Dr. Heather Olson, Director of Online Teaching and Learning Experience at Florida SouthWestern State College, presented at the QM research conference. The title of the session was “Transforming Online Learning Through Self-Determination Theory.” Olson spoke about gardening and learning from a landscape designer. The prompt: “When did learning feel alive for you?” was used for break out room discussions. Olson noted that relatedness is connection to people and in self-determination theory, connection is important. Olson explained that self-determination theory from psychology and Deci and Ryan is characterized by autonomy, competence, and relatedness:
- Autonomy: ownership of choice
- Competence: growth feedback
- Relatedness: connection and collaboration
Olson spoke about empowering student autonomy with topic choice, format options, tools, and audience. They noted that we can ask:
- What are they passionate or curious about?
- How do they show what they’ve learned?
- Who are they creating the work for?
- What technology or medium do they prefer to use?
Packback was mentioned as a discussion forum and ed tech tool that helps students learn on their own. The connection to audience can be achieved with tools, explained Olson. “How can we promote student growth through feedback?” asked Olson. For this, Olson spoke about rubrics, ungrading focusing on feedback and learning (not points), self-assessment, and revision cycles. Olson shared that Google Slides and other collaborative tools can help with collaboration. The end of the session included discussions of suggestions for self-assessment and revision cycles, resources, and engagement.
