Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Making Online Learning More Satisfying: The Effects Of Online-Learning Self-Efficacy, Social Presence And Content Structure, Jun Rong Nigel Lim, Sonny Rosenthal, Ye Jun Marcius Sim, Zhao-Yi Lim, Kai Rong Oh

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This study examines the effects of instructor presence and online learning self-efficacy on learning satisfaction, and how the effect of social presence may depend on content structure. In this study, undergraduate students in Singapore rated their online learning self-efficacy. Then they rated their learning satisfaction after watching each of four video lectures in a 2 (low versus high instructor presence) × 2 (low versus high content structure) repeated measures experiment. Findings show that learning satisfaction is related to instructor presence and online learning self-efficacy and that the effect of instructor presence is stronger for unstructured than for structured content. This …

Building Partnerships In Remote Education During Covid-19

International Developments

Australian Strategic Partnerships in Remote Education (ASPIRE) connects Australian experience and expertise in remote education with partners in the Indo-Pacific region to provide learning continuity, access and equity, in particular for disadvantaged students. Managed by ACER on behalf of the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), ASPIRE aims to contribute to immediate and long-term educational and economic benefits for the Indo-Pacific region.

The Impact Of The Online Learner Advising Model On Retention And Grade Point Average, Julie Delich

Doctorate in Education

As more students experience online learning environments, the academic community must invest more energy into improving retention of these learners. The purpose of this research was to study the impact of an advising model designed to support online learners, the Online learner advising model (OLAM). This study examined new student retention in the first 3 terms and GPA outcomes to measure the impact of the advising approach. OLAM was designed to address the specific needs of online learners through bringing together elements of proactive advising, shame resilience theory, and appreciative advising.

The sample was selected from Concordia University, St. Paul …

The Covid-19 Pivot To Online Education And Bsn Graduates’ Readiness To Practice, Abigail Schulte

Dissertations

There is a major nursing shortage worldwide, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to invest in the acceleration of nursing education to meet global needs. Nursing schools had to pivot to online education overnight, and many are unsure how this has impacted students. The purpose of this study is to see if the pivot to online education, prompted by COVID-19, impacted the readiness to practice and grade point averages (GPA) of graduating Bachelor of Nursing students. In this quantitative study, a casual-comparative survey design is used to test for readiness to practice and program modality. A cross-sectional design …

Serving Students With Special Needs During Covid-19 Pandemic, Tara Redenius

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has largely disrupted every aspect of human life. At the height of the pandemic, the states governments' suspended in-person learning in the United States to reduce coronavirus spread through human contact. The suspension was followed by policies enabling the implementation of online learning for all students with special needs, caregivers, and educators in different ways. The closure of schools has disrupted student's routine, made caregivers assume the teacher's role, and required educators to shift to online learning. This literature review evaluates changes in managing students with special needs by highlighting the shift in teaching, …

The Value Of Instructor Interactivity In The Online Classroom, Greg Lucas, Gary Cao, Shaunna Waltemeyer, B. Jean Mandernach, Helen G. Hammond

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

As the number of faculty teaching online continues to grow, so has the interest in and understanding of the role of instructor interaction in the online classroom. Online education provides a unique platform in which course design and teaching are independent factors. Understanding faculty and student perceptions about the shifting role of instructor interaction in the online classroom can provide insight on policies and procedures that can support student learning through student-instructor interaction. Participants included faculty and students responding to an anonymous online survey who indicated “online” as their primary mode of teaching. Three key “value” themes emerged as significantly …

Community And Connectedness In Online Higher Education: A Scoping Review Of The Literature, Jesús Trespalacios, Chareen Snelson, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Lida Uribe-Flórez, Ross Perkins

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Community and connectedness are important concepts in online higher education. However, researchers debate how they are defined, operationalized, or enacted in practice. A scoping study was conducted to review the research literature on the extent, range, and nature of research in community and connectedness in online higher education. A total of 66 studies published from 2001 through 2018 were identified for review. The findings illustrate how research on community and connectedness has focused on areas such as course design, technology tools, faculty, and students as well as highlight the important role these concepts have played in the last two decades …

Changes That Should Remain In Higher Education Post Covid-19: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of The Experiences At Three Universities, Águeda Benito, Kubra Dogan Yenisey, Kavita Khanna, Manuel Felipe Masis, Rosa Maria Monge, Mehmet Ali Tugtan, Luis Diego Vega Araya, Rekha Vig

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: The goal of the present study is to describe how the transition to remote emergency delivery was addressed in three universities during the COVID-19 pandemic, to determine the satisfaction levels of their students and faculty with this new teaching-learning experience, and to gather their opinions about the future of higher education.

