From Pedagogy to Technagogy in Social

Work Education: A Constructivist Approach

to Instructional Design in an Online,
Competency-Based Child Welfare Practice Course
Gerard Bellefeuille
University of Northern British Columbia

Robert R. Martin
eLearnerWorks.com

Martin Paul Buck

Camosun College

ABSTRACT: This article documents the design and pilot delivery of a computermediated, competency-based child welfare practice course founded on constructivist
instructional principles. It was created in 2003 as part of the University of Northern
British Columbia (UNBC) Social Work programs child welfare specialization stream.
Offered to learners via the internet using web-based tools and resources, the course
expanded access to the child welfare specialization option for social work students
studying at UNBCs three rural regional campuses. The article examines emerging
teaching and learning options across four components of online course development and
delivery. The background of the specialization stream in the social work program is
reviewed, constructivist instructional design theory is summarized, and a rationale for
adopting this approach is discussed. This is followed by a brief report on the findings of
the formative evaluation of the pilot delivery. Finally, the evolving underpinnings of
online instruction are considered, including shifts in the roles of learners and instructors
and the role of pedagogy in an evolving educational paradigm.
KEY WORDS: constructivism; e-learning; online; child protection; technagogy; child
welfare; social work education.

Correspondence should be directed to Robert R. Martin, FTR and Associates/

eLearnerWorks, 1236 Faithful Street, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8V 2R8; e-mail:
rrmartin@shaw.ca.
Child & Youth Care Forum, 34(5), October 2005
2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

DOI: 10.1007/s10566-005-5909-2

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The creation of the province of British Columbias Child Welfare

Specialization Stream was the result of a special funding initiative
between several BC post-secondary institutions and the provincial
Ministry for Children and Family Development (MCFD) responsible
for child protection services. The course reviewed in this article was
created in response to the recommendations in the 1995 report of the
Gove Inquiry Into Child Protection. This review was mandated to
examine causal factors in the death of Mathew John Vaudreuil, a child
in care, and to recommend remedial actions to prevent similar
tragedies from occurring in the future. The Gove Inquiry reported that
MCFD training for child protection workers was inadequate and
recommended that measures be taken to strengthen the provinces
Bachelor of Social Work and other relevant human services degree
programs in the specialized area of child protection practice (Gove,
1995).
As part of the partnership initiative, a consortium of BC schools of
social work and child and youth care agreed to develop a competencybased curriculum. The challenge was to satisfy the ministrys needs
for competency-ready workers while maintaining the Schools antioppressive critical learning stancea key accreditation standardfor
the students. This stance is rooted in the conviction that many traditional practice strategies actually contribute to oppression in society
and that many forms of social work education actually mask the
oppressions that need to be challenged.
The integration of an online competency-based child welfare practice
course into the UNBC social work program generated considerable
discussion. The epistemological underpinnings of the instructional
design, the technology-mediated learning environment, and content in
a child welfare specialization stream within a structural approach to
social work education all generated vigorous academic debate within
the department.

Epistemology, Instructional Design, and Computer-Mediated

Learning
Constructivist epistemology is based on the assumption that reality
is not an external absolute, but a composite constructed from the
knowers mental activity and previous base of experience. Proponents
of constructivist educational theory argue that humans assemble
their own individualized versions of reality in an attempt to know and
make sense of their world (Duffy & Jonassen, 1992; Ricks, 2002;
Woolfolk, 1993). A 2004 edition of the E-Learning Guilds online

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journal describes the impact of this perspective on approaches to

instructional design for online courses:
The constructivist view is that learning is an active process of constructing knowledge, where the learners are doing the construction.
Learning is not acquisition of knowledge. Learning is a change in
meaning, ideas, or concepts, constructed from prior knowledge and
experience. The instructors job is not to instruct as such, but to support the construction process, mainly by creating an environment in
which the construction can take place. Technology, especially computer
technology and the Web, offers many resources that have proven successful over the last two decades as supplements to constructivist practices in the classroom, in adult education, and in distance learning.

