Analysis of student activity in web-supported courses as a tool for predicting dropout

Persistence in learning processes is perceived as a central value; therefore, dropouts from studies are a prime concern for educators. This study focuses on the quantitative analysis of data accumulated on 362 students in three academic course website log files in the disciplines of mathematics and statistics, in order to examine whether student activity on course websites may assist in providing early identification of learner dropout from specific courses or from degree track studies in general. It was found in this study that identifying the changes in student activity during the course period could help in detecting at-risk learners in real time, before they actually drop out from the course. Data examination on a monthly basis throughout the semester can enable educators and institutions to flag students that have been identified as having unusual behavior, deviating from the course average. It was found that a large percentage of students (66%) who had been marked as at-risk actually did not finish their courses and/or degree. The presented analysis allows instructors to observe website student usage data during a course, and to locate students who are not using the system as expected. Furthermore, it could enable university decision makers to see the information on a campus level for initiating intervention programs.     

Active learners’ characterization in MOOC forums and their generated knowledge

This study explores and characterizes learners' participation patterns in MOOC forums, as well as the factors that correlate with learners' participation. Educational data mining and learning analytics methods were used to retrieve and analyze the learners' interpersonal interaction data, which had accumulated in the Coursera log files. The content in the forums was categorized based on Henri's criteria and converted into quantitative values that could be compared and visualized. It was found that only 20% of the learners were collaborating in the forums throughout the entire course and were responsible for 50% of the total posts. A portion of them earned the name “Super Active.” The analyses not only demonstrated the volume of activity and its pattern but also revealed the content of the discussions, which helped to highlight the needs and reasons for students' usage of the forums. The content analysis showed intensity in the “Cognitive” and “Discipline” categories. Thus, forum participants benefit from discussions not only socially but disciplinarily and cognitively as well. Furthermore, even though a strong significant correlation was found between the learners’ completion status and their activity in the forums, a group of learners, who did not complete the course, was highly active.     

Course Format and Student Learning Styles: A Comparison of Political Science Courses

ABSTRACT

This study investigates whether differences in learning styles exist between students in online and face-to-face (FTF) sections of political science courses taught by three instructors. Some studies suggest that student preferences regarding online or FTF formats are influenced by their preferred modes of learning. Independent learners, for example, may prefer online courses since they provide individualistic opportunities to study outside of the traditional classroom. This study uses original survey data to assign students one of six learning styles in order to assess whether independent learners are more common in online courses. Our analysis finds no significant differences in independent learners when comparing the two formats. This finding runs counter to studies that argue that independent learners tend to prefer online courses. In fact, the only learning style where we observe a meaningful difference among online and FTF formats is among dependent learners. Contrary to expectation, students enrolled in online versions demonstrated a greater tendency toward dependent modes of learning. Further survey responses suggest that student lifestyle drove course format selection rather than learning style. These findings have important implications for universities that increasingly turn to online courses to address decreasing enrollments and attempt to remedy the high attrition rates associated with those courses.     

Learners’ perceptions of instructional design practice in a situated learning activity

This case study investigated learners’ perceptions of value from participating in a learning activity designed to model professional instructional design practice. Learners developed instructional design products for a corporate client in the context of a classroom-based course. The findings indicate that learners perceived different kinds of value which varied according to the degree of integration of learners’ goals with client’s goals, ranging from (a) co-constituted value (in which learners perceived the value of their participation as being inextricably bound to creation of value to the client) to (b) satisficing value (in which learners engaged with the activity so as to generate value for themselves while providing sufficient or good enough value to the client) to (c) salvage value (in which learners did not participate in the activity in the manner intended, but attempted to salvage some personal value from their participation). A framework relates these learners’ perceptions of value to three main features of such learning activities: what you do, how you do it, and who you are accountable to. The relative worth of these different kinds of value is discussed, and proposals for influencing learner perceptions of value are presented.     

Doing,knowing, caring and feeling: exploring relations between nature-oriented teaching and preschool children's learning

Research has shown that early childhood science education is based on education and care, sometimes stressed as a dichotomy. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the relations between teachers' teaching and children's learning in preschool practice, both in terms of educative processes and nature-oriented content. The ambition is also to develop and present an analysis method that facilitates these investigations. Outdoor nature experiences of preschool children (aged one to three) were video-recorded, transcribed and analysed. The methodology is based on John Dewey's pragmatic philosophy. Here, epistemological move analysis (oriented towards teachers' guiding processes as moves) and substantive learning quality analysis (oriented towards multi-dimensional learning qualities) are developed and used as analysis tools. The analyses show that the relations between teaching and learning processes and nature content are intertwined and include education and care. The teachers guide towards aesthetical, moral, cognitive and physical qualities in learning by challenging, admonishing, instructional, confirming, generative, reorienting and reconstructing moves. The results contribute to nature-oriented teaching practice and nature-oriented preschool research when discussing and investigating teaching and learning processes and nature content.     

