Collaboration, Socialization, and Support: Accountability Partners in an Online Doctoral Learning Environment
Non-traditional doctoral students encounter numerous challenges seeking a doctoral degree in an online learning environment. Non-traditional online doctoral students tend to be working adults who are integrating their online doctoral studies with the existing challenges of work and family. Effective...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Colorado Technical University
2024-03-01
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| Series: | The Pinnacle |
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| Online Access: | https://careered.libguides.com/ctu/journal/thepinnacle/v2n1Weese |
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| _version_ | 1850062996993212416 |
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| author | Susan Weese Rae Denise Madison Valise Godley Tim Cassibry Mistie Measeles Marty Rush |
| author_facet | Susan Weese Rae Denise Madison Valise Godley Tim Cassibry Mistie Measeles Marty Rush |
| author_sort | Susan Weese |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Non-traditional doctoral students encounter numerous challenges seeking a doctoral degree in an online learning environment. Non-traditional online doctoral students tend to be working adults who are integrating their online doctoral studies with the existing challenges of work and family. Effective online accountability partners must work within a framework of virtual mentoring competencies for online doctoral students to successfully collaborate, communicate, and learn together. The qualitative exploratory study explored the experiences of successful online doctoral students at working with accountability partners during their doctoral journey. The research question guiding the study was: How can accountability partner relationships be effective for online doctoral students when almost no face-to-face and in-person interaction takes place? The three themes emerging from the study addressed the online doctoral student's need for (1) collaboration, (2) socialization, and (3) support from their accountability partners. Study participants emphasized the many characteristics of a successful accountability partner relationship, including bidirectional support, feedback, communication, encouragement, cooperation, and collaboration. The study findings aligned with existing literature and illustrated the many challenges faced by online doctoral students that their more traditional student counterparts studying in a more traditional brick-and mortar university environment do not encounter. Numerous practical implications and recommendations resulted from this study. The researchers created the Collaboration, Socialization, and Support (CSS) framework using the thematic analysis of the coded interview results. The CSS framework is a practical model for creating and maintaining successful accountability partner relationship between online doctoral students. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2d4c9a574f394f89a8d162111467bea6 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2994-7502 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Colorado Technical University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Pinnacle |
| spelling | doaj-art-2d4c9a574f394f89a8d162111467bea62025-08-20T02:49:47ZengColorado Technical UniversityThe Pinnacle2994-75022024-03-012110.61643/c30275Collaboration, Socialization, and Support: Accountability Partners in an Online Doctoral Learning EnvironmentSusan Weese0Rae Denise Madison1Valise Godley2Tim Cassibry3Mistie Measeles4Marty Rush5Colorado Technical UniversityColorado Technical UniversityColorado Technical UniversityColorado Technical UniversityColorado Technical UniversityColorado Technical UniversityNon-traditional doctoral students encounter numerous challenges seeking a doctoral degree in an online learning environment. Non-traditional online doctoral students tend to be working adults who are integrating their online doctoral studies with the existing challenges of work and family. Effective online accountability partners must work within a framework of virtual mentoring competencies for online doctoral students to successfully collaborate, communicate, and learn together. The qualitative exploratory study explored the experiences of successful online doctoral students at working with accountability partners during their doctoral journey. The research question guiding the study was: How can accountability partner relationships be effective for online doctoral students when almost no face-to-face and in-person interaction takes place? The three themes emerging from the study addressed the online doctoral student's need for (1) collaboration, (2) socialization, and (3) support from their accountability partners. Study participants emphasized the many characteristics of a successful accountability partner relationship, including bidirectional support, feedback, communication, encouragement, cooperation, and collaboration. The study findings aligned with existing literature and illustrated the many challenges faced by online doctoral students that their more traditional student counterparts studying in a more traditional brick-and mortar university environment do not encounter. Numerous practical implications and recommendations resulted from this study. The researchers created the Collaboration, Socialization, and Support (CSS) framework using the thematic analysis of the coded interview results. The CSS framework is a practical model for creating and maintaining successful accountability partner relationship between online doctoral students. https://careered.libguides.com/ctu/journal/thepinnacle/v2n1Weeseaccountability partnersstudent peer mentoringonline doctoral studentspeer mentoring competenciesonline collaborationonline socializationnontraditional doctoral studentsonline academic support |
| spellingShingle | Susan Weese Rae Denise Madison Valise Godley Tim Cassibry Mistie Measeles Marty Rush Collaboration, Socialization, and Support: Accountability Partners in an Online Doctoral Learning Environment The Pinnacle accountability partners student peer mentoring online doctoral students peer mentoring competencies online collaboration online socialization nontraditional doctoral students online academic support |
| title | Collaboration, Socialization, and Support: Accountability Partners in an Online Doctoral Learning Environment |
| title_full | Collaboration, Socialization, and Support: Accountability Partners in an Online Doctoral Learning Environment |
| title_fullStr | Collaboration, Socialization, and Support: Accountability Partners in an Online Doctoral Learning Environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Collaboration, Socialization, and Support: Accountability Partners in an Online Doctoral Learning Environment |
| title_short | Collaboration, Socialization, and Support: Accountability Partners in an Online Doctoral Learning Environment |
| title_sort | collaboration socialization and support accountability partners in an online doctoral learning environment |
| topic | accountability partners student peer mentoring online doctoral students peer mentoring competencies online collaboration online socialization nontraditional doctoral students online academic support |
| url | https://careered.libguides.com/ctu/journal/thepinnacle/v2n1Weese |
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