Method: The study uses a mixed-methods approach, including faculty and student surveys and focus groups

Results: The study shows high satisfaction with the emergency remote delivery and clearly reflects the relevance of enhancing the digital components of future learning experiences in higher education and a unanimous preference for …

Persistence And Academic Performance Of Medical Students In Online Learning Environment During The Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown, Mohsin M. Syed, Noor Akhter, Mohamed Ibrahim, Laura C. Stanley

Faculty Publications - Curriculum & Instruction

Government response to the COVID 19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 came as a wave of physical closures requiring sudden change in the method of instruction from face-to-face to a completely online. Assessment of students adaptation to this change during emergency lockdown is the focus of this study. We used a One-way ANOVA to compare pandemic and pre-pandemic Performance of First Year medical students at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in the brain and behavior module. Students’ test scores related to perception of persistence levels was studied using correlation analysis. In addition, a regression analysis was performed …

The (Missing) Human Part: Listening For Students’ Perceptions Of The Value Of Peer Mentors, Adrienne Jankens, Nicole Guinot Varty, Haley Shier, Michelle Borkosh

English Faculty Research Publications

In this paper, we describe an IRB-approved (exempt) study designed to help us understand the impact that engaging with a peer mentor has on student learning in the online, intermediate composition classroom. Our study aimed to both identify the quantity of student interactions with peer mentors in online intermediate composition courses and to understand specifically how these interactions impacted students’ learning. The study focused on this question: “How do students describe the impact of peer mentors on their learning in the writing course?” Using a combination of qualitative methods (student survey, student interview, peer mentor reflection, and local institutional data …

Conflicts In Communication And Academic Needs For Virtual Education Gifted Students, Sarah M. Finley

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Modern education has to take on various roles and contingencies over the last decade – both for good and worse. Public school systems are competing with private and now charter schools for student enrollment and virtual or online learning schools. A question many parents and educators struggle with – how do we grow and develop children and young adults' academic needs through the use of technology?

The question may be simple; however, the answer is far complicated. Technology provides help in various ways a human being cannot, including instant gratification of Google searches, video education, synchronous education game formats, distant …

Teaching Mathematics Education Online: Instructional Theories, Strategies, And Technologies, Angie Hodge-Zickerman, Cindy S. York, Patrick R. Lowenthal

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This overview chapter provides an introduction to instructional theories, strategies, and technologies that can guide teachers new to teaching mathematics (both content and methods) online in a formal online classroom setting. We begin by discussing different types of online learning environments, including synchronous, asynchronous, bichronous, and HyFlex environments. We then focus on different theories, such as cognitive apprenticeship, individualized/personalized instruction, social learning, and inquiry-based mathematics education theories. After that, we focus on some common technologies and strategies, such as think/pair/share, student groups, whiteboards, discussion boards, and more that someone new to teaching mathematics teachers online may use to engage learners.

Pandemic Pivot: A Faculty Development Program For Enhanced Remote Teaching, Heather J. Leslie Dba, Alejandra Lizardo Ma, Ashley Kovacs Ma

Learning Design Center: Staff Scholarship

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 has impacted the higher education sector all over the world and has been most disruptive to residential academic institutions that offer mostly, if not wholly, in-person instruction. Of the 1.5 million college faculty members in the United States, about 70% had never taught a virtual course prior to COVID-19 (Hechinger & Lorin, 2020). During spring 2020, colleges had to pivot to remote instruction without much notice for faculty or students to prepare. Some referred to this as “emergency remote teaching” as it did not allow adequate time to thoughtfully plan out a course for a remote …

Online Accelerated Learning Experiences And Self-Regulated Learning Skills Amoung Undergraduate Students, Cherng-Jyh Yen, Emrah Emre Ozkeskin, Moussa Tankari, Chih-Hsiung Tu, Hoda Harati, Laura E. Sujo-Montes

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Many institutions have adopted an online accelerated learning model in which intensive online instructions are offered during the course of a normal semester to help students complete classes. Current research has focused on comparing different instructional lengths. Mixed findings have been reported. Accelerated instructions are not necessarily superior or inferior to traditional 16-week instructions. Research should focus on what is crucial and how to prepare students to succeed in accelerated online courses. This study examines whether self-regulated learning (SRL) skills may serve as predictors of positive accelerated learning experiences. It concludes that five SRL skills can predict success in online …

