| The purpose of this research is to present variations in students' conceptions of an online graduate learning experience. There is much literature, using quantitative methods, that deals with student achievement and the level of interaction between the professor and students in the online learning environment. Studied equally well is the quality of learning in the classroom and how students report variations in their learning from the in-class perspective. Very few studies have examined variations of experience reported by students in the online learning environment. A thorough understanding of how students conceive of, or come to understand the online learning environment, is essential to the design, delivery, and success of online programs. Understanding the variations in conceptions allows for powerful approaches to teaching.;This research used phenomenography as a methodological approach to reveal the variations in students' conceptions of an online learning program. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for each individual participant. Phenomenography is based on a second-order non-dualist epistemology, and was originally described as a research method by Marton in the early 1980s at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Marton and his research group posited a distinct definition of phenomenography: "The empirical study of the limited number of qualitatively different ways in which various phenomena in, and aspects of, the world around us are experienced, conceptualized, understood, perceived and apprehended" (Marton, 1984). This method was used to determine if particular categories of conceptions of learning exist in the online environment, and if the categories or variations of conceptions exhibit a relationship. Results indicated a hierarchically organized and logically related set of learning conceptions for the online learning program experience.;Results indicated that there are five distinct categories of conceptions for this sample. The first two categories, Stifled Learning and Convenience and Flexibility, are conceptions that related to the organization of the program, technology, etc. The third through the fifth categories represent a continuum of personal experience. These results are intended to facilitate curriculum design and pedagogy/andragogy that encourages students to achieve levels of learning consistent with those found at the highest level in Dalhlin's (1999) hierarchy. A discussion of the relationship to current constructivist learning theory and implications for online learning communities concludes this work. |
