CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN THE EVALUATION OF THE PEDAGOGICAL VARIATION MODEL (PVM): INSIGHTS TO PEDAGOGICAL LEADERSHIP IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

International Researchers have been engaged in collaboration in the evaluation of the Pedagogical Variation Model (PVM, Rogers 2013) for Learning and Teaching. The purpose of this Conference Paper is to explore cultural perspectives relating to online learning and teaching so as to ascertain ways of increasing retention rates by reducing drop-out rates, i.e. attrition. The main research question: "To what extent can a model prescribe what online teachers ought to do in asynchronous learning networks (ALNs) when framed within or by e-moderators' perceptions of their online roles?" became pivotal for the analyses of the pioneering outcomes. Rogers and Aldhafeeri (2014) used the PVM questionnaire, translated from English to Arabic, for distribution in a target population consisting of both undergraduate and postgraduate students from the College of Education in the major areas of Arts and Sciences at Kuwait University. Since males and females are divided into separate classes according to Kuwait University regulations, a stratified sampling technique was employed to ensure that both genders were represented. Therefore, the target population, classified all college of education students, into two strata of classes: male and female. Then a random selection for both the graduate and undergraduate students was implemented. The data was then translated from Arabic into English for analysis of results gathered. The sample population from then collaborative initiative (Rogers and Nichele, 2018) included pre-service teacher undergraduates for the acquisition of professional qualified teacher status implementing Information, Communication Technology (ICT) in the Natural Sciences, Biology and Chemistry at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is significant that as new learning technologies change, so do the ways in which students learn. Implementation of evolving theoretical concepts are an important part in engaging learners. Having been evaluated by both e-moderators in the UK and e-learners in Kuwait, and Brazil, the PVM is a means of relating issues that best suit e-learner environments related to e-moderators' perceptions of their leadership style online. The pace of change is demanding a new kind of 'openness' in exploring insights into knowledge creation, for the benefit of society at large. Hence, creative learning habits in the virtual classroom have the opportunity to take on board the advantages of global interactive communication, thereby enhancing understandings in learning spaces throughout multicultural dimensions.