Insights to How the Pedagogical Variation Model may Reduce Attrition Rates and thereby Increase Retention Rates in Online Learning: Pedagogical Leadership for Online Teaching.
Abstract: Many opportunities exist to create learning environments that are conducive in unleashing innovative ideas for problem-solving in the 21st Century. This research paper is based on an understanding that a variety of learning and teaching strategies offer opportunities for both learners and teachers to select the most appropriate approach for creative solutions to increase retention rates, thereby reducing attrition rates. The research reveals that there is still room to consider the two contrasting approaches, namely a constructivist paradigm versus instructivist paradigm in online learning and teaching. Through a leadership paradigm lens, Rogers (2013) recognised that pedagogical leadership for e-moderators, (i.e. online teachers) is paramount to successful e-learning, whether in constructivist or instructivist online learning environments. Garrison’s framework (2011:70) for learning in the 21st century, observes the absence of pedagogical leadership shown in the quote: “the teacher’s scholarly leadership, a legitimate and important authoritative, essential teaching responsibility has been either ignored or downgraded, in online learning environments”. Hence Rogers (2013) addressed this gap regarding the significance of pedagogical leadership in online learning and teaching with her Pedagogical Variation Model (PVM) for online teachers, that is based on e-moderator leadership qualities (Rogers, 2004, 2005/2011) for teaching and learning in asynchronous discussion forums.