Online Instructors’ Use Of The Cognitive Theory Of Multimedia Learning Design Principles: A Mixed Methods Investigation, Thomas C. Pantazes

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The growing use of digital video for online learning among US higher education instructors accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic raising questions about instructors’ knowledge of video creation principles (Bétrancourt & Benetos, 2018; Chorianopoulos, 2018; Kay, 2012; McCormack, 2020; Seaman, et al, 2018). This explanatory sequential mixed methods research describes the extent to which higher education instructors who create digital instructional video for online learning applied 11 multimedia design principles of the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML). The case study triangulated self-reported survey data from 55 online instructors, interview data from five instructors with the highest implementation …

Examining Changes In Learning And Engagement Of Higher Education Students In A Fully Online Flipped Learning Distance Education Classroom, James David Riel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The challenge of implementing effective online distance education courses for academics and institutions is a centuries-old task. We can look across early developments in the 18^th century with the creation and delivery of correspondence courses; into the 20^th century with teaching and learning across analog methods such as audio and video; and now in the current era of digitized mechanisms that enable the online classroom. This includes advances in internet technologies and computing abilities that are the empowering the backbone processes, bridging connectivity between the student and the instructor. As society has trended toward massive increases in online …

Connected At A Distance: Experiences And Efforts Within A Synchronous, Online Mathematics Specialist Program, Laura E. Bitto, Pamela E. Johnson, Beth Terry

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Online learning offers flexibility and convenience to students regardless of their proximity to a traditional campus. However, online programs can also feel isolating. Beth, a mathematics specialist candidate, completed a graduate program while living 7000 miles and seven time zones away from her instructor and peers. Through intentional planning by instructors, Beth found community by making personal connections, celebrating life experiences, and sharing a passion for mathematics education with her peers. Furthermore, Beth felt empowered to take academic risks and expose professional vulnerabilities in the learning community. The instructors within the program valued learning as a social construct and therefore …

Learning To Anticipate In An Online Class: Perspectives Of An Instructor And A Mathematics Specialist Candidate, Kristina C. Anthony, Melody O'Quinn

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

This paper will highlight two perspectives, a course instructor and a mathematics specialist candidate working together in an online course, on the practice of anticipating how a learner will approach a task or assignment. The candidate shares her experiences in developing an understanding of what it means to anticipate student responses and implement mathematical practice in the classroom. She also shares how learning to anticipate has impacted her teaching. The instructor reflects on her experiences (or lack thereof) in anticipating how students would engage in the online environment. From the instructor and the candidate perspectives, learning to anticipate helped to …

Ada Compliance In Online Courses: Free Tools And Resources For Creating An Inclusive Environment For Both Students And Instructors, John Huss, Shannon M. Eastep

Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings

Online courses must be accessible to students with disabilities, yet instructor training in accessible design is often an afterthought, leading to legal vulnerability and a breakdown in the learning partnership between student and instructor. Based on feedback from faculty members who shared their familiarity with expectations from the American Disabilities Association (ADA) and Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act, as well as challenges and perceived barriers, this session demonstrated free tools, practical suggestions, and important design tips for bringing all courses into compliance., even for those instructors with less than sophisticated technological expertise.

Hello, Are You There? Creating And Measuring Online Student Engagement, Kirsten Passyn

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Engaging students in an online environment is frustrating for faculty and a concern of administration. Faculty and students report lower levels of satisfaction and lower engagement in online versus face to face learning. Dropout rates in fully online courses are often two times higher than face to face courses. This research attempted to engage online students by embedding a gamification-based scavenger hunt in an online course. Engagement was measured using a combination of quantitative and qualitative measurements. Although the scavenger hunt didn't significantly engage low performing students, it did motivate and deepen top-performing students' engagement. Interestingly, qualitative-based engagement measures proved …

Does "Significant Difference" Hold True? Comparing Student Performance In Online Vs. Traditional Science Courses, Emily Faulconer, John C. Griffith

Publications

Meta-analysis studies comparing student outcomes in online and traditional courses indicate no significant difference (or a slight improvement in online courses)

Scientific And Information Literacy In Online Discussion Forums, Emily Faulconer

Publications

Scientific Literacy

• identify a valid scientific argument
• analyze scientific evidence including graphical representations of data
• use mathematical information, and critical thinking in decision-making processes

Does Instructor Quality Affect Student Grades?, Emily Faulconer, John C. Griffith, Bobby Mcmasters

Publications

High quality instructors positively influence student outcomes.

