A qualitative investigation of complex adaptive blended learning systems (CABLS) within rural indigenous communities

• Main Author: Olivera, Brian Kevin
• Other Authors: MacGregor, Cynthia J.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Missouri--Columbia 2023
• Subjects: Kodiak; Alaska
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10355/96998; https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/96998

This qualitative bounded case study examined how emergence (of events, ideas, and innovations) occurred from interactions between stakeholders in Kodiak, Alaska's blended learning program. The study examined two research questions with the interviews to reveal experiences of 45 participants who had been or were within the Kodiak rural schools blended learning program, employing a constant comparative method of analysis to identify themes that cut across the data. The first research question examined emergences the spaces between the six components of the CABLS framework with the implementation of Kodiak's blended learning system. The researcher identified three themes that led to emergence: synchronous interactions, real time proximal problem solving, and collaborative sharing with reciprocal feedback loops. Moreover, the research found that the conditions for emergence happened at the point of intersection where the three themes were simultaneously present. The second research question examined the perception of impact that the blended learning program had on student choices for life after high school. The researcher found that the implementation of blended learning led to extended access to resources, expanded social networks, and increased self-confidence had an impact on the choices students made after high school. Future researchers should consider how blended learning is impacting the population in rural Alaska, and its economic environment. Includes bibliographical references.