Since 2010, research methodologists have explored various pedagogical approaches to promote students’ active learning experience in mixed methods research (MMR) courses. However, the literature of instructional strategies in teaching MMR online is scarce. Students’ self-directed learning in an online course has encountered multiple challenges such as a feeling of being disconnected and lack of scaffolding in an online environment (Phirangee et al. 2020). The technology-enhanced active learning (TEAL) pedagogy in this study is expected to be effective in teaching mixed methods online with a meaningful combination of instructional technology and active learning within the community of inquiry (CoI) framework.
This study adopted a convergent MMR design to examine the effectiveness of TEAL in promoting students’ cognitive engagement and social connection with peers. Students’ knowledge and skills in MMR were compared quantitatively using paired t-tests. The qualitative data explained how the technology-enhanced online CoI helped with students’ learning of mixed methods. The merged results concluded that a successful online active course requires clear instruction and scaffolding to support students’ self-directed learning, as well as diverse collaborative activities to enhance students’ critical thinking and sense of belonging. This study contributes to the methodology of MMR by providing guidance for effective teaching approaches. It fills an important gap regarding a growing trend in teaching mixed methods online. Most importantly, this study provides strategies of applying TEAL to teach mixed methods. The results may be transferable to online training workshops for teaching MMR.