Me in a minute: A simple strategy for developing and showcasing personal employability
Concise paper
Trina Jorre de St Jorre
Deakin University
@trinajorre
Liz Johnson
Deakin University
Gypsy O'Dea
Deakin University
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 1.30pm - 1.50pm
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
Graduates require evidence of employability beyond marks and grades to differentiate themselves in the highly competitive labour market. Universities cannot guarantee employment, but they can engage students in learning and recognise achievement that is relevant to employment. Here, we share preliminary insights from interviews investigating student perceptions of an extra-curricular video strategy designed to develop and showcase graduate employability. The Me in a Minute video strategy provides students with support to film a one minute video pitch aimed at potential employers. Student perceptions of the strategy suggest that in addition to providing an individualised artefact that can be used to showcase achievement, the strategy engages students in reflection that helps them to better understand and articulate evidence of their achievements relevant to employment. Furthermore, students value the learning associated with pitching, more than the video itself.
About the authors
Trina Jorre de St Jorre
Dr Trina Jorre de St Jorre is a Lecturer in Graduate Employability at Deakin University. She is interested in pedagogies that engage and empower students and her research focus is on assuring graduate capabilities, improving employment outcomes and incorporating the student voice into curriculum development.
Liz Johnson
Liz Johnson is Pro Vice Chancellor, Teaching and Learning at Deakin University where she leads the Deakin Learning Futures, the central divisional team that supports learning and teaching. Liz is a National Teaching Fellow with research interests in work-integrated learning, curriculum renewal and building capability for learning and teaching. Liz is also Director of the Teaching and Learning Centre of the Australian Council of Deans of Science, leading a number of national projects to enhance university teaching in science.
Gypsy O'Dea
Gypsy O’Dea is a Psychology student, Writing Mentor, and Research Assistant at Deakin University. As a Writing Mentor, her focus is on strategies that empower students to become self-directed and independent learners, with a view to improving graduate outcomes. Her current research is with the Australian Temperament Project Generation 3 study, investigating intergenerational predictors of child development.
A learning analytics pilot in Moodle and its impact on developing organisational capacity in a university
Concise paper
Jean-Christophe Froissard
Macquarie University
@jcfroissard
Danny Liu
Sydney University
@dannydotliu
Deborah Richards
Macquarie University
Amara Atif
Macquarie University
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 1.30pm - 1.50pm
Stream 3
Room L206
Abstract
Moodle is used as a learning management system around the world. However, integrated learning analytics solutions for Moodle that provide actionable information and allow teachers to efficiently use it to connect with their students are lacking. The enhanced Moodle Engagement Analytics Plugin (MEAP), presented at ASCILITE2015, enabled teachers to identify and contact students at risk of not completing their units. We discuss a pilot using MEAP in 36 units at a metropolitan Australian university. We use existing models for developing organisational capacity in learning analytics and to embed learning analytics into the practice of teaching and learning to discuss a range of issues arising from the pilot. We outline the interaction and interdependency of five stages during the pilot: technology, policies, skills, culture and leadership. We conclude that one of the most significant is developing a culture and behaviour around learning analytics.
About the authors
Jean-Christophe Froissard
Jean-Christophe Froissard is a Senior Learning Designer in the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University with a Masters in Education. His passion is to blend education and technology to improve learning and teaching. He believes that change happens when a small group of passionate people, with a common dream of a better future, work together.
Danny Liu
Danny is a molecular biologist by training, programmer by night, researcher and academic developer by day, and educator at heart. A multiple national teaching award winner, he works at the confluence of learning analytics, student engagement, educational technology, and professional development and leadership to enhance the student experience.
Deborah Richards
Deborah Richards is a Professor in the Department of Computing at Macquarie University. Following 20 years in the ICT industry during which she completed a BBus (Comp and MIS) and MAppSc (InfoStudies), she completed a PhD in artificial intelligence on the reuse of knowledge at the University of New South Wales and joined academia in 1999. While she continues to work on solutions to assist decision-making and knowledge acquisition, for the past decade, her focus has been on intelligent systems, agent technologies and virtual worlds to support human learning and well-being.
Amara Atif
Amara Atif is a PhD candidate in the Department of Computing at Macquarie University. Her research interests include learning analytics, technology acceptance, and knowledge management.
