication demonstrates this well:

Lave and Wenger’s (1991) notion of “communities of practice” is based on the idea that learning involves a deepening process of par-ticipation in a community of practice over a period of time. They use the related notions of “legitimate peripheral participation” and “situ-ated learning” to explain the way in which learners gradually move from the margins of a group, approximating to its core and associate this movement with learning.

This can be connected to the Vygotsky’s (1962, 1978) related notions of “zones of proximal development” and “scaffolding” as a means of describing and theorizing these movements through the community of practice, where learning is linked to the facilitative practices associated with working with colleagues, peers, and tutors. The online discussions that take place in PBL contexts could be explained as zones of proximal development (ZPD) representing the extent to which a learner can acquire skills and knowledge, given the support of a more knowledgeable peer. Thus, for each learner and over a period of time, a mutual support climate is developed as the learner’s cognitive development is shifted via a process of negotiation through peer dialogue. The ZPD tends to be variable, based on the context of each problem and the extent to which each student possesses the skills, knowledge, and attitude to support peers or be supported. In a further link to Lave and Wenger’s communities of practice, Baron and Misovich (1993) claim that the Vygotskian ideal of the ZPD can be extended to encompass a group-mediated “zone of proximal change.” For Jane, an early online experience appeared to provide her with a learning opportunity within her zone of proximal development:

Jane’s experience also demonstrates a characteristic of the kind of learning that Lave and Wenger posit; that it is not necessarily a narrow cognitive notion of learning or the simple acquisition of skills. It can relate to individual affective learning and be extended into a form of collective learning which becomes embedded in situated social relationships of coparticipation. The fact that they are organizing around some particular area of knowledge and activity gives members a sense of joint enterprise and identity. For a community of practice to function it needs to generate and appropriate a shared repertoire of ideas, commitments, and memories. It also needs to develop various resources such as tools, documents, routines, vocabulary, and symbols that in some way carry the accumulated knowledge of the community.

Consistent with this view, the analysis of the data suggested that by taking part in the joint activities involved in online distributed dPBL, individual members of the group were, by varying degrees, inducted into certain “ways of knowing,” taking over and making their own, the values, skills, and knowledge that are enacted in the process. Jane, in describing her gradual engagement and involvement with the online group, displays some of the characteristics of Lave and Wenger’s related notions of legitimate peripheral participation and situated learning as she gradually appeared to move from the margins of the group. The following comment is apposite:

Some evidence of an emerging community of practice was found in the research but analysis of the findings suggested the need for a detailed analysis of the play that appeared to exist between individual group members and the cultural characteristics of the online learning group.

The growth of interest in online learning is closely connected to the need for teachers to understand the nature of and potential for changes in identity across diverse sites and contexts. Students enrolling for our online module can be acutely aware of their professional identity and practice styles both in terms of their enthusiasm to engage in continuing professional development and as practitioners who possess several years of teaching experience. However, notions of online identity, particularly to those who are relatively new to contemporary modes of electronic communications media, appear to be reflectively underdeveloped and theorized only in limited forms. Turkle (1997) suggests that online identity is often different to “real life” identity, and is likely to change according to the context of the online experience.

The phenomenological approach taken by Heidegger (1962) argues that experience takes the form of ‘being thrown into the world’ and then “being in the world” (“dasein”). In this respect our existence is constituted by what is “ready to hand” (i.e., we identify the artist in his or her world, through the objects, the “tools” that surround him or her, brushes, paints canvases, etc.). So, in the online “world” the being or identity of the online learner might be constituted, perhaps, through and by such things as the features of the computer software or the use of the mouse. In other words, being is situated, in this case in the “world” of the online learning group, and will vary according to all the “worlds,” which the individual inhabits. So, for example, Roy, who was confident in the online environment in general, had some reticence about using the discussion boards.

