Abstract
This chapter reports on how midwives self-regulate their learning in an open, online network which was constituted as a massive open online course (MOOC). A validated survey instrument measuring self-regulated learning in MOOCs was distributed as a post-course online survey to 2039 enrolled participants. Two hundred seventeen participants completed the questionnaire, equivalent to a response rate of 11%. This rate is higher than the normal response rate to post-course surveys reported in MOOCs. The analysis identified seven specific factors that influence the ways midwives learn in the MOOC. There is strong evidence that midwives’ approach to networked learning is aligned to their practice, with findings suggesting that the midwives’ learning in the MOOC was characterised through self-reflection and expansive critical thinking. These findings will be of interest to those who plan for and design online, networked learning for health professionals, offering design guidelines; to midwife educators, identifying key learning characteristics of midwives; and to professional bodies, pointing to models for future networked professional learning.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Billett, S. (2001). Learning in the workplace: Strategies for effective practice. Sydney, Australia: Allen and Unwin.
Carroll, C., Booth, A., Papaioannou, D., Sutton, A., & Wong, R. (2009). UK health-care professionals’ experience of online learning techniques: A systematic review of qualitative data. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 29(4), 235–241.
Casey, M., Cooney, A., O’Connell, R., Hegarty, J. M., Brady, A. M., O’Reilly, P., et al. (2016). Nurses’, midwives’ and key stakeholders’ experiences and perceptions on requirements to demonstrate the maintenance of professional competence. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73(3), 653–664.
Collin, K., Van der Heijden, B., & Lewis, P. (2012). Continuing professional development. International Journal of Training and Development, 16(3), 155–163.
Dalsgaard, A. (forthcoming). Learning for continuing professional development in open online learning environments. PhD thesis. Manuscript in preparation. Aalborg: Aalborg University.
Fontana, R., Milligan, C., Littlejohn, A., & Margaryan, A. (2015). Measuring self-regulated learning in the workplace. International Journal of Training and Development, 19(1), 32–52.
Fuller, A., & Unwin, L. (2011). Workplace learning and the organization. In M. Malloch, L. Cairns, K. Evans, & B. N. O’Connor (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of workplace learning (pp. 46–59). London: SAGE.
Goodyear, P., Banks, S., Hodgson, V., & McConnell, D. (2004). Research on networked learning: An overview. In P. Goodyear, S. Banks, V. Hodgson, & D. McConnell (Eds.), Advances in research on networked learning (pp. 1–9). London: Springer.
Gould, D., Papadopoulos, I., & Kelly, D. (2014). Tutors’ opinions of suitability of online learning programmes in continuing professional development for midwives. Nurse Education Today, 34(4), 613–618.
Gresty, K., Skirton, H., & Evenden, A. (2007). Addressing the issue of e-learning and online genetics for health professionals. Nursing & Health Sciences, 9(1), 14–22.
Henson, R. K., & Roberts, J. K. (2006). Use of exploratory factor analysis in published research: Common errors and some comment on improved practice. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 393–416.
Hood, N., Littlejohn, A., & Milligan, C. (2015). Context counts: How learners’ contexts influence learning in a MOOC. Computers & Education, 91, 83–91.
IBM Corporation. (2015). IBM SPSS statistics for windows, version 23.0. Armonk, NY: IBM.
International Confederation of Midwives. (2011). Global standards for midwifery regulation. Retrieved September 25, 2018, from http://www.internationalmidwives.org/assets/uploads/documents/Global%20Standards%20Comptencies%20Tools/English/GLOBAL%20STANDARDS%20FOR%20MIDWIFERY%20REGULATION%20ENG.pdf
Jones, C., & Dirckinck-Holmfield, L. (2009). Analysing networked learning practices: An introduction. In L. Dirckinck-Holmfield, C. Jones, & B. Lindström (Eds.), Analysing networked learning practices in higher education and continuing professional development (pp. 1–27). Bedfordshire, UK: Sense.
Jordan, K. (2014). Initial trends in enrolment and completion of massive open online courses. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(1), 133–160.