Recipes for institutional adoption of a teacher-driven learning analytics tool: Case studies from three Australian universities
Full paper
Lorenzo Vigentini
The University of New South Wales
@l_vigentini
Elsuida Kondo
The University of Melbourne
@ElsuidaKondo
Kevin Samnick
The University of Sydney
@Kevin_Samnick
Danny Liu
The University of Sydney
@dannydotliu
Deb King
The University of Melbourne
@fyimaths
Adam Bridgeman
The University of Sydney
@adambridgeman
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 11am - 11.30am
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
The changing landscape of higher education is putting increasing strain on educators, leading to a diminishing ability to provide pedagogical and pastoral support to ballooning and diversifying cohorts. Learning analytics promises solutions to these challenges for educators, including by personalising learning support and experiences, streamlining data capture and analyses, and providing teachers with new, efficient teaching approaches. However, reports of these impacts, or widespread adoption of learning analytics, or even examples of cross-institutional collaboration are sparse. We argue that this may be because of a lack of educator-driven learning analytics tools that meet their felt needs, and present case studies from three Australian universities that have collaborated to implement such a tool. This tool, the Student Relationship Engagement System (SRES), empowers educators to collect, collate, analyse, and use student engagement and success data that they consider meaningful for their particular contexts. Developed by unfunded educators and widely adopted through collegiate recommendations, the SRES enables personalisation and targeting of student learning and support using relevant data, fostering positive student-teacher relationships and enhancing student engagement. Using the three case studies as a backdrop, we present a revised learning analytics adoption framework focussing on strategy, structure, support, and impact, and use this framework to systematically evaluate the adoption and implementation of the SRES at the three institutions to derive ‘recipes’ for adopting an educator-focused learning analytics platform. We also discuss three core themes emerging from the case studies, around the needs of academics, the role of academic and educational developers, and flexible and agile information technology practices.
About the authors
Lorenzo Vigentini
Lorenzo is the Academic Lead Educational Analytics in the portfolio of the Pro-Vice Chancellor Education at UNSW Sydney. Lorenzo’s background is in Psychology, Learning and Teaching in the Higher Education sector and have a lot of experience in IT/e-learning development. His expertise is into quantitative and qualitative investigations of learning processes at the crossing between cognitive psychology, differential psychology, education and human-computer interaction. His main interest is about technology, its use, its evolution, its interaction with learning and the interface between human and machines (also physical using computer vision, brain activity monitoring, the ‘quantitative self’ and IoT).
Elsuida Kondo
Elsuida is the Developer of Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne. Elsuida’s background is in analytical chemistry, mathematical modelling, and Learning and Teaching development. In her current role her main interest is in learning analytics evaluation, student engagement and interactive learning development.
Kevin Samnick
Kevin is a dedicated and lifelong proponent of the value of learning. He has a background in pharmaceutical research, STEM education, and educational technology. His approach to education is fuelled by practical and tangible connections to holistic outcomes for learners and educators in their lives both in the classroom and beyond. Kevin has worked in pharmaceutical research in industry and in a University context supporting research in cancer, tuberculosis, and pulmonary drug delivery. Later he taught science, chemistry, and biology in secondary schools before moving into elearning support in the tertiary environment. Currently he is part of a team managing the migration to a new learning management system at the University of Sydney.
Danny Liu
Danny is a molecular biologist by training, programmer by night, researcher and academic developer by day, and educator at heart. A multiple national teaching award winner, he works at the confluence of learning analytics, student engagement, educational technology, and professional development and leadership to enhance the student experience.
Deb King
Deb has a PhD in mathematics and has worked at The University of Melbourne since 2002. She is the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) in the Faculty of Science and Director of Teaching in the School of Mathematics at the University of Melbourne.
She leads the FYiMaths network, a national initiative to support professional development of tertiary mathematics educators and encourage innovation in education. She has been awarded institutional and national teaching awards, and has led two national mathematics education projects; Mathsassess, investigating assessment practices in tertiary mathematics and FYiMaths.