Therefore, the research suggests that different senses of “being in the world” of the online learning group can have influence on the appropriation and reconstruction by each individual of the resources that exist within their online culture and in the formation of their online identities.

The findings of the research were enriched through an examination of the way in which new experiences, in the form of unforeseen problems and issues, influenced the partici-pants’ willingness and ability to collaborate to discover effective and imaginative responses in the dPBL context. Evidence suggested that generally solutions that potentially embody new skills, approaches, and understandings are developed and these, in turn, are carried forward to other situations, appropriated by different individuals, and passed onto the online culture at large. Alison’s experience of partici-pating in the online learning group provides evidence of this:

Clearly, in addition to the development of new skills, approaches, and understandings, the online experience appeared to be very motivating and valuable in enhancing feelings of well-being and self-esteem, contributing substantially to the development of her identity online. Jane appeared to have a similar kind of experience:

These findings appear to offer a valuable and positive critical appraisal of the role of PBL in supporting adult post graduate learners in their online study and in helping to establish positive and assured identity in the online environment.

The data provided some evidence of an emerging online culture within the dPBL context, with individual group members being actively involved in the formation of this culture and not simply responding to pressures of cultural conformity. The work of Woods (1983) that examines various modes of adaptation that operate within the face-to-face interactive dynamics of group learning situations in class-room settings can be applied to the learning behavior of the online group. This research also demonstrates that while group pressures on individual conformity are substantial, identity is often strongly resistant to general patterns of conformity. In his research Woods discovered a range of responses that ranged from the positive adaptations of ingratiation, compliance, opportunism, and ritualism, to the negative adaptations of retreatism, colonization, intransigence, and rebellion. In their analysis of human behavior in the “online subculture,” Wheeler and Nistor (2003) argue that “The subculture of cyberspace and online learning is still emerging and shifting as individuals impose rules, protocols, and social mores existing within cyberculture” (p. 128). They identify a number of behaviors that can be seen to characterize the online subculture and which can be seen to have a similar character to those identified by Woods in his research. These include aggressive behavior such as flaming, intrusive behavior such as spamming, and behavior such as netiquette, and the use of emoticons which, they argue, can compensate for the anonymity that can be experienced in cyberspace. In line with the work of Woods, there is a sense in which these behaviors can be seen as modes of adaptation to the learning requirements of the online subculture. The current research suggests ways in which the existence of such behaviors might influence the emergence of new and different cultural configurations but also offer contexts in which individual identity can be expressed in different ways.

There is a sense, therefore, in which the work of Bourdieu (1977) is relevant here. Bourdieu suggests that the space that we inhabit at any given time—literally, our “habitus”—will be imbued with specific cultural characteristics. These characteristics become constitutive of our identities and give meaning to our lives and as we move from one habitus to another, they provide us with our “cultural capital,” the potential that we possess to “invest” in the new habitus. Crucially, if for any reason the cultural capital that the individual possesses is limited, Bourdieu argues, the new habitus will apply “symbolic violence,” both intentionally and unintentionally, on the individual to conform to the cultural characteristics of the group. Clearly, group members possessed highly diverse forms of cultural capital. It is clear that some of the participants felt unsure about entering this new habitus, unsure of their own cultural capital and implicitly acceding to the symbolic violence imposed on by their entry into this new cyberspace. One participant, Gary, described feelings of reticence about an early online experience:

There is certainly evidence here that suggests that those who were previously habituated within online cultures of various kinds changed less than those who were new to such cultures. Jane, for example, who identified herself as “an ICT sort of person,” experienced similar reservations at the beginning of the course but seemed confident and prepared to become involved and to assert herself in the online learning context. The members of the online group seem to experience different levels of habituation, largely in relation to their prior experiences of information and communication technologies.

Phenomenological and social constructivist research suggests that action can be mediated or critically influenced by cultural tools. So with Heidegger we see that the artifacts that might be “ready to hand” within a given context, have an influence on the existence and identification of the individual. What Foucault (2002) refers to as “technologies of self” are cultural and material means by which identities and meanings are constituted. Evidence from the research supports the view that artifacts and social practices within the online culture appear to influence and be influenced by those who operate within it. So Roy, for example, talked about the way in which he chose to adapt the dPBL materials to suit his own study purposes:

By contrast, when talking about video confer-encing and telephone support networks, Gordon seemed less positive and willing to adapt to perceived technological constraints:

There are clearly a number of possible affordances and constraints that exist within the use of and identification with the technological supports that are available to and integrated within the cultural settings of online learning. This technology does not appear to be neutral and is perceived and therefore constituted in different ways by different members of the group.

Although a substantial amount of individual and occasionally idiosyncratic behavior was evident in the behavior of the online group, the early analysis of the research findings suggests that the activities of the group appear to influ-ence the formation cultural identity. The respondents commented the “supportive” nature of the group and the willingness of group members to “communicate and to exchange ideas.” Inevitably, some felt that face-to-face contact would have engendered a greater sense of belonging and group identity, but there was an overall feeling that the participants were aware of belonging to a tangible and interactive online group. Evidence from the responses also suggested that group members were aware that the norms, values and affective dispositions of the various group members worked to constitute conformity and to regulate patterns of behavior within the group.

An examination of the research data relating to the activities of the online learning group, assisted in gaining an understanding of the emerging relationships within the group. Further this also enabled a consideration of Foucault’s idea (2002) that at each “site” or social or cultural context, new or changed identities and meanings are formed. Also, Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence has been of value in helping to theorise and explain the way in which online cultures compare with those identified in face-to-face, interactive settings. In positing the existence of cybernetic organisms, “cyborgs,” hybrids of organisms and machines, Haraway (1991) is clearly asserting that the formation of online identities in cyberspace takes place in quite different ways, that the technology is, in part, constitutive of the identities that are formed by the online experiences.

Also of interest in this respect is Baudrillard’s (1983) reworking of McLuhan’s famous expression “the medium is the message.” Baudrillard contends that our understanding of virtual worlds is in part premised on the “precession of simulacra,” whereby the “map” that we possess of the teaching and learning that takes place in an online learning environment actually precedes an engagement with the territory itself. There way many instances in the research where the participants preconceptions and prior understandings of online learning, their maps, influenced the way in which they entered and progressed through the online “territory.” Jane talked about “Going back to studying after so many years of not reading anything with a reading age over 16 basically ... I haven’t read anything like this for years ... I just had this feeling I wouldn’t be able to do it.” Graham presented misgivings about the lack of informal online contact and its effect on the learning community: “It is what is lost off shot, the signs . it is the loss of bumping into people before a meeting and you have talked over coffee and all the off agenda stuff which gives you a better feel for who the person is.” It was interesting to note, therefore, that for many of the participants they were unable to fully enter the online learning environment without being influenced by prior experiences, feelings and preconceptions of that environment. Roy explained why he “didn’t do a lot of on-lining” because he felt “secretive perhaps . nervous I think . lack self confidence.” Again it is clear that prior involvement with ICT is also an important factor of influence.

The research consolidated the view that all interactions between people involve using, adapting, and mastering cultural tools. In Fou-cault’s exposition of the discursive regulation of practices these are the material or linguistic “technologies of self” that construct meaning and identity in particular ways. In Heidegger’s phenomenology these are the items that are “ready to hand” that are seen to be crucial in the constitution of being and existence. For Haraway they might be literal or metaphorical prosthetics, which contribute to the processes of identification in cyberspace. For Bourdieu they are the features of cultural capital that serve to exert symbolic violence on inhabitants of cultural groups.

Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) (Wells, 2000; Wells & Claxton, 2002) asserts that habits of mind are being displayed, conveyed and modified, often without any deliberate intention or conscious awareness. These appear to operate in similar ways to what Foucault refers to as “regimes of truth.” For Vygotsky, the development of “higher mental functions” occurs through the use of culturally created semiotic tools, “interpsychologically,” in activities undertaken with other members of the culture within a zone of proximal development. Evidence from the research suggested that the online learning group had some influence on the goals, values, and practices of the partici-pants; there appeared to be social and cultural dynamics that exerted pressure on them to change in certain ways. However, a question remained as to the extent to which the individual agency of the participants was reconciled with the strong emphasis on socialization and enculturation that is a feature of the sociocul-tural theories being considered here. Evidence has already been cited which suggests that, on occasions, participants resisted group pressures and adapted to the online group learning experience in their own ways.

Further, sociocultural perspectives, such as CHAT, suggest that all human activity is inherently social and imbued with emotion. However, while this research has discovered evidence that online educational activities do have an influence on the active involvement of students and that a form of community of practice might be seen to exist, a question remains as to whether this can be seen to form part of a consistent and recognizable process of identity formation? As Roy asserted, online learning

The research indicates that there are clearly some interesting insights to be gained from examining the effects of the online dPBL extreme experiences on professional identity, practice style, and the on going dynamics of learning groups. Limited evidence emerged from the research to suggest consistently recognizable effects such as the formation of established online identities or group dynamics. However, there is no doubt that the online experiences led to noticeable changes in terms of levels of self-confidence and the development of skills, and in offering an environment where different kinds of learning could potentially take place.

While Wells and Claxton (2002) point out, “Human societies and their individual members are mutually constitutive” (p. 2), the current research suggests that online learning also displays diversity, idiosyncrasy, and a willingness on the part of participants to resist pressure to conform to certain practices. Consistent with this view, Claxton and Wells (2002) has argued that education should be aiming to prepare learners for a world in which an unpredictable future requires adaptability, initiative, and tolerance of ambiguity and uncertainty. What is at issue, he argues, is the development of “positive learning capabilities and dispositions” rather than domain-specific skills or substantive knowledge. CHAT invites us to explore the social and cultural contexts that support the development and emergence of flexible epistemic mentalities and identities, and emphasises the value of resilience, resourceful-ness and reflective open-mindedness.

For almost all of the students in this small sample, then, online identity is reported to be similar or identical to “real life” identity. However, while certain small changes in identity appear to be detectable in some cases the evidence only allows speculation as to what these may be attributed to. For example, when online, there is evidence that students may “manage their impression” a little more formally than in real-life contexts and this may equally be the result of self-confidence or a lack of the same. Most reported that the mediated learning experience helped them to reflect on their own professional practice and for some may even have challenged their current practices. This effect, however, may be claimed to be as much the result of the discussions and problem-based learning materials as to the medium used to convey them.

Wells and Claxton appear to encourage a consideration of the ways in which, in opera-tional terms, we can break down the structure and agency binary that is often used as a basis for the analysis of group dynamics. This further suggests a complex framework of interaction in which the mutual constitution of individual and group identities can be part of ongoing phenomenological, reflexive and dis-cursive processes. The research has raised questions about the way in which the virtual space of the online learning environment influ-ences the emergence of what Gibson (1984) famously referred to as a matrix or “consensual reality.” The online learning environment does not appear to operate in a technological determinist sense, working as a sophisticated vehicle for communication nor as a collaborative technology. Neither does it appear to form as an active medium in which communication is shaped in regular or consistent ways. However, while this is a relatively small-scale study, it does appear to reveal some interesting features of online communities of practice and in particular online PBL. While displaying the characteristics of various online identities, the participants in the research appeared convinced of the value of their online learning experiences and, as mature professional practitioners, valued the flexibility and potential for adaptability that this kind of online learning affords. Above all the research indicates, first of all, the need for further rigourous theorizing of online teaching and learning practices and, second, the closely related need to fully investigate the value and effectiveness of distributed PBL and its role within postgraduate and continuing professional studies.