Constructivist reality is based in ones own interpretation of what

exists, obtained through reasoning about ones personal experiences,
beliefs, and perspectives. Knowledge and reality do not have an
objective or absolute value or, at the very least, we have no way of
knowing this reality. Our way of knowing continues to be transformed
by our learning.
Mezirow (1991) argues that transformative learning begins when
we encounter experiences, often in an emotionally charged situation,
that fail to fit our expectations and consequently lack meaning for us,
or we encounter an anomaly that cannot be given coherence either by
learning within existing schemes or by learning new schemes (p. 94).
A case study presentation followed by reflective online discussion and
journaling can be an effective way of constructing new meaning. He
goes on to state,
Reflection is involved in problem solving, problem posing and transformation of meaning schemes and perspectives. We may reflect on the
content of a problem, the process of our problem solving or the premise
upon which the problem is predicated. Content and process reflection
can play a role in thoughtful action by allowing us to assess
consciously what we know about taking the next step in a series of
actions. Premise reflection involves a movement through cognitive
structures guided by the identifying and judging of presuppositions.
Through content and process reflection we can change our meaning
schemes: through premise reflection we can transform our meaning
perspectives. Transformative learning pertains to both the transformation of meaning schemes through content and process reflection, and
the transformation of meaning perspectives through premise reflection.
(p. 117)

Von Glasersfeld (1995) argues that, From the constructivist

perspective, learning is not a stimulus-response phenomenon.
Knowledge is the result of active learning, which is a generative
process. It requires self-regulation and the building of conceptual
structures through reflection and abstraction (p. 14). This means that

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learners constantly relate new information to what they already know

(Jonassen & Mayes, 1993), resulting in the social construction of new
personalized meaning. Because of this integration of prior learning,
constructivist instructional design approaches promote a more openended, cumulative learning experience. Differences in learning styles,
personal values, and cultural variables can be flexibly accommodated
while still staying true to the spirit of course learning outcomes in a
competency-based curriculum.
Computer-mediated instructional design and its web-based interactive options offer environments that, we would argue, are more
inherently constructivist in nature. Many communication tools are
available at a click of the mouse (Dede, 1996; Dodge, 1996; Eastmond
& Ziegahn, 1996). Online learners can take a virtual tour of another
country, gain entry to a virtual seminar with visiting lecturers, or
search libraries around the world from the comfort of their homes or
offices.
As Harasim (1996) states in Computer Networking and Scholarly
Communication in the Twenty-First-Century University, a transformed paradigm accentuates the focus from knowledge transmission
to knowledge building (p. 205). From this philosophical vantage point,
the role of the course instructor shifts from one of knowledge
transmitter to one of a facilitator who provides ample opportunities for
skill and knowledge acquisition through online interaction and
meaning-making. The role of the learner also shifts from a receptor of
knowledge from an expert to one of taking on greater responsibility
for their own learning (Lefrere, 1996). The somewhat cliched expression for this phenomenon, now overused but nonetheless accurate, is
the concept of shifting from the sage on the stage, to the guide on the
side.

Applying Constructivist Principles to Web-Based

Instructional Design
The world wide web was born in 1994 with the introduction of
Mosaic, the first full-featured web browser software program which
went on to become Netscape Navigator. In the process of adapting to
the opportunities made available by the web, colleges and universities
began to shift some of their focus from classroom instruction to the
development and delivery of online and blended courses. Initially,
early adopters in the academic community tended to replicate lecturestyle delivery models online, and the results were sometimes not well
received. Carol Twigg, Executive Director for the Center for Academic

