The production of ‘proper cheating’ in online examinations within technological universities

This paper uses poststructuralist theories of governmentality, agency, consumption and Barry’s (2001) concept of Technological Societies, as a heuristic framework to trace the role of online education technologies in the instantiation of subjectification processes within contemporary Australian universities. This case study of the unintended effects of the adoption and usage of an online educational technology (WebFreedom) for online examinations in an Australian university setting is analysed using poststructuralist theories of governmentality, agency and consumption. The analysis demonstrates how techniques of governing the learning practices of students via online educational technologies intersect with the agentive capacity of students who are relocated as consumers in the higher education marketplace. In particular the paper focuses on the production of unintended localized online examination behaviours resulting in a form of ‘subterranean ethics’ or cheating in online exams. The results from this case study raise critical questions concerning the ways in which both students and tertiary educators are constituted within neoliberal governmental thought, as well as the ways in which students produce themselves in practice as autonomous agents and educational consumers within tertiary education. Suggestions on the focus of future research in the area are discussed.     

Do students space their course study? Those who do earn higher grades.

We examined students’ naturalistic decisions about spacing their study in an undergraduate course (N = 185) and whether self-selected spacing predicted course performance. Usage of two study tools – an online textbook and quiz tool – was recorded daily. We operationalized spacing as how often the tools were used and the timing of their use relative to exams. We found that students increased their study near deadlines and exams, used the textbook more often than the quiz tool, and used the tools infrequently when they were optional (vs. required). Importantly, spaced retrieval practice (via quiz tool) predicted course performance and GPA, whereas spaced reading (via textbook) was a weaker predictor. That is, when students opted for more frequent and early quizzing, they earned higher grades, even controlling for time spent quizzing. Thus, self-selected spaced study – especially spaced retrieval practice – supports student achievement.     

Using wikis to promote quality learning in teacher training

This paper discusses writing as a social practice and speculates on how wikis might be used to promote higher quality academic writing and support collaborative learning. This study of undergraduate teacher trainees’ online learning activities focuses on how shared spaces – wikis – might be used to communicate ideas and generate course‐specific content. The study also explored how students, through such activities, were able to improve their academic writing skills and engage more critically in learning. Data captured from student discussion boards and a post‐module email questionnaire (n = 35) were used to map student perceptions of the usefulness of wikis in support of their academic studies. The data indicate that most students raised their skill level in writing directly to the publicly viewable wiki space, in sharp contrast to the more informal content they posted on the discussion boards. The scope of collaborative writing was limited due to students’ reluctance to edit each others’ work, but students appreciated the shared environment as a means of discussing their work and the content of the course. Students reported that their academic writing skills had improved through their formal participation in the wiki.     

The truth,but not yet: avoiding naïve skepticism via explicit communication of metadisciplinary aims

ABSTRACT

Introductory students regularly endorse naïve skepticism – unsupported or uncritical doubt about the existence and universality of truth – for a variety of reasons. Though some of the reasons for students’ skepticism can be traced back to the student – for example, a desire to avoid engaging with controversial material or a desire to avoid offense – naïve skepticism is also the result of how introductory courses are taught, deemphasizing truth to promote students’ abilities to develop basic disciplinary skills. While this strategy has a number of pedagogical benefits, it prevents students in early stages of intellectual development from understanding truth as a threshold concept. I argue that we can make progress against naïve skepticism by clearly discussing how metadisciplinary aims differ at the disciplinary and course levels in a way that is meaningful, reinforced, and accessible.     

Agency in action – young women and their sexual relationships in a private school

Agency among young women is often understood as fleeting in nature, and studies rarely offer insights into how agency could become a more sustained position. Using data from 54 young women discussing their sexual and intimate relationships, this paper suggests a new way of understanding agency beyond that found in work which stresses agentic practice as resistance or the challenging of dominant expectations and understandings. Instead, through the notion of ‘agency in action’ we begin with young women’s conceptualisations of power. In this study, power was viewed as a resource that is shared between partners, but also a capacity of the self. These conceptualisations offer two new ways of understanding agency in intimate relations – either through ‘reacting into action’ and taking power back; or by ‘starting from’ a powerful position. Central to an understanding of young women’s agency is the role of emotions and recognition of these as motivators for change.     