Speaking personally—with Shirley M. Davis

abstract

Using data collected from 120 students enrolled in nine sections of an undergraduate technical communication course, this study found a number of statistically significant associations between students' learning styles, as defined by the Index of Learning Styles, and nine measures evaluating both academic performance and student preference. The study also measured student performance in collaborative and self-directed versions of the course, as well as full and summer sessions. Reflective learners were found to be the most successful online learners, excelling in collaborative, as well as self-directed versions of the course. Sequential learners also outperformed global learners. Learning styles were not a significant factor in summer-session courses.     

Learning from Rookie Mistakes: Critical Incidents in Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Science to Teachers

While there is a growing literature focused on doctoral preparation for teaching about science teaching, rarely have recommendations extended to preparation for teaching science content to teachers. We three doctoral students employ self-study as a research methodology to investigate our developing pedagogical content knowledge for teaching science to teachers during a mentored internship in an elementary teacher professional development program. With our mentor, we examine critical incidents in the experience that supported new insights about teaching teachers and about ways in which beginning teacher educators need to develop their existing pedagogical content knowledge for teaching science to students in order to teach science effectively to teachers. We emphasize ways in which doctoral internships can support this learning and how our respective cultures shaped our interactions with and perceptions of teachers as learners.     

Tracing research trends of 21st-century learning skills

Recently, learning technologies have become a pivotal constituent of teaching–learning processes. Contemporary studies indicate that in order to effectively utilize these technologies, instructors and learners alike must master a range of cognitive and socio-emotional competencies, commonly termed “digital literacy competencies” or “21^st century skills.” This study employs a content analysis methodology to trace trends of change in the research of core digital literacy competencies as reflected in the educational academic literature of the past 37 years (1980–2016). Based on well-established frameworks of digital literacy competencies, this research examined seven skills: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical thinking, Information literacy, Problem-solving and Socio-emotional skills. Data were collected through advanced search queries of peer-reviewed publications in the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. Findings reveal that among the examined terms, Communication is the most prominent digital literacy skill, followed by Problem Solving and Collaboration. Furthermore, within the context of Skills, the most prominent terms are Information Literacy and Critical thinking; Technology and Collaboration are least mentioned. Our findings suggest that awareness of digital learning competencies in educational research literature is marginal, implying that educational research seems to lag behind the need to understand the ever-changing digital competencies that instructors and learners need.     

Podcasting in a virtual English for academic purposes course: learner motivation

In this study we explored the effect of podcasting on the motivation of the students in an online English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course at the university level (N?=?179). By using a mixed-method approach, we analyzed the data collected on the learners' impressions about using podcasts as a learning tool. The particular aim of this study was to help learners do research in English in their specific academic field. In their EAP course the learners are expected to study various types of English texts, listen to media and give lectures on their academic findings. The findings of this study revealed that males found podcasting significantly more relevant and attractive than females. Females, on the other hand, were significantly more satisfied with using podcasts in their EAP class. Further, results showed that learners who had no prior experience of podcasts for academic purposes outperformed the learners with medium experience. For further qualitative investigation, several sources were used for data collection including interviews with the learners, the course forums, emails, the class groupblog, podcasts and open-ended questions. Overall podcasting proved highly effective in motivating the students to learn in the online environment.     

A framework for fostering a community of practice: scaffolding learners through an evolving continuum

This paper proposes a framework of an evolving community of practitioners along a simulation, participation, and codetermined interactions continuum. Simulation, participation, and codetermined interactions are three models of learning, which describe how learners can be brought through a scaffolded process within a community experience. The framework also focuses on the processes rather than on the outcomes or products of a community. In this paper, we describe a case study of a group of heads of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools being scaffolded through an experiential workshop to achieve learning outcomes such as ICT‐based project work (as product) and other constructivist dispositions of learning (as processes). The proposed framework is intended to be sufficiently broad so that learners are supported from simulation to codetermined interactions where autonomy of learners’ co‐construction efforts are encouraged and experienced.     

‘Should I use it?’ Assessing the value of online supplemental course materials and their influence on student performance

As a result of the ever-growing list of course technologies and software programs, higher education faculty and administration often debate which new tools are most valuable to students. This article investigates whether the use of an online textbook supplemental program (MindTap®) has a positive influence on student performance. The impact of goal achievement orientations is also discussed and factored into the analysis, as it provides insight into the motivations that drive the usage of online supplemental course materials. Results found that usage of MindTap® is positively predicted by a mastery approach goal orientation. More importantly, it was shown that usage of MindTap® positively predicts student performance, above and beyond the impact of age, gender, SAT score and goal achievement orientation.     