Adam Bridgeman
Adam is Director of Educational Innovation at the University of Sydney and holds a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from University of Cambridge. He was awarded the RSC Higher Education Teaching Award in the UK in 2004. In 2006, Adam moved to the University of Sydney as Director of First Year Studies in the School of Chemistry. He became Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching in 2012 for the Faculty of Science. As well as receiving institutional and national awards for teaching in Australia, he became an Australian National Teaching Fellow in 2015. In November of 2015, he finally escaped Chemistry to take up this new role in the DVC Education Portfolio at Sydney. In this role, he is tasked with invigorating and changing the learning and teaching culture through a focus on blended, collaborative and interactive learning styles.
Defining “data” in conversations with students about the ethical use of learning analytics
Concise paper
Abi Brooker
University of Melbourne
@abi__brooker
Linda Corrin
University of Melbourne
@lindacorrin
Negin Mirriahi
University of South Australia
@neginm
Josie Fisher
University of New England
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 1.50pm - 2.10pm
Stream 3
Room L206
Abstract
In any conversation about the development of ethical standards for practice, it is vital that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the main concepts in order to reach agreement. In the context of higher education and learning analytics, while many conversations are underway, it is less clear that such a shared understanding exists around the concept of “data”. In order to understand this situation more fully we conducted a study to investigate students’ perceptions of the ethical and privacy considerations related to the data that universities collect and use about them for the purposes of learning analytics. In this paper, we focus specifically on the understandings students have of the types of data that can be collected about them within the educational environment. The outcomes showed that there was a diversity of understandings, but that five main data types emerged: personal data, online activity, student feedback, academic information, and resource usage. In developing a better understanding of the ways students understand data, it can assist institutions to have more effective conversations with students about the ethical use of learning analytics.
About the authors
Abi Brooker
Dr Abi Brooker is a teaching fellow at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, at the University of Melbourne where she teaches developmental psychology to undergraduate students. She is also co-leader of a national network of academic teaching staff interested in issues related to student and staff well-being. Her research interests take a lifespan developmental perspective of young adults’ experiences, especially those studying at university. Current projects include the ethical implications of learning analytics on the student experience, the consequences of students’ experiences of psychological well-being and distress, and undergraduate students’ curricular and non-curricular challenges.
Linda Corrin
Dr Linda Corrin is a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education in the Williams Centre for Learning Advancement, Faculty of Business and Economics, at the University of Melbourne. In her current role, she provides support for curriculum development, delivery and assessment to staff in the faculty. Her research interests include students' engagement with technology, learning analytics, feedback, and learning design. Currently, she is working on several large research projects exploring how learning analytics can be used to provide meaningful and timely feedback to academics and students. Linda is member of the University of Melbourne’s Learning Analytics Research Group and co-founder of the Victorian and Tasmanian Learning Analytics Network. She is also a co-coordinator of the ASCILITE Learning Analytics Special Interest Group.
Negin Mirriahi
Dr Negin Mirriahi is Senior Lecturer in the Teaching Innovation Unit at the University of South Australia. She has extensive international experience managing, implementing, and evaluating innovative educational technology in higher education and in designing fully online, blended, and open courses. Her research is in learning analytics to inform pedagogical practice, video analytics to enhance learning, technology adoption, blended and online learning, and academic staff development.
Josie Fisher
Dr Josie Fisher is an Associate Professor at the University of New England Business School. She teaches professional ethics, business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability to postgraduate students. In addition, she is Chair of Teaching and Learning in the School, a senior management position that provides leadership in the design and continuous improvement of courses and units with a focus on innovative delivery. Her research has two themes: professional and business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability; and learning analytics, particularly the ethical aspects of the use of analytics by universities.
Explaining learning achievement in student experience of blended learning: What can a sociomaterial perspective contribute?
Concise paper
Feifei Han
The University of Sydney
Robert Ellis
The University of Sydney
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 2.10pm - 2.30pm
Stream 2
Room R113
Abstract
Drawing on theories of student approaches to learning and sociomaterial perspectives on learning, we investigated how a combination of sociocognitive and sociomaterial variables explain variation in 365 students’ learning achievement in a first year human biology blended learning course in an Australian research intensive university. We used student experience questionnaires to measure students’ self-reports about their approaches to learning through inquiry, approaches to using online learning technologies, and their use of on-campus physical learning spaces. We also obtained observed measures of online learning technologies in terms of frequency and duration through analytics provided by a proprietary learning management system. Students’ learning achievement was evaluated using their assessment schedule comprising six assessment tasks. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine the interrelationship between approaches, use of online learning technologies, use of on-campus physical learning spaces, and achievement. Based on the correlation results, we regressed learning achievement on approaches, use of online learning technologies and physical learning spaces. The results showed that by introducing sociomaterial variables into the regression analysis, a significant proportion of learning achievement was explained over and above the explanations offered by student experience variables alone. The results highlight an important role of combining both self-report and observational data in analyses of student experiences of blended course designs.