From copying to learning: using exemplars to engage students with assessment criteria and feedback

Feedback is central to pedagogic theory, and if feedback is to be effective, students need to engage with it and apply it at some point in the future. However, student dissatisfaction with feedback – as evidenced in the National Student Survey – suggests that there are problems which limit student engagement with feedback, such as their perception that much of their feedback is irrelevant to future assignments. This article reports on a study which sought to enhance engagement by giving students exemplar assignments annotated with feedback before submission of their final assignments. This was done by providing an online facility where students could view exemplars and post comments or questions to tutors and peers on a discussion board. The exemplar facility was highly valued by students, although there were no quantitative effects such as an increase in students’ assignment marks when compared with the previous cohort. The article reflects on possible reasons for this result and discusses ways to improve the exemplar facility, for example by facilitating dialogue between tutors and students. The article concludes with lessons learned about how to construct exemplars, and considers how exemplars might also be used within marking teams to improve consistency of marking.     

COMMISSION ON BIBLE STUDY IN RELATION TO PUBLIC EDUCATION

Foundations of Jewish Education is a required course for masters degree students in Jewish Education offered by the William S. Davidson School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. As an introduction to the theory and practice of Jewish education, it seeks to integrate theory from a wide range of fields as a way of helping students conceptualize the practice of Jewish education. Using syllabi from three different versions of the course, including an online version of it, this study identifies three central themes that animate the syllabi. The nature of the relationship between theory and practice, a key component of this course, is examined in light of the interdisciplinary orientation of the syllabi. Finally, questions about the distinctly religious dimensions of the course are raised as part of an inquiry into the implications of religious pluralism in Jewish education.     

Responsibilities of Online Teachers and On-Site Facilitators in Online High School Courses

Local schools are increasingly providing their students who are enrolled in an online course with an on-site facilitator as a means for increasing online pass rates. However, few studies have examined how online teachers and on-site facilitators work in conjunction to support online students. Successful on-site facilitators (n = 12) and online teachers (n = 12) participated in two one-hour interviews. Analysis found that while both the teachers and the facilitators assumed extensive and complex roles, their responsibilities were overlapping but complementary. Although the facilitators were highly engaged in supporting students, online teachers found the quality of support provided by facilitators varied greatly across schools. Eleven of the facilitators required the majority of their students to attend a daily lab that allowed them more easily and effectively fulfill their responsibilities. Findings from this research also support the need to provide facilitators with professional development so that they can better assume their critical responsibilities.     

Participation in asynchronous online discussion forums does improve student learning of gross anatomy

Asynchronous online discussion forums are common in blended learning models and are popular with students. A previous report has suggested that participation in these forums may assist student learning in a gross anatomy subject but it was unclear as to whether more academically able students post more often or whether participation led to improved learning outcomes. This study used a path model to analyze the contribution of forum participation, previous academic ability, and student campus of enrolment to final marks in a multicampus gross anatomy course for physiotherapy students. The course has a substantial online learning management system (LMS) that incorporates asynchronous forums as a learning tool, particularly to answer learning objectives. Students were encouraged to post new threads and answer queries in threads started by others. The forums were moderated weekly by staff. Discussion forums were the most used feature of the LMS site with 31,920 hits. Forty‐eight percent of the students posted at least once with 186 threads initiated by students and a total of 608 posts. The total number of posts made a significant direct contribution to final mark (P = 0.008) as did previous academic ability (P = 0.002). Although campus did not contribute to final mark, there was a trend for students at the campus where the course coordinator was situated to post more often than those at the other campus (P = 0.073). These results indicate that asynchronous online discussion forums can be an effective tool for improving student learning outcomes as evidenced by final marks in gross anatomy teaching. Anat Sci Educ. 7: 71–76. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Learners’ engagement online in peer help

