Transforming student engagement in COVID-19 remote instruction: a research perspective

This paper was developed in response to the article titled, “A design framework for enhancing engagement in student-centered learning: Own it, learn it, share it,” by Eunbae Lee and Michael J. Hannafin (2016). Their work is examined through a research perspective. The authors’ discovery of the lack of a comprehensive framework to guide the design, development, and implementation of student-centered learning prompted them to develop the model. The result advances a three-stage model known as, Own It, Learn It, and Share It. The impact of the model can be understood through the simplicity of the OLSit model by how it affords educators a clear pathway for transforming instructional planning. Given the many uncertainties associated with the “shift to digital” as a result of COVID-19, the OLSit model is very applicable for action research by teachers, student teachers, and teacher educators. A critique of the model is provided along with suggested applications to extend the OLSit research base.

     

Contexts of reading instruction: Implications for literacy skills and kindergarteners’ behavioral engagement

This observational study examined kindergarteners’ (n = 170) exposure to literacy instruction in their classrooms (n = 36), child-by-instruction interactions, and behavioral engagement in relation to literacy skills. Time spent in four instructional contexts was coded according to who managed children's attention (teacher-managed, TM or child-managed, CM), and the content focus (basic skills such as teaching letters and their sounds, or meaning-focused such as discussing a book); children's behavioral engagement and off-task behavior were also coded live five times over the year. Word-reading and phonological awareness skills were assessed in fall and spring. Hierarchical Linear Modeling results indicated that kindergarteners with lower initial skills gained more in word-reading, but not phonological awareness, when they were exposed to relatively more time in TM basic skills instruction. In contrast, more time in CM meaning-focused instruction did not interact with initial skills to predict either outcome. Engagement analyses indicated that students were more likely to be off-task in CM than in TM contexts. Children who spent more time off-task during TM contexts had lower spring scores on both outcomes. Discussion explores the implications of this work for both literacy learning and behavioral engagement in the transition year of kindergarten.     

The role of teacher, student and ICT in enhancing student engagement in multiuser virtual environments

This paper reviews the teaching and learning practices and processes that were adopted in a study that incorporated multi-user virtual environments to support General Paper teaching and learning. The paper discusses the roles of the teacher, student and ICT in facilitating engaged learning. As this project is the first of its kind for the subject in Singapore, the paper seeks to highlight strategies that were adopted or could have been adopted to facilitate the enactment of such teacher and student roles as well as ensure effective deployment of ICT to support engaged learning.     

The role of different levels of multichannel multimodal learning experience delivery in student engagement

Education and Information Technologies - This study aimed to explore the pedagogical dimension of multichannel multimodal learning (MML) and its association with student engagement. Forty-three...     

The multifaith campus: Transforming colleges and universities for spiritual engagement

Dafina Lazarus Stewart, Michael M. Kocet, and Sharon Lobdell explore what college and university campuses would look like if transformed to promote and sustain religious and secular pluralism and interfaith cooperation.     

The role of perceived classroom goal structures,self-efficacy,and engagement in student science achievement

Background: Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the factors related to science achievement. In these studies, the classroom goal structure perceptions, engagement, and self-efficacy of the students have emerged as important factors to be examined in relation to students’ science achievement.

Purpose: This study examines the relationships between classroom goal structure perception variables (motivating tasks, autonomy support, and mastery evaluation), engagement (behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement), self-efficacy, and science achievement.

Sample: The study participants included 744 seventh-grade students from 9 public schools in two districts of Gaziantep in Turkey.

Design and methods: Data were collected through the administration of four instruments: Survey of Classroom Goals Structures, Engagement Questionnaire, Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, and Science Achievement Test. The obtained data were subjected to path analysis to test the proposed model.

Results: Students’ perceptions of classroom goal structures (i.e. motivating tasks, autonomy support, and mastery evaluation) were found to be significant predictors of their self-efficacy. Autonomy support was observed to be positively linked to all aspects of engagement, while motivating tasks were found to be related only to cognitive engagement. In addition, mastery evaluation was shown to be positively linked to engagement variables, except for cognitive engagement, and self-efficacy and engagement (i.e. behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement) were observed to be significant predictors of science achievement. Finally, results revealed reciprocal relations among engagement variables, except for agentic engagement.

Conclusions: Students who perceive mastery goal structures tend to show higher levels of engagement and self-efficacy in science classes. The study found that students who have high self-efficacy and who are behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively engaged are more successful in science classes. Accordingly, it is recommended that science teachers utilize inquiry-based and hands-on science activities in science classes and focus on the personal improvement of the students. Furthermore, it is also recommended that they provide students with opportunities to make their own choices and decisions and to control their own actions in science classes.     

Learning support and academic achievement among Malaysian adolescents: the mediating role of student engagement

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between learning support, student engagement and academic achievement among adolescents. We also examined the extent to which affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement play a mediating role in students’ perceived learning support from parents, teachers and peers, and contribute to their academic achievement. Malaysian adolescents (aged 12–17 years, N = 2359) completed a self-administered questionnaire based on an adapted version of the Student Engagement And Learning Support Scale. Item and factor analyses were performed to ensure appropriate psychometric properties of the scales. Pearson correlation analysis identified the relationship between variables and structural equation modelling was conducted to identify the role of student engagement as a mediator between learning support and academic achievement. The study provides empirical support for the hypothesis that perceptions of learning support influence adolescents’ affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement in school in different ways, which in turn influences their academic achievement. Cognitive engagement seemed to be the best predictor of academic achievement and the strongest mediator for all three types of learning support. Behavioural engagement was negatively associated with academic achievement, and affective engagement did not have a direct relationship with academic achievement, although it contributed indirectly through cognitive and behavioural engagement. The results of this study provide a basis for policy makers to initiate prevention and intervention programs for increasing the quality of parent–child, teacher–student and peer–peer relationships which ultimately could lead to improved academic competence and outcomes.     

