Qualitative Methods in Evaluating the Quality of Online Learning Dr Veronica Hendriks United Nations University/Institute of Advanced Studies 53-67 Jingumae 5-chome, Tokyo 150-8304, Japan hendriks@ias.unu.edu Dr Dorit Maor School of Education Murdoch University, Perth W. Australia 6150 dmaor@murdoch.edu.au Abstract: This paper proposes qualitative methods for evaluating the quality and process of online learning. We argue that in order to adequately evaluate and understand how students share multiple perspectives, negotiate meaning and construct new understanding, researchers need to go beyond using routine quantitative methods for their data collection and analysis. Advanced qualitative methods will also enable researchers to understand how students themselves understand the complexities of their online learning experiences. This understanding will in turn enrich our own future online initiatives. Purpose of the Study In this study, we propose appropriate methodologies and tools for evaluating the quality of online learning. Specifically, in proposing these methodologies, our aim is to understand the quality and meaningfulness of the learning experience from the learners’ perspectives. It is now acknowledged that online learning has become an important alternative form of teaching and learning in higher education, affording learners with flexible modes of learning (Haughey, 2001), providing teachers and learners with sophisticated forms of learning technologies (Bonk & Dennen, in press), changing the traditional role of teachers and learners (Thorpe, 2001), and necessitating different ways of evaluation (Gunawardena, 2001; Thorpe, 2001). Given the pervasiveness of online education and its impact on teaching and learning, it has become imperative to assess the quality of teaching and learning online. As reflective practitioners of online education, we believe that evaluation not only serves to enhance our understanding of the way learners learn, but also to help us improve future initiatives. Therefore, not unlike Gunawardena (2001), we are interested in the process of learning and factors affecting learning. Given our research focus and interest, we argue that qualitative methods of inquiry serve as valuable tools that would enable us and other researchers to understand how learners learn, what factors affect their learning process and how meaningful they found their learning experiences to be. In view of this qualitative approach, we propose appropriate methodologies that can capture the complexities of online learning. Motivation for the study During our research work as both a learner and educator of online learning, we participated in rich discourse with our online participants, the majority of whom were science and mathematics teachers. The second author has been engaged in designing and facilitating on-line learning courses using social constructivism as a referent for her teaching. In her courses, she emphasised the importance of student-centred learning and interaction between all students and herself as a key component of the educational experience. Informal feedback that we received from students indicated that this aspect of learning, including the use of computer technology as a means for learning, was new to many of them. Further conversations led us to reflect on our learning and teaching experience, specifically with respect to how students make sense of their learning, what resources they used in order to collaborate and further their arguments, what factors affect their learning, and what is the adequate role of a facilitator in challenging student discourse. An extensive review of literature revealed a glaring lack of evaluation tools in which we can adequately assess the processes of learning and the meaning perspectives of students. This