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Transformation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, reported in 2001

that, The vast majority of [on-line] courses are organized in much the
same manner as are their campus counterparts. This is gradually
changing, however, with the evolution of more full-featured learning
management system (LMS) software that allow creation of learning
environments that reflect and enable, to varying degrees, the broader
application of constructivist principles.
The relationship between computer-mediated learning and constructivist instructional design is based on the notion that an expanding
toolbox of electronic product and process options provides students
with enhanced access to information with which to develop knowledge
and skills, do research, and test their personal ideas in a broader
interactive milieu. Online learning includes high-quality interpersonal
interaction (Harasim, Hiltz, Teles, & Turoff, 1995), allowing students to
present and test their growing competence across broader audiences
when freed of place and time constraints. It can also expose them to
opinions of a more diverse group of people in the real world beyond the
classroom, school, and local community, all conditions optimal for constructivist learning (The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1993; Jonassen, Peck, & Wilson, 1999; Reigeluth, 1991; Winograd
& Flores, 1986; Winfield, Mealy, & Scheibel, 1998).
The instructional design framework selected to guide the development of the competency-based child welfare practice course, presented
in Table 1 below, was adapted from the work of several educational
scholars including Collins, Brown, and Newman (1989), Bednar,
Cunningham, Duffy, and Perry (1998), Duffy and Jonassen, (1992),
Lebow, (1993), Woolfolk, (1993), and Willis, (1995). The specific
instructional design principles establish a rich context within which
meaning can be negotiated and ways of understanding can emerge and
evolve (Hannafin, Land, & Oliver, 1999; Lebow, 1993).
Learning management systems allow for activities involving learners, instructors, and online guests to be designed as synchronous (in
real time/at the same time) or asynchronous (in delayed time or not at
the same time) events. An example of a synchronous event would be a
group of learners exchanging dialogue with an instructor in an online
chat room where they interact with one another using text chat or
audio-conferencing features, accessing web pages, or downloaded digital resources to assist the discussion, on a Wednesday evening at 7
p.m. in their local time zone. This might be thought of as an alternative
to a small working group meeting in a breakout room in a face-to-face
learning environment. In the online environment, however, it is possible for a learner working an evening shift to take an hour break to
participate in the online chat and then go back to work having applied

Individuals interpret
and construct meaning
based on their experiences
and evolved beliefs

Assumptions

Instruction personally
relevant to the learner
Help learners
develop skills, attitudes,
and beliefs that support
self-regulationof the
learning process
Context offers balance
and control of learning
environment with
promotion of personal
autonomy
Embed reason for
learning into the
learning activity
Strategically explore
errors

Personal autonomy

Pluralism

Personal relevance

Active engagement

Reflectivity

Generativity

Emphasis on the
affective domain
of learner

Collaboration

Values

Instructional
Design Principles

Direct and
indirect
strategies

Independent

Experiential

Interactive

Instructional
Strategies

Table 1
A Constructivist Instructional Design Framework

Collaborative learning
activities

Multiple perspective
building, and multiple
representations

Scaffolding and
coaching of knowledge
Authentic learning
tasks

Embedding skills and

knowledge in holistic
and realistic contexts

Exemplars of a
Constructivist
Learning Environment

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some of their work-related context of the day to the online interaction.

An example of an asynchronous event would be the same online discussion taking place over a 3-day time frame via threaded email
postings where the instructor and other resource people logging in and
out to read others entries and add their own as time schedules permit
and relevant opinions are formed.
One major advantage of web-based learning is that it allows for selfpaced learning and reflection, two central premises of constructivist
epistemology. Students can interact at their convenience and have the
flexibility to take courses without physically walking into a classroom.
Table 1 illustrates how key variables were integrated across five
foundational areas of course and program design. By drawing on the
strengths of a web-based approach to learning online, constructivist
principles can be applied to curriculum development projects using a
variety of creative strategic approaches.