About the authors
Feifei Han
Feifei Han currently is an educational researcher at the University of Sydney. Her current research interests comprise of three broad themes: (1) language and literacy education; (2) teaching, learning, and educational technology in higher education, and (3) educational psychology.
Robert Ellis
Robert Ellis is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Sydney. He has been a funded chief investigative researcher for the Australian Research Council since 2005. His current project is funded up until 2019 (with Goodyear and others). Robert’s research interests focus on the student and teaching experience of e-learning, quality and innovation in higher education and learning spaces. He is author of two books and more than eighty internationally refereed publications, mostly in journal articles. He is also a coordinating editor of the Springer Journal ‘Higher Education’, and co-editor of the new book series for Springer ‘Understanding Teaching and Learning practice’. The goal of his research and scholarship is to achieve meaningful social contributions through translational research outcomes.
Monash Rocks: The first step in an augmented reality journey through deep time
Concise paper
Barbara Macfarlan
Monash University
@barbmac_eales
Marion Anderson
Monash University
Julie Boyce
Monash University
@volcanojulie
Tom Chandler
Monash University
@sensilab_monash
Thomas Bochynek
Monash University
Mike Yeates
Monash University
Colin Maynard
Independent game developer
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 1.30pm - 1.50pm
Stream 1
Room H102
Abstract
This paper describes the development of the “Monash Rocks” app - designed to bring our landscape to life through augmented reality. We describe the highs and lows of the development process, the lessons we learned along the way, and our plans for further development of the app to showcase the Monash Earth Sciences Garden and extend the space into further innovative, immersive teaching and learning experiences.
The creation of Monash University’s Earth Sciences Garden (MESG), a "living" geological map of Victoria collating nearly 500 rock specimens, gave us the perfect vehicle for an Augmented Reality (AR) experience. Students and visitors to the MESG can now use the Monash Rocks App on their phones to view a 3D display that overlays the live camera feed on the device enhancing the experience of the environment, taking it to another dimension.
The value in augmenting a learning environment is in its ability to pull virtual objects into real scenes (Green & Chandler, 2014, p.549), in this case expanding the physical environment through time and space on a journey back millions of years. The rock now becomes alive, telling its story and supplying information that is missing in the “real life” walk through the garden.
About the authors
Barbara Macfarlan
Barbara Macfarlan is an Educational Designer in the Faculty of Science, Monash University. In this role, she works closely with the Associate Dean Education to support and guide academics through the changing landscape of teaching and learning in Higher Education. Barbara has 20 years’ experience as a teacher and learning designer using the affordances of ubiquitous technology to engage 21st century learners. It is this interest that fostered her determination to integrate augmented reality artefacts into the innovative teaching spaces to help learners better understand their natural and built environments.
Marion Anderson
Marion Anderson is the coordinator of Monash University's first year Earth, Atmosphere and Environment units. She has over 30 years teaching and research experience at Tertiary level, in the Engineering, Biology, and Earth Sciences discipline areas. She was recently involved in the VCAA redesign of the VCE Units 1-4 Environmental Science, and was a consultant on the Australian Curriculum design for Earth Sciences and Environmental Sciences. Marion has also been involved with the design of the year 10 science curriculum, and Dynamic Earth curriculum at JMSS, and is an advisory board member of the Victorian Space Science Education Centre. Marion has also been awarded three international prizes for interactive game design.
Julie Boyce
Julie Boyce is a Research & Teaching Associate in the School of Earth, Atmosphere & Environment at Monash University, where she is also an Outreach Coordinator for the school. Her research focuses on the stratigraphy and geochemistry of the young volcanoes of the Newer Volcanics Province in western Victoria, with a focus on Mt Rouse and the distribution of eruption centres across the volcanic province.