Studying and Working: A national study of student finances and student engagement

Tertiary Education and Management - A key determinant of the new relationship between students and universities in Australia is the changing nature of higher education funding arrangements and the...     

Enhancing student motivation and engagement: The effects of a multidimensional intervention

The present study sought to investigate the effects of a multidimensional educational intervention on high school students’ motivation and engagement. The intervention incorporated: (a) multidimensional targets of motivation and engagement, (b) empirically derived intervention methodology, (c) research-based risk and protective factors, (d) established practices that nurture optimal youth development, (e) use of interpersonally skilled staff, and (f) evidence-based programming. Using a pre-/post-treatment/control group design, it was found that the self-complete intervention brought about significant shifts in motivation and engagement. Specifically, findings showed that the treatment group made positive motivation shifts on key dimensions including task management, persistence, anxiety, failure avoidance, and uncertain control. Moreover, against a large weighted external comparison group, the treatment group made positive shifts on valuing, mastery orientation, planning, task management, persistence, failure avoidance, uncertain control, and self-handicapping. Taken together, these findings attest to the potential for multidimensional educational interventions for enhancing students’ motivation and engagement.     

Social capital and home literacy engagement: case studies of low-SES single mothers' access to literacy resources

Drawing on the theory of social capital, this paper explores how difference in mothers' social networks might impact on low‐SES' children's literacy development at home. A cross‐case analysis of the influence of two low‐SES single‐mothers' social networks on their children's home literacy practices suggests that difference in mother's social capital has a disparate impact on their access to literacy resources, their home literacy engagement with their children, and their interaction/connection with school teachers and contributes to their children's differential school literacy achievement. The findings suggest that for low‐SES children to achieve school success, parents must be able to access resources that support their ability to engage in literacy activities that align with those valued in the school. Therefore, there is a need for schools and teachers to provide not only services that allow more networking opportunities but also support to understand school‐literacy practices and expectations for low‐SES families, especially single‐parents who might be more socially isolated.     

The effects of autonomy support on student engagement in peer assessment

Although peer assessment is widely implemented in higher education, not all students are highly engaged in it. To enhance student engagement in peer assessment, we designed and developed a web-based tool, autonomy-supportive peer assessment (ASPA), to support students’ need for autonomy when they conducted peer assessment. Students’ sense of autonomy, and their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement in peer assessment were examined via interviews and surveys. We also examined students’ academic performances, including their improvement from initial to revised essays and the quality of feedback they provided. Survey results indicated that the ASPA group (1) experienced a slightly higher sense of autonomy than the non-ASPA group, and (2) spent much more time on each evaluation criterion than the non-ASPA group. Interviews suggested that both the ASPA and non-ASPA groups were engaged in peer assessment. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in behavioral, emotional, cognitive engagement, and academic performances.     

Expectancy violation and student rating of instruction

This study examined whether violations that are incongruent with student expectations are significantly different than congruent violations of expectancy in relation to student ratings of instruction. Analysis using the Scheffe' post ANOVA test revealed that college students having high expectations/high experiences evaluated teachers more favorably than students with low expectations/high experiences, low expectations/low experiences and high expectations/low experiences. Reasons why these findings did not coincide with the expectancy violation model are offered.     

A study of the relationship among type and quality of implementation of science teaching strategy,student formal reasoning ability,and student engagement

The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between the type and quality of science teaching strategy and student engagement. Teachers and their students in middle and high schools were observed on ten occasions. A total of 60 observations were made of all teachers and ten of each of their students. During each observation period, the type and quality of implementation of teaching strategy was identified and student engagement was rated. Data collected were examined by regression analyses. The results indicated that the type and quality of implementation of teaching strategies did significantly and positively relate to student engagement. Analyzed individually, the type of teaching strategy predicted 12 per cent of the variance in engagement, while the quality of teaching strategy predicted 35 per cent. Overall, the type and quality of teaching strategy predicted 37 per cent of the variance in engagement. The data also showed that the more indirect the teaching strategy, the greater the students' involvement in learning tasks.     

Undergraduate physics instruction and critical thinking ability. The effects of instruction in physics upon the critical thinking ability of undergraduate students

Do PSSC materials used with undergraduates lead to better scores on a critical thinking appraisal test? Is the increment greater than conventional instruction yields?     

Causes and consequences of student evaluation of instruction

Student evaluation of course quality was examined as an intervening variable in a path model with seven input variables and the following two output variables: (1) whether students would recommend the course to others, and (2) students' plans to take more courses in the discipline. Student evaluation of the lecturer was the most powerful input variable for the intervening variable course rating. Class format, defined as lecture or lecture with small groups, did not affect course ratingper se but did relate to students' attitudes toward taking more courses in the discipline. Lecturer and textbook evaluation had significant independent effects on whether the student would recommend the course to others. The major implication for university departments is that quality of instruction in introductory courses has impact on future enrollment plans.