The Use of WebCT as an E-Learning Platform

The learning management system (LMS) known as Web Course
Tools or WebCT was selected as the e-learning platform. UNBC had a
license for the software, training was available for instructors, and
there was a growing community of peers at other institutions willing
to share what they had leaned. The software was developed in the mid1990s by a team led by Dr. Murray Goldberg at the University of
British Columbia. It contains a variety of course development and
delivery features including communication tools such as the bulletin
board (now called discussions); private and group e-mail; online chat
which allows learners to send text back and forth in real time;
streaming audio and video file transfers; online activity tools such as
quizzes, short answer assignments, self-tests, surveys, and tools for
organizing course content and developing student presentations using
a web browser.
Students can interact with other students, teachers, and professionals in communities far from their classrooms. The tools can also
provide students access to many different types of online resources
that can help them understand both their own culture and the cultures of other participants. Options for facilitating open dialogue,
focused discussion on key points, and guiding debate between individuals and small working groups or within larger class cohorts enable
a diverse range of learning and teaching strategies. When competently
designed and led by a course instructor who is acquainted with webbased delivery tools and techniques, these activities can be used to

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facilitate individual learners social construction of meaning in new

and different ways. Internet search engines make it possible for
instructors to tailor resources for assignments and learning activities
to quickly adapt to diverse cultures, belief systems, and learning
styles. Group learning exercises integrate the experiential bases of
participants with personal interest areas, providing high levels of
motivation when combined with fast access to a world of information.
A side benefit has been the requirement that learners expeditiously
develop a set of critical evaluative skills to assess and determine the
worth of the many resources they can tap into online. While this skill
set can be challenging to acquire, it is fast becoming a basic literacy
item in the learners toolbox for the digital age.

The Instructional Design of a Competency-Based Child

Welfare Practice Online Course
Initially a traditional instructional design template was used to
break down the course into twelve separate but related online learning
modules. A literature review was conducted to identify the main
knowledge domains of child welfare practice. British Columbias
Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) had created a
comprehensive list of core competencies for effective child protection
practice. Once the main knowledge domains were established, these
competencies were reviewed and functionally integrated among the
twelve learning modules illustrated in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1
Online Learning Modules and Main Child Welfare Practice
Knowledge Domains

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WebCT Course Management and Communication Tools

The competency-based (demonstrate that you can follow the rules)
focus of the child welfare practice course, combined with the structural
perspective (critically thinking outside of the box) of the Social Work
program, presented a considerable challenge to the instructional
design team. Following the principle that learners should progress at
their own pace, while at the same time maintaining some degree of
group cohesion, learners were given one week to work through each
separate learning module. Individual learning styles, life situations,
and approaches to completing required components resulted in a
diverse range of routes to learning.
Each module focused on mastery of specific competencies based on
a particular knowledge domain. The emphasis was as much on
process as on arriving at the right answers, although correct answers were provided along with feedback on incorrect choices, in
content areas where a right/wrong conclusion was required.
Preferred answers were provided as feedback to the learners following their completion of other assignments where there was more
than one correct solution or where personal initiative to go another
step could enhance their knowledge and skill acquisition in the
competency area. The majority of participants were practitioners
with previous experience in human services work environments.
The constructivist approach enabled them to draw on the richness
of that experience and develop a shared pool of knowledge and skill
as they completed exercises and assignments with others in their
learning community. Learners were required to work through a
variety of online activities supported by web-based content from predefined online sites. The activities were accessed and supported by a
range of WebCT tools illustrated in Figure 2.
Instructional Format
Each learning module followed the same instructional sequence,
shown in Figure 3, to make it easier for learners to navigate through the
course content and develop confidence with the online learning process.
Course Home Page
The click to enter icons illustrated on the course home page in
Figure 4 provided easy and immediate access to the organizing
components of the online classroom. These included course modules, a

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Figure 2
WebCT Course Management and Communication Tools