• Course design with strong organization
• Feedback
• Community of inquiry presences
• Cultural responsiveness

Effectiveness Of The Two Plus Two Online Program In Agriscience Education: A Case Study Of Students’ Experiences And Persistence, Ronald M. Howell Jr

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Higher education is changing, and more community colleges find themselves helping to increase the number of students who receive a bachelor’s credential from a 4-year post-secondary institution. This qualitative study was designed to determine the effectiveness of the online two plus two Agriscience Education program at a university in North Carolina. Twelve current and former students provided feedback about their perspectives and lived experiences through semi-structured interviews.

Preliminary findings suggest that both current and former students find the two plus two program very cost-affordable, flexible, and convenient for transferring two years’ worth of credit and courses to earn a bachelor’s …

Online Learning In Vocational Education Of China During Covid-19: Achievements, Challenges, And Future Developments, Xibin Han, Qian Zhou, Wanruo Shi, Shuyuan Yang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

COVID-19 has challenged education systems globally. Traditional teaching and learning activities of more than 1,300 vocational colleges and nearly 11,000 vocational high schools in China have had to be paused and transformed into an online mode. A study had been conducted to trace the unprecedented change which would provide reflections on policies and practical experience worthy of reference for the follow-up development of online vocational education in China and other countries in the world. The study used two methods to collect data: (1) delivering questionnaires to 767 schools, 17009 teachers, 270,732 students, and (2) gathering 110 institute cases from 21 …

Synching Up On A Satisfaction: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Synchronous Online Classroom Learning Satisfaction In The Corporate Training Environment, Andrew Burklund

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning Infographics

Despite rapid evolution and innovation, “online learning” is no longer a universal term. There is a need to expand the existing research base to include subsets of online classrooms and include more diverse populations of learners. The overarching question for this study focused on synchronous online classroom satisfaction in a corporate setting. The researcher analyzed four years of historical learner- satisfaction data from post-class Level-1 satisfaction surveys from a Fortune 100 company. In total, 15,577 learner responses were collected, analyzed, and converged with data collected from employee focus groups related to synchronous online classroom satisfaction. The statistical analysis of learning …

Mitigating The Impacts Of Covid-19: Lessons From Australia In Remote Education, Anna Dabrowski, Yung Nietschke, Pauline Taylor-Guy, Anne-Marie Chase

Student learning processes

This literature review provides an overview of past and present responses to remote schooling in Australia, drawing on international research. The paper begins by discussing historical responses to emergency and extended schooling, including during the COVID-19 crisis. The discussion then focuses on effective teaching and learning practices and different learning design models. The review considers the available evidence on technology-based interventions and their use during remote schooling periods. Although this research is emergent, it offers insights into the availability and suitability of different mechanisms that can be used in remote learning contexts. Noting that the local empirical research base is …

Emotional Presence In Building An Online Learning Community Among Non-Traditional Graduate Students, Mei Jiang, Katie Koo

Faculty Publications

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework posits that a collaborative online teaching and learning process can be achieved through three interdependent dimensions of presence: cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. Emotion is considered an important factor in successful online learning. This study explored non-traditional graduate students’ perceived emotional presence that emerged in participants’ online learning experiences. Based on quantitative and qualitative data from 45 non-traditional graduate students in the field of education, the study showed that participants demonstrated both positive emotional expressions (e.g., enjoyment and happiness) and negative expressions (e.g., frustration and disappointment) in their responses. Emotional presence ratings …

Impact Of Internet Connection On Gifted Students’ Perceptions Of Course Quality At An Online High School, Stacy Hawthorne

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Online learning is on the rise in K-12 education and, with the lockdowns and social distancing measures implemented as a result of COVID-19, has gained increased prominence. While the demand for online learning is on the rise, many U.S. students lack adequate Internet connectivity to have a successful online learning experience. Connectivity issues, particularly when they impact audio, can cause students to tune out or even drop out of online learning. This is problematic for online schools and course providers who often have no control over the speed of a student’s home Internet connection. Online schools also have to balance …

Students Can Still Assimilate Different Cultures Via Virtual Learning, Yuanto Kusnadi, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The year 2020 has been unique and exceptional. The Covid-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to economies and societies across the world. Universities too had to pivot and adapt, with lessons and examinations moved online, for example. One of the challenges faced by universities is how to equip their students with the relevant skillset of gaining exposure to different cultures through internships and exchanges when international borders are largely closed. To overcome the constraint posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, a recent initiative by the Singapore Management University (SMU), called SMU-X Overseas (virtual), has allowed students to work on real-world projects …