Article
The Formation of Online Wisdom Communities amongst Ministerial Students: A Quantitative Case Study
Journal of Adult Theological Education [17407141]
(2013)
Abstract
Online and hybrid programs are becoming more commonplace in graduate theological education, yet few studies have examined the formation wisdom communities within a mixed internet-based and face-to-face learning environment. In North America, the ‘suitability of distance learning has raged long and loud’ (Hockridge, 2011, 4). Hence in this article we seek to explore the formation of online wisdom communities within a hybrid theological program for doctoral students studying preaching. Using Rovai's (2002) classroom community scale, we measured participants’ sense of community in the preaching program. As the findings indicate, the participants did experience community and felt a sense of cohesion, trust, and interdependence as well as deriving educational benefits from their interactions with others. We therefore confirm the validity of such a program and call for further research to be carried out in this field.
Keywords
- adult learners,
- community,
- communities of practice,
- elearning,
- online wisdom community,
- theological education
Disciplines
Publication Date
2013
DOI
10.1179/1740714114Z.00000000018
Citation Information
Evelyn Isaac-Savage and Michael David Porterfield. "The Formation of Online Wisdom Communities amongst Ministerial Students: A Quantitative Case Study" Journal of Adult Theological Education [17407141] (2013) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/evelyn-isaac-savage/17/