Figure 3
Standard Structure of Learning Modules

course outline, communication and management tools, learner grade

profile, selected resource materials, and a self-help guide. Learners
were shown how to use multiple screens on their desktop by toggling
back and forth from one set of features to another to increase the ease
of moving from one tool to the next.
Instructional Strategies
The learning activities in web-based environments play a fundamental role in determining learning outcomes. They determine how
the learners will engage with the course materials and the kinds of
knowledge construction that will take place (Wild & Quinn, 1997). In
this course design, a mix of constructivist and traditional (objectivist)
instructional strategies were integrated. This blending of strategies
and approaches allowed the course instructor to maintain a flexible

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Figure 4
Home Page Features

but critical learning stance while teaching to the specific child welfare
practice competencies.
The concept of scaffolding is introduced visually in Figure 5.
Scaffolding enables the instructor to draw to a greater extent on
individual experiential storehouses and the willingness of learners to
initiate more independently as their growing knowledge and skills
bases expand. As their confidence and competence in using WebCT
tools and methods grew, instructor options expanded in the online
learning environment. Learners were able to use the knowledge and
skills acquired in previous modules to push the envelope and try
more advanced features in subsequent sections of the course.
Scaffolding
The notion of scaffolding is described by Presseley, Hogan, WhartonMcDonald, and Mistretta, (1996) as an instructional technique
wherein the instructor models the activity in detailed steps, then
gradually shifts the responsibility to complete the task onto the learner. In the contexts of computer-supported teaching and learning,
however, the notion of scaffolding needs to be adjusted. This is
particularly important because the World Wide Web offers new ways
for learners to interact with and within the environment. Parts of the
instructors former role in providing the scaffolding support can be

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Figure 5
Mixed Online Instructional Design Framework

managed by intelligent software agents, the expanding range of tools

available in a contemporary Learning Management System.
Additionally, learner postings in discussion areas from previous
weeks can be revisited, edited, or added to in subsequent weeks. This
written record of the course progression and learner interaction is
not available in the lecture-based face-to-face environment. The
incremental building block approach that it affords is a key strength of
the well-designed online course offering. Another is the capacity to
change directions in midstream via URLs to relevant websites or
immediate downloads of a new piece of policy or legislation, if a particularly salient point opens the path to critical learning in another
important area. In the fourth week of a course, when a discussion
group comes upon a key point that can be foreshadowed as an
upcoming important content area, participants in synchronous
discussions can be taken immediately to the relevant resources and
discussion outlines while the points are still fresh and the conceptual
links established to reinforce the connection between the two areas.
This shifting context allows innovative forms of learner supports
depending on learners knowledge and skill bases and instructor
availability. In the online environment, the challenge is to replicate
the quality learning aspects of verbal communication between an
instructor and a group of learners in a face-to-face classroom and
recreate the value of those activities in a virtual classroom setting.
Constructivist principles posit that knowledge is constructed by a
student rather than taught to the student. The process of knowledge
construction is viewed as deeper than the traditional approach (e.g.,

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the student is more actively engaged in solving meaningful problems).

This transition lends itself to a more learner-centered approach to
attaining learning outcomes. Content review, conceptual debate in
online dialogue venues, and summarization of key learning points by
the facilitator lend themselves well to the activity of scaffolding. The
orientation module illustrated in Figure 6 was constructed for this
purpose wherein students were introduced to the various components
of the course and guided through a series of activities to gain confidence in the online instructional process.
Direct Instruction Strategy
Direct instruction was used to provide guided readings in advance of
interactive group learning activities. It also was used to promote the
acquisition of knowledge and practice skills through repetitive activities (e.g., completion of small tasks to build familiarity with legislation, multiple choice definition quizzes, and word puzzles). See
Figure 7 for an example.
Figure 6
Page 5 of Course Orientation Manual

Figure 7
Example of a Directed Reading Strategy

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Indirect Instruction Strategy

In contrast to direct instruction, indirect instruction is mainly student-centered and seeks a high level of student involvement in
examining, exploring, drawing inferences from data, or forming
hypotheses. It takes advantage of students personal interest, life
experiences, and natural curiosity by encouraging them to generate
alternative solutions. Within this approach the role of the instructor is
one of facilitator, supporter, coach, and resource person (Martin,
1983). Brown and Voltz (2005) elaborate on instructional design
implications for using such strategies:
rich learning activities allow students to learn with computers
rather than from computers. The change in learning context affects
the studentteacher relationship, which becomes a multifaceted
interaction among student, online materials, the broader community of
internet users, and, in many cases, teachers as facilitators and
mentors.

