Interconnecting Cognition, Contact, and Comprehension:
The Influence of Social Presence in a Hybrid-Model Certificate Program

Co-Presenters: Aimee Whiteside, Rhetoric; Joan Hughes, Curriculum & Instruction;
Scott McLeod, Educational Policy and Administration

This presentation describes the research conducted on the School Technology Leadership (STL) graduate-level certificate program at the University of Minnesota. This case study research provides an examination of the interconnection among cognition, contact, and comprehension within an educational program that crosses media boundaries. The STL graduate certificate program is offered in a hybrid format, which combines face-to-face and online learning environments. Our research describes the STL case study to examine the larger issues of social presence and knowledge transfer in hybrid learning environments. It also examines instructor and student perceptions of their roles and responsibilities in a hybrid-model program.

The STL is a cohort-based, hybrid-model certificate program offered through the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development. The program is the nation's first academic program based on the National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS A) and focuses on preparing technology-savvy K-12 school leaders. The students in this program include superintendents, principals, technology coordinators, media specialists, teachers, and other educators.

The STL consists of fifteen courses taught over thirteen months. Each cohort begins the first face-to-face session in July when they complete their first four, one-credit courses. The cohort then transitions online for two terms of coursework, and they return to campus for face-to-face instruction of their final three credits.

The primary research questions discussed in this presentation are as follows:

• What influence does social presence and cohort relationships have on students' sense of connectedness in a hybrid-model learning program?
• What are the instructors' and students' roles and responsibilities in a hybrid learning environment?
• What affects does situating learning within a students’ professional work have on knowledge transfer and on social connectedness?

Our case study research uses content analysis to examine the following artifacts: asynchronous discussion messages within online learning environments, face-to-face observation notes, email and other correspondences, interviews, questionnaire responses, and students' self reflection assignments. These artifacts were coded qualitatively using the NVivo software to explore the larger issues of social presence and knowledge transfer within a graduate-level, hybrid-model certificate program.

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