ABSTRACT

Much is known about help seeking in face-to-face classrooms, but there is a limited understanding about how learners seek and provide help online. This study implemented a peer-help forum in an online technology course, and investigated students’ engagement in the forum, their perceptions, and the relationship between peer help and course performance. The findings suggested that students actively engaged in the peer help beyond the course requirements. Emerging themes are presented regarding the students’ online help-seeking and help-giving behaviors and their perceptions. In addition, help seeking was not significantly related to performance, but a significant interaction effect suggested that help seeking benefited the performance of a subgroup of the students – those who provided less help.     

Collective reflective assessment for shared epistemic agency by undergraduates in knowledge building

We examined the facilitation of shared epistemic agency through a knowledge-building (KB) design that included analytics-supported collective reflective assessment (AsCRA). Forty undergraduate students taking a Liberal Studies course at a university in central China used the promising ideas tool and the knowledge building discourse explorer to self-analyze the online discourse they had created in Knowledge Forum® (KF), an online discourse environment; 34 students in a comparison section of the same course used KF but did not use the additional tools. Both classes were taught by the same teacher and studied the same inquiry topics. Multifaceted analysis of students' interaction in and the quality of discourse on KF, an educational online platform, indicated that analytics-supported reflective assessment helped them to develop high-level shared epistemic agency in the KB process. Qualitative analysis showed that AsCRA helped students to focus on high-level goals (idea negotiation, synthesis of ideas and rise above thinking) in KB, and to engage in continuous assessment, reflection, and action planning to regulate and improve their discourse. The findings have important implications for the design of technology-rich environments to support learners, and may help teachers identify the potential uses of such environments to encourage learners to engage in productive collaborative inquiry and develop metacognition and agency.     

The Influence of Motivational Regulation Strategies on Online Students’ Behavioral,Emotional, and Cognitive Engagement

Providing effective motivational support is a critical determinant of a successful online distance learning experience for students in higher education. In this study, we examined how students’ academic level and use of 8 motivational regulation strategies influence 3 types of student engagement: behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement. A total of 95 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in online courses in 4-year universities in the United States participated in this study. A series of hierarchical regression analyses of undergraduate and graduate online students (N = 95) showed that behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement are predicted by different motivational regulation strategies after controlling for the academic level. Additionally, students’ academic level was found to be a predictor of cognitive engagement but not a predictor of behavioral engagement or emotional engagement. The results suggest that online course instructors, tutors, and designers should provide students with differentiated motivational scaffolding based on their motivational profile in order to promote different aspects of learning engagement.     

Taking ID online:

In summary, this author recommends that should an instructor decide to deliver an online instructional design course it is important to understand three things: 1. Recognize that as with any course, the content, delivery methods, and media used can be individualistic. You can shape the course to meet the needs of your students and the expectations of your institution. 2. Realize that the ideas presented in this article should be used as a guide. Differences in course requirements, accreditation standards, and other program factors may affect what can or needs to be accomplished. 3. Know that one of the first things your students will ask about (and call you on) is your own ability to design instruction. This author’s students asked about how this course was developed and how the instructional design process was implemented for this course.     

Online student orientation in higher education: a developmental study

Although orientation for online students is important to their success, little information about how to develop an online student orientation (OSO) has appeared in the literature; therefore, the purpose of this article was to describe the entire process of developing an OSO. This article describes the analysis, design, development, and evaluation phases of the OSO in higher education. The orientation consists of four modules titled as follows: (a) What is the nature of online learning? (b) How to learn in Blackboard (c) What are the technical requirements to take an online course? and (d) What learning skills and motivations are necessary for online learning? Formative evaluation was conducted to improve the initially developed OSO program. Summative evaluation showed the OSO program can be useful for future online students. Discussion and future direction of OSO program are provided.     

