OWI Principle 15: OWI/OWL administrators and teachers/tutors should be committed to ongoing research into their programs and courses as well as the very principles in this document.
Effective Practice 15.1: Qualitative studies that investigate the processes of asynchronous and/or synchronous OWI or OWL interactions should be designed and deployed. Such studies might explore student and teacher/tutor behaviors, actions, and relationships within the context of the actual exchanges. Studies might examine participant perceptions of OWI or OWLs (e.g., benefits, challenges, experiences) via interviews with students, teachers/tutors, and administrators.
Effective Practice 15.2: Quantitative studies that investigate student performance in terms of learning outcomes or benchmarks, grades, and course retention should be designed and deployed. From an administrative perspective, return on investment studies also can be deployed to help understand the financial impact (and potential benefits and challenges) of OWI or of an OWL to institutions.
Effective Practice 15.3: Where possible, longitudinal research should be designed and institutionally funded to understand the differing complexities of learning to read and write in digital, online, and distributed online educational settings.
Effective Practice 15.4: OWI and OWL administrators and teachers/tutors should engage actively in the scholarly conversation by sharing research findings at regional and national conferences and through peer-reviewed journals and other academic publications.
Effective Practice 15.5: OWI and OWL administrators and teachers/tutors should share research findings with the general public in suitable venues to assist with setting appropriate expectations for and understanding of OWI and OWLs.