Tom Chandler
Tom Chandler coordinates and teach the Interactive Media Major and Game Design Minor in the Monash Faculty of IT. As a researcher in the emerging field of virtual heritage, Tom has focused upon the design and development of immersive simulations of the past, particularly the medieval Cambodian capital of Angkor in Cambodia.
Quantext: Analysing student responses to short-answer questions
Concise paper
Jenny McDonald
University of Auckland
@aggiewil
Adon Moskal
Otago Polytechnic
@AdonMoskal
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 1.30pm - 1.50pm
Stream 4
Room L209
Abstract
We introduce a web-based tool for teachers to support the rapid analysis of student responses to short answer or mini-essay questions. Designed to support teaching in large-class settings, it aims to bring to practicing teachers analytic tools that can reveal insights in their student text data. We background development of the tool to date, briefly describe its architecture and features, and report on a bench-test evaluation. Finally, we introduce a pilot study to evaluate the tool in classrooms at three NZ universities and one polytechnic. We conclude with options for accessing the tool and outline plans for ongoing development.
About the authors
Jenny McDonald
Dr Jenny McDonald is co-developer of Quantext and a Research Associate at the Centre for Learning and Research (CLeaR), University of Auckland. Jenny is an experienced educational technologist and academic developer. She has particular research interests in natural language processing techniques for formative feedback and learning analytics. She was co-PI with A/Prof. Cathy Gunn on the recent NZ Ako-funded project, ‘Building an evidence-base for teaching and learning design using learning analytics data’.
Adon Moskal
Adon Moskal is co-developer of Quantext and a lecturer in Information Technology at Otago Polytechnic. From 2011-2016, Adon was a Professional Practice Fellow at the University of Otago where he developed software and researched educational technology. His research interests include student evaluation, academic development and learning analytics. Recently, Adon was a co-investigator and co-developer of the Student Relationship Engagement System v2 with researchers from the University of Auckland and the University of Sydney.
Social media in enabling education
Concise paper
Susan Hopkins
University of Southern Queensland
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 1.50pm - 2.10pm
Stream 5
Room C204
Abstract
This paper argues that students from rural and low socio-economic status (LSES) backgrounds, who undertake enabling education, benefit from the social, cultural and network capital which digital, narrative and connective platforms may provide in pre-tertiary teaching and learning. In particular, this paper discusses the trial of the use of the social networking site Facebook as a learning management system within an enabling tertiary preparation program designed to raise the aspirations and widen the participation of economically and geographically disadvantaged young people. It also discusses the role of new media in an approach to Tertiary Preparation which recognises that to succeed in their university study, non-traditional students need to develop not only academic skills and confidence, but the skills and confidence to survive and thrive in the broader networked digital society. The presentation includes updates, images and examples from the author’s most recent use of a closed group Facebook page to facilitate digital literacy, enculturation, engagement, socialisation and social networking among participants in the 2017 Life Literacies program for tertiary preparation students, funded through the Commonwealth Government's Higher Education Participation and Partnership Program (HEPPP) in 2017 (to improve the access, participation and success of students from communities under-represented in higher education).
About the Author
Susan Hopkins
Susan Hopkins is a Lecturer in the Open Access College at the University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich campus. Her research interests include sociological approaches to the education of marginalised and non-traditional students including incarcerated students and LSES students in enabling education.
Using threshold concepts about online teaching to support novice online teachers: Designing professional development guidelines to individually assist academic staff (“me”) and collectively guide the institution (“us”)
Full paper
Maria Northcote
Avondale College of Higher Education
Kevin Gosselin
HonorHealth Research Institute, Arizona, USA
Peter Kilgour
Avondale College of Higher Education, NSW, Australia
Catherine McLoughlin
Australian Catholic University, ACT, Australia
Chris Boddey
Avondale College of Higher Education, NSW, Australia
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 10.30am - 11am
Stream 2
Room R113
Abstract
As online learning expands across the higher education sector, individual university lecturers are required to take on roles that incorporate responsibilities for designing and teaching online courses. Their growing capacities to fulfil these roles are sometimes supported by professional development (PD) programs within their institutions while some staff engage in staff development activities outside their home institutions. These programs and activities may take place within Communities of Practice (CoPs) while others are conducted on an individual basis. While much research has been undertaken into the field of online teaching and learning, including investigations into the most useful technological tools to incorporate into the design of online courses, the design of PD curricula to support the needs of novice teachers of online courses has not been as extensively explored. This paper reports on the outcomes of an Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) funded project which purposely set out to identify the threshold concepts about online teaching that university lecturers develop as they engage in both the individual and communal aspects of designing and teaching online courses. The paper explains how the identification of threshold concepts about online teaching informed the development of a set of curriculum guidelines for the PD of novice online teachers. Recommendations for the design of PD for individual teachers (at the “me” level) are provided along with recommendations for the institution (at the “us” level).