Katsikitis, M., McAllister, M., Sharman, R., Raith, L., Faithfull-Byrne, A., & Priaulx, R. (2013). Continuing professional development in nursing in Australia: Current awareness, practice and future directions. Contemporary Nurse, 4(1), 33–45.
Littlejohn, A., & Hood, N. (2018). Reconceptualising learning in the digital age: The [un]democratising potential of MOOCs. Singapore: Springer.
Littlejohn, A., & Milligan, C. (2015). Designing MOOCs for professional learners: Tools and patterns to encourage self-regulated learning. eLearning Papers, 42, article no., 4.
Littlejohn, A., Hood, N., Milligan, C., & Mustain, P. (2016). Learning in MOOCs: Motivations and self-regulated learning in MOOCs. The Internet and Higher Education, 29, 40–48.
Margaryan, A., Bianco, M., & Littlejohn, A. (2015). Instructional quality of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Computers & Education, 80, 77–83.
Milligan, C., Littlejohn, A., & Hood, N. (2016). Learning in MOOCs: A comparison study, Proceedings of the European Stakeholder Summit on experiences and best practices in and around MOOCs (EMOOCS 2016). Retrieved September 25, 2018, from http://emoocs2016.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/proceedings-emoocs2016.pdf
Milligan, C., & Littlejohn, A. (2016). How health professionals regulate their learning in massive open online courses. The Internet and Higher Education, 31, 113–121.
Patterson, J., & Davis, D. (2007). New Zealand midwives and tertiary study. New Zealand College of Midwives Journal, 36, 13–19.
Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A. F., Garcia, T., & McKeachie, W. J. (1991). A manual for the use of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Ann Arbor, MI: National Center for Research to Improve Post Secondary Teaching and Learning.
Radford, A. W., Robles, J., Cataylo, S., Horn, L., Thornton, J., & Whitfield, K. E. (2014). The employer potential of MOOCs: A mixed-methods study of human resource professionals’ thinking on MOOCs. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(5), 1–25.
Sidebotham, M., Dalsgaard, A., Davis, D., & Stewart, S. (2015). The virtual international day of the midwife: A synchronous open online conference for continuing professional development and learning for midwives. International Journal of Childbirth, 5(2), 91–99.
Stewart, S., Sidebotham, M., & Davis, D. (2012a). The virtual international day of the midwife: Social networking for continuing professional development. Nurse Education in Practice, 12(5), 248–252.
Stewart, S., Sidebotham, M., & Davis, D. (2012b). International networking: connecting midwives through social media. International Nursing Review, 59(3), 431–434.
Stirling, C., & Monaghan, J. (2005). Australian rural midwives: Perspectives on continuing professional development. Rural and Remote Health, 5, 1–8.
Wain, A. (2017). Learning through reflection. British Journal of Midwifery, 25(10), 662–666.
Whitehill, J., Williams, J., Lopez, G., Coleman, C., & Reich, J. (2015). Beyond prediction: First steps toward automatic intervention in MOOC student stopout. In O. C. Santos, J. G. Boticario, C. Romero, M. Pechenizkiy, A. Merceron, P. Mitros, J. M. Luna, C. Mihaescu, P. Moreno, A. Hershkovitz, S. Ventura, & M. Desmarais (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th international conference on educational data mining (pp. 171–178). Spain: Madrid.
Zimmerman, B. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, M. Zeidner, & P. Pintrich (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 13–39). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Zimmermann, B. (2001). Theories of self-regulated learning and academic achievements: An overview and analysis. In B. Zimmerman & D. Schunk (Eds.), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 1–37). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dalsgaard, A., Chaudhari, V., Littlejohn, A. (2019). Professional Learning in Open Networks: How Midwives Self-Regulate their Learning in Massive Open Online Courses. In: Littlejohn, A., Jaldemark, J., Vrieling-Teunter, E., Nijland, F. (eds) Networked Professional Learning. Research in Networked Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18030-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18030-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18029-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18030-0
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)