Mediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: A case of international students in the US

The continuous growth of online learning and its movement towards cross-border and cross-culture education has recently taken a new turn with the epic hype that currently surrounds the development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) (Beattie-Moss, 2013). This development brings to focus the expe...

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Autor principal:	Gulnara Sadykova
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Athabasca University Press 2014
Materias:	online learning international students peer-to-peer learning culture sociocultural framework Special aspects of education LC8-6691
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d7382fe2c9aa48199d407044be2d3d51
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d7382fe2c9aa48199d407044be2d3d512021-12-02T19:20:49ZMediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: A case of international students in the US10.19173/irrodl.v15i3.16291492-3831https://doaj.org/article/d7382fe2c9aa48199d407044be2d3d512014-06-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1629https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831 The continuous growth of online learning and its movement towards cross-border and cross-culture education has recently taken a new turn with the epic hype that currently surrounds the development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) (Beattie-Moss, 2013). This development brings to focus the experiences of international students who take online courses designed and offered within the paradigm of Western pedagogy. Employing a sociocultural theoretical framework (Vygotsky, 1978; Scollon & Scollon, 2001), this paper examines the mediating roles that peers may play in the context of multicultural online learning environments. This two-stage, mixed methods study explored the experiences of 12 international graduate students who took fully online courses in a large research university in the northeastern region of the United States. The data included a survey, online interviews, as well as a case study that took a close look at the experiences of a female student from China. Findings of the study demonstrated that international students that come from diverse native academic backgrounds and cultures may necessitate a close relationship with peers they meet in the US courses. Peers become invaluable mediators of knowledge for international students who seek peer assistance to compensate for the lack of culture-specific knowledge and skills and to satisfy their interest in the host culture. The study suggests that course developers and facilitators should be proactive when assigning group projects and activities so as to enable close peer-to-peer interaction and opportunities for building personal relationships with other class members. Gulnara SadykovaAthabasca University Pressarticleonline learninginternational studentspeer-to-peer learningculturesociocultural frameworkSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691ENInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 15, Iss 3 (2014)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	online learning international students peer-to-peer learning culture sociocultural framework Special aspects of education LC8-6691
spellingShingle	online learning international students peer-to-peer learning culture sociocultural framework Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Gulnara Sadykova Mediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: A case of international students in the US
description	The continuous growth of online learning and its movement towards cross-border and cross-culture education has recently taken a new turn with the epic hype that currently surrounds the development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) (Beattie-Moss, 2013). This development brings to focus the experiences of international students who take online courses designed and offered within the paradigm of Western pedagogy. Employing a sociocultural theoretical framework (Vygotsky, 1978; Scollon & Scollon, 2001), this paper examines the mediating roles that peers may play in the context of multicultural online learning environments. This two-stage, mixed methods study explored the experiences of 12 international graduate students who took fully online courses in a large research university in the northeastern region of the United States. The data included a survey, online interviews, as well as a case study that took a close look at the experiences of a female student from China. Findings of the study demonstrated that international students that come from diverse native academic backgrounds and cultures may necessitate a close relationship with peers they meet in the US courses. Peers become invaluable mediators of knowledge for international students who seek peer assistance to compensate for the lack of culture-specific knowledge and skills and to satisfy their interest in the host culture. The study suggests that course developers and facilitators should be proactive when assigning group projects and activities so as to enable close peer-to-peer interaction and opportunities for building personal relationships with other class members.
format	article
author	Gulnara Sadykova
author_facet	Gulnara Sadykova
author_sort	Gulnara Sadykova
title	Mediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: A case of international students in the US
title_short	Mediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: A case of international students in the US
title_full	Mediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: A case of international students in the US
title_fullStr	Mediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: A case of international students in the US
title_full_unstemmed	Mediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: A case of international students in the US
title_sort	mediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: a case of international students in the us
publisher	Athabasca University Press
publishDate	2014
url	https://doaj.org/article/d7382fe2c9aa48199d407044be2d3d51
work_keys_str_mv	AT gulnarasadykova mediatingknowledgethroughpeertopeerinteractioninamulticulturalonlinelearningenvironmentacaseofinternationalstudentsintheus
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Mediating knowledge through peer-to-peer interaction in a multicultural online learning environment: A case of international students in the US

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