About the authors
Maria Northcote
Associate Professor Maria Northcote is the Director of the Centre for Advancement of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) at Avondale College of Higher Education. She is an experienced higher education teacher, leader and researcher and is involved in undergraduate and postgraduate education, and professional development. Some of her research interests include threshold concepts, educational technology, online teaching and professional learning.
Kevin Gosselin
Kevin Gosselin holds a Ph.D. degree in educational psychology from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX in 2009. He has held academic appointments as adjunct faculty at Texas Tech University from 2008-2010, a lecturer at The University of Texas at Austin in 2010, and as Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at The University of Texas at Tyler from 2010-2013. In 2013, he was appointed as Assistant Dean for Research and Evidence Based-Practice and Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at Texas A&M Health Science Center. He is currently the Director of Academics and Biostatistics at HonorHealth Research Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona. His research involves distance education, faculty development, research methodology and applied performance psychology.
Peter Kilgour
Dr Peter Kilgour is the Director of the Christian Education Research Centre and a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Business and Science at Avondale College of Higher Education. His research areas include teacher education, innovative learning and teaching, assessment in work integrated learning, cultural awareness and mathematics education. He is an educator of 35 years’ experience in four different countries. As a former secondary mathematics teacher, school principal, and school system CEO, he has a passion for innovative learning and has worked to implement this in the higher education setting, in online and on-campus modes. His current teaching responsibilities include multicultural education and professional development for pre-service teachers.
Catherine McLoughlin
Catherine McLoughlin is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Education at the Australian Catholic University, Canberra. With over 30 years of experience in higher education in Europe, South East Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, she has experience and expertise in a variety of educational settings, with diverse students and across a wide range of cultural contexts. Catherine’s research focuses on e-learning, technology enabled pedagogy in higher education, curriculum design, and global trends in education and teacher professional development. Her current research interests include the use of social networking tools to support learning, networked learning in higher education and knowledge creation processes.
Chris Boddey
Chris Boddey provides eLearning support to teaching staff across the Avondale College of Higher Education campuses and lectures at the Avondale Business School. Chris has a professional background across primary, secondary and tertiary education in both Queensland and New South Wales. Chris has been involved in supporting educational technology innovation for over thirty years and has utilised his experience in education to capitalise on business opportunities in education throughout his career. He has operated a small business in the education sector for over fifteen years and has twenty years’ experience in school governance. Chris is keenly aware of the challenges associated with the changing face of twenty-first century education in a variety of educational settings. His research interests include: professional development curriculum design and delivery, facilitating authentic blended learning environments and addressing barriers to effective ICT integration in education.
Variations in coherence and engagement in students’ experience of blended learning
Full paper
Feifei Han
The University of Sydney
Robert Ellis
The University of Sydney
Catch this session
Monday 4 December, 11.30am - 12pm
Stream 4
Room L209
Abstract
We report a study which examines variations in coherence and engagement of 344 first year engineering students’ blended learning experience. Using self-report and observational data sources, we demonstrate that student perceptions of the blended learning environment, academic learning outcomes, and actual engagement with the online learning activities are logically related at the variable level as shown by correlation analysis; and at the level of student groupings of similar learning experience and behaviors, as revealed by cluster, ANOVA, and 2 x 2 contingency analyses. Using self-report data, we found that when students perceived the learning activities in the f2f and online environments were coherent and integrated, they tended to be more engaged with the online learning and to perform relatively higher on the assessment tasks than students with negative perceptions. Using the observational data, students who were more engaged with the online learning tended to perceive that the online learning was well integrated with the f2f learning, that the online contributions were valuable for the whole learning experience, and achieved relatively higher than less engaged students. A 2 x 2 contingency table further revealed a logical relationship between the groