Participatory Culture in a Hybrid Learning Environment

Purpose of the Study: This study highlights the perspectives of graduate students and their professor in a hybrid educational technology course. The study explores what constitutes meaningful hybrid learning experiences through students' collaboration with their peers online, how their online activities are bridged with the face-to-face classroom, and how these learning experiences allow students to connect their learning experiences to their personal and professional growth as educators. The study investigates how, if at all, a hybrid course lends itself to what Henry Jenkins, et al. (2006) coined "a participatory culture" a learning community in which members are encouraged to take risks, believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another. Procedure: The data collection procedures relied upon a mixed-methods approach which included the use of pre and post course surveys, field notes, journal entries, recorded and transcribed interviews with focal students and focus group meetings, recorded and transcribed interviews with the professor of the course, and student artifacts such as screen captures of student work submitted in the course learning management system (LMS). Findings: The analysis of findings revealed the development of a participatory culture within the hybrid educational technology course was based on a number of interrelated factors: the professor's design of the course, the students' engagement with the content and interactions with peers both online and face-to-face, and the negotiation and tensions between the professor's objectives and expectations and the students' desired experiences. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that creation of a hybrid course is a complex process that, even for an experienced teacher, does not equal immediate success. The development of a participatory culture in a graduate level hybrid course requires pedagogical choices that consider students' prior experiences, their need for dialogue and collaboration, and the ability to apply what they are learning to their praxis as educators.