The WebCT discussion board area was used to encourage students to

think and talk about what they have observed, heard, or read. In one
case learners were asked to post responses to the following question:
What are your beliefs about the power of a court with regards to
parents jurisdiction in detaining a pregnant woman against her will
in order to protect her unborn child from conduct that may harm the
child? This is an inferential open-ended question to which there is no
correct answer. It required students to make inferences and encouraged critical thinking about their beliefs and values, the mores and
laws of our time, and the rules of the court.
Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is inductive, learner-centered, activity-oriented, and promotes concept attainment through experiential practice. Instructional scenarios (e.g., case studies) that drew on
participants former work experiences and associated problem-solving
skills were frequently used to promote the use of critical and evaluative thinking. The ambiguous or open-ended nature of the case studies
encourages students to contemplate multiple perspectives in light of
the different stakeholders in the situation. The case studies were
based on familiar, real-life scenarios in the context of northern British
Columbia. Learners were encouraged to share current work experiences and problem-solving strategies in their explorations of the case
studies. For example in Course Module 4, learners were asked to
engage in an online discussion concerning the following case study:

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Tina Brown (age 32), a single mother of Christie (age 5) and Kyle (age
2), is subject to a 6-month supervision order with the condition that
she attend Healthiest Babies Possible Program in Prince George. In
addition, she must attend weekly alcohol and drug counseling sessions
with the PG Alcohol and Drug Services Society. Tina has missed two
sessions and has not yet made contact with Healthiest Babies Possible.
What course of action, if any, would you take? Please explain.

Independent Study
Independent study refers to a set of guided instructional strategies
provided to foster the development of individual learner initiative,
self-reliance, and self-improvement. Each module contains a number of
short answer assignment questions. Learners were required to research
the content area by navigating a series of preassigned hypertext links.
They could choose to work independently, in pairs or groups, by seeking
input into their ideas through the discussion board, or connecting with
others in small group chat sessions. The course included over 150 predefined hypertext links.

Interactive Instruction
Interactive instruction allows for a range of groupings and interactive methods. One such strategy is the use of debates. Debates require
students to engage in research, encourage the development of listening and oratory skills, create an environment where students must
think critically, and provide a method for teachers to assess the
quality of learning of the learners. Debates also provide an opportunity for peer involvement in course evaluation. Throughout the course
learners are encouraged to debate issues from various theoretical
orientations. A second interactive strategy linked students through an
audio file transfer to the story of John Dunn: Life in Foster Care is
Like a Subway Ride. Students are also invited to participate in a
follow-up online chat time with Mr. Dunn.

Grading
In keeping with the instructional design model, a mixed grading
approach was employed. Grading criteria were equally distributed to
assess participation, critical thinking skills, and the ability to provide
correct answers. All criteria were applied to each module using

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multiple discussion board activities, short answer assignment tool

activities, group chat, and a quiz.

