Date of Award

5-22-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Pavel Shlossberg

Second Advisor

Dr. Kipp Preble

Abstract

Teaching tolerance and promotion of diversity is an increasingly important aspect of education programs in the United States (Allen, 2011). Student resistance to ideas related to Critical Race Theory has been documented by numerous scholars, and presents significant challenges to teachers of diversity courses (Alexander-Floyd, 2008, Cooks, 2003, Donadey, 2002, Davis & Steyn, 2012, Heinze, 2008, Johnson & Bhatt, 2003). The distance learning environment presents unique challenges to instructors when dealing with student resistance (Ouzts, 2006), and online diversity education programs may benefit from the utilization of a variety of technologies to facilitate dialogue, discussion, and self-reflection among students (Chang & Lim, 2002, Wei, Chen, Kinshuk, 2012). Video conferencing has been implemented in one online Master’s level diversity course. This research attempts to determine if video conferencing is an effective means of generating dialogue, discussion, and self-reflection that aligns with the teaching goals of Critical Race Theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by phone with five students who recently completed the course. A three stage coding process was used to analyze the data collected. The research provided qualitative data related to the students’ experience in the course and perceived learning outcomes. The data indicates that students generally valued the richer dialogue experienced through the video conference, however few activated their video cameras or participated in all of the scheduled calls. Further exploration and quantitative study of video conferences specifically related to their design and implementation and the discussion of race is necessary to address the research question.

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