Youth cultures,activism and agency: revisiting feminist debates

Following the invitation issued by the London Feminist Salon Collective in the pages of Gender and Education, this paper offers further theoretical suggestions for understanding agency. Based on an ethnographic study with young people engaged in activist politics, I offer a conception of agency that is at its core relational. I build this theoretical contribution upon a lineage of feminist theorising about the nature of agency, which began in debates about poststructuralism/postmodernism but have since moved to incorporate Pierre Bourdieu's cultural sociological approach. I suggest that while previous theorising has been enormously important for yielding insights into the possibilities for agency, it has not adequately accounted for the everyday means by which agency takes place. My empirical work highlights one of the modalities through which young people come to take political action – that is, through relational processes. I suggest that such an understanding about agency can further illuminate the means by which progressive and feminist goals might be reached.     

Linking mathematics with engineering applications at an early stage – implementation,experimental set-up and evaluation of a pilot project

Too difficult, too abstract, too theoretical – many first-year engineering students complain about their mathematics courses. The project MathePraxis aims to resolve this disaffection. It links mathematical methods as they are taught in the first semesters with practical problems from engineering applications – and thereby shall give first-year engineering students a vivid and convincing impression of where they will need mathematics in their later working life. But since real applications usually require more than basic mathematics and first-year engineering students typically are not experienced with construction, mensuration and the use of engineering software, such an approach is hard to realise. In this article, we show that it is possible. We report on the implementation of MathePraxis at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. We describe the set-up and the implementation of a course on designing a mass damper which combines basic mathematical techniques with an impressive experiment. In an accompanying evaluation, we have examined the students' motivation relating to mathematics. This opens up new perspectives how to address the need for a more practically oriented mathematical education in engineering sciences.     

What’s the body got to do with it? Exploring embodied,political readings in the classroom through poetry

ABSTRACT

This essay attempts to explore the links between politics, poetry, and collective, embodied readings and discussion in the classroom. When my Year 12 class were asked ‘What is Poetry?’, their answers suggested something in the Romantic tradition – of poetry as expressive, individual and emotional. My experience studying poetry with my Year 9 class suggests something altogether different – that studying poetry allows students to have an embodied and collective reading. In the sense that politics concerns the control of bodies, poetry allows the class to read in an embodied sense, thus politically, in a way that assessment criteria and the demands of high-stakes testing, with their focus on individual understanding, do not. Thus, I argue for the study of poetry as essential in terms of recognising students’ political agency – not primarily as exam-takers but as citizens of a country and an Earth they will, to put it grandly, inherit.     

Cross-boundary collaboration and knowledge creation in an online higher education course

This study investigated an international, inter-university and multidisciplinary online course with the aim of helping higher education students develop competencies for solving complex problems in collaboration with their peers and stakeholders. The course design was informed by the knowledge creation framework and ideas about cross-boundary collaboration. We attempted to enrich perspectives on knowledge creation by investigating how higher education students (N = 42) from different fields of study and from 17 different nationalities perceived, built and regulated cross-boundary collaboration in the pursuit of real-life problems presented by companies or non-governmental organisations. Drawing on data from 11 in-depth group interviews and team reports of students who had completed this course, we showed the kinds of activities the students considered relevant for cross-boundary collaboration and knowledge creation online. Given this extended context for knowledge creation, the study contributes to the pedagogical development of online learning in higher education.     

An interactive online course: A collaborative design model

The purpose of this paper is to describe the evaluation results of using an interactive design model for the development of an online course. Specifically, it examines: (a) how an interactive design model was used to develop collaborative and cooperative learning activities; (b) how activities were structured to promote the level and quality of communications among students, as peers, and between students and the instructors; and (c) how students responded to such interactive design model. The paper also provides information about the delivery process and describes what happened when this interactive model was fully implemented and used.