Ghanaian mature students’ motivation to pursue degree programmes through distance education

Mature distance education students in Ghana, like part-time students all over the world, need to be motivated in order to enjoy their studies and succeed in what they do. In order to come up with incentives for such learners to join and complete a course, universities have to be aware of the characteristics and the socio-economic background of this group of learners and use an approach that best suits their needs at any given time. Based on Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci’s self-determination theory, the authors of this article investigate the factors that motivate mature students to engage in distance education and how their motivation is sustained throughout their studies. Using a survey questionnaire, the authors collected data from 210 mature distance education students (106 males and 104 females; aged 30+) of the University of Ghana. Interestingly, some of the authors’ findings depart from the norm in terms of adult learners’ motivations and what extant literature holds as typified in the work of Ryan and Deci. Adult learners more generally are described in the literature as being mainly intrinsically motivated (e.g. by the desire to learn for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, or the feelings of accomplishment it evokes). Interestingly, this survey reveals that mature distance education students who were enrolled in a higher education programme offered by the University of Ghana were mainly extrinsically motivated, giving career development as their top reason for course selection.     

Participatory pedagogy in an open educational course: challenges and opportunities

This article presents an empirical study of an open educational course in an online peer-to-peer university (P2PU). P2PU is a nonprofit organization offering free educational opportunities. Focus is on how peers are part of creating course content in a Web 2.0 environment. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have evolved into two different pedagogical directions: content-based xMOOCs and connectivist cMOOCs. cMOOCs emphasizing learning in networks developed informally, where learners are part of creating course content, resemble P2PU`s vision. We investigated processes of interaction in co-creation of tasks in an open educational course and what opportunities and challenges emerge. We employed template analysis for coding data. We report two different processes of interaction between users and organizers: problem identification and co-creation of tasks. This study contributes to understanding a new model of teaching and learning through scrutinizing participation in an open educational course and explores implications for the learning experience.     

Special Education Aspects of PGCE Courses in University Departments of Education: a survey report

Abstract

This paper will argue that academic programmes which emphasise personal and/or professional growth create a ‘responsibility’ on their part to continue to support learners’ development following graduation.

The paper will present preliminary evidence gathered from recently graduated Master of Business Administration (MBA) learners which reveals that unless support is continued, in time learners will revert back to previous practices of learning and behaviour in the course of their work, thus undoing the benefits that the programme has sought to introduce.     

Learning at home with information and communication technologies

Digitisation and the convergence of computing and telecommunications have led to a range of information and communication technologies (ICT) that have the potential to transform education. ICT are being used by teachers and learners in conventional universities and colleges as well as in tertiary institutions that serve the needs of distance learners, be they home‐based or in some other off‐campus location. They can enable distance learners to receive and interact with educational materials and resources and to engage with teachers and peers in ways that previously may have been impossible. However, the domestic contexts within which home‐based learners undertake their studies are complex and highly varied and these circumstances impact upon the educational process (Kirkwood 1995).

There is a need to examine not only the nature of the relationships between learners and the technologies, but also the social relationships within the domestic setting. It is important for course designers and developers to consider issues of access to ICT ‐ both quantitative and qualitative ‐ in the homes of their target student audience in order to develop a better understanding of their learners. Significant disparities in access exist, both within and between countries, and these can exacerbate existing educational advantages and inequities. Greater awareness of the diverse environments within which home‐based learning takes place should help inform the planning and design of courses and materials that are appropriate for such varied contexts.     

Meeting the challenges of teaching in a different cultural environment – evidence from graduate management schools in Thailand

In this paper we describe the efforts of foreign university teachers in graduate schools in Thailand as they incorporate cultural knowledge into their classroom teaching styles and methodology. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews we have gathered qualitative data on the teachers’ concerns, mindsets and their proposed solutions. We build up our discussion in several stages. We set the scene by discussing the importance of cultural sensitivity in settings where teacher and learners have different cultural backgrounds. We then introduce the concept of cultural intelligence and use this to help us examine the literature on cultural sensitivity in teaching from a new perspective. We then describe the cultural context of teaching in Thailand and offer empirical data from our respondents’ experiences. From our research data we identified five main aspects of Thai culture where teachers felt the need to expand/adapt their existing teaching repertoires. These aspects are: fun/sanuk; hierarchy/kreng jai; authority with a kind heart/jai dee; collectivist group activities; and localized class content. We discuss our findings in relation to cultural adjustments that the teachers sought to make and, in conclusion, link this discussion to our earlier examination of cultural intelligence.     

The learner experience of Curriculum 2000: implications for the reform of 14–19 education in England

In September 2000, new qualifications for 16–19 year olds, known as Curriculum 2000, were introduced in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland with the aim of broadening the advanced level curriculum. It was left to schools, colleges, and their learners, however, to decide how these new qualifications would be used to build learner programmes of study. In this voluntarist context, the views and actions of learners have been an important factor in determining the course of the reforms. This article, which is based primarily on a study of 42 learners in a school/college consortium in the south west of England, provides a chronological account of learner experiences of these reforms during their first 2 years of implementation. The consortium discussed here offered a high‐volume study programme similar in size and content to those being proposed by the Tomlinson Working Group on 14–19 curriculum and qualifications reform in England. Learners found their expanded programmes onerous, due in part to the nature of the new qualifications and in part to the context of their implementation. The article concludes by identifying a number of policy lessons for 14–19 reform arising from this research.