Significance of the Formative Evaluation

The purpose of the formative evaluation was to assess the
effectiveness of the computer-mediated learning process in facilitating
learners, meeting the requisite course objectives, and acquiring
related child welfare competencies. The specific objectives of the study
were to (a) evaluate the perceived experience of the students, and (b)
identify which online activities and instructional strategies within and
across modules were considered effective in meeting the learning
needs of the learners. Information was collected online through a
semi-structured combined quantitative and qualitative survey. Two
focus groups were also facilitated to probe into qualitative aspects of
the students online learning experience and solicit feedback regarding
the usefulness of the course in meeting their learning needs.
The results of the evaluation were formulated on the responses of 16
out of 19 learners who completed the online child welfare practice
course. In the area of curriculum content 73% of the learners rated the
materials as either excellent or very good. In regards to online
instructional strategies, 62% of the learners rated the design as
excellent or very good with another 20% rating the instructional
strategies as good. Learners were most varied in their responses in the
area of online learning activities, with 57% rating the activities as
excellent or very good, 24% as good, and 14% as fair. The assignment
tool that directed learners to complete short answers to a series of predefined questions was rated by 45% of the learners as the most helpful
strategy in their online learning process. This was closely followed by
the discussion board at 42%. In addition, 75% of the learners reported
that they received helpful feedback regarding the online activities on a
regular basis.

Summary
The web-based distributed learning environment offers a unique
and enhanced set of options for constructivist instructional design,
taking advantage of human and technology-enhanced content delivery
formats and learning interactions. Learners converse with each
other and the instructor as they do in conventional classrooms, but
they also interact via the structure of the course design with a host of

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other resources independent of time and place constraints with

immediate access to global net links, learning object repositories and
digital libraries, and respected experts in the field.

From Pedagogy to Technology

Given recent advances in information and communication
technologies (ICT), growing numbers of educators are employing constructivist principles in the design of computer-mediated learning
(Blanchette & Kanuka, 1999; Gunawardena, Lowe, & Anderson, 1997;).
Modern ICT options provide interactive environments supportive of
instructional methods required to facilitate constructivist principles.
For this reason, constructivism has become a popular epistemological
position for many educators who are using technology-mediated
learning. This course demonstrated that a web-based constructivist
design could enhance learners interactive experience within a structurally focused social work educational program.
Doubters may still maintain that the networked computer is nonpedagogical technology, only a vehicle for the transmission of
information. We submit that when learners take charge of their
learning in ways that only online environments can make possible, the
instructors use of computer-enhanced interaction and content distribution creates an effective facilitative medium that expands
constructivist learning options. The exponential growth in 20042005
of the open-source LMS Moodle (www.moodle.org) based on a set of
constructivist underpinnings, is one source of supportive evidence.
Learner access to collaborative online tools in a web-based learning
environment enables activities that cannot be duplicated in the
traditional classroom teaching approach.
This requires a transformational shift on the part of the chalk on
the sleeve educator community, beginning with a fundamental
reevaluation of the function of pedagogy in the instructors constructed
understanding of their relationship with learners. A helpful point of
departure is an examination of the original Greek sources of the word
pedagogy, which is derived from two word roots: paed, meaning
children, and agogos, meaning to lead. In ancient Greece, a
pedagogue was a slave who led children to school. Pedagogy was the
act of leading children to school.
While we have great respect for the craft and profession of effective
teaching that many educators equate with pedagogy, we believe it is
timely to reconsider its currency and utility in an evolving educational
arena. Given the recent rapid expansion in the areas of midcareer adult

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and distributed learning, we suggest incorporation of both androgogical

(Knowles, 1984; Tough, 1979) and effective online teaching/learning
concepts (Harasim et al., 1996; Tiffin & Rajasingham, 1995) into a
descriptor which more accurately captures emerging educational
practice.
Returning to the word root approach, another useful concept is that
of technos, from the Greek meaning for skill. We propose the
incorporation of the concept of Technagogy, meaning the skilled
leadership of learners, as a more accurate descriptor for the emerging
role and functional activity of educators in a constructivist, online
paradigm. For human services professionals, adoption of the term
opens doors to productive discussion around learnereducator and
learnerlearner dynamics in the vastly expanded exploratory realm
offered by digital technologies integrated with effective teaching
practice.

References
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Erlbaum Associates.
Blanchette, J., & Kanuka, H. (June, 1999). Applying constructivist learning principles in
the virtual classroom. Proceedings of Ed-Media/Ed-Telecom 99 World Conference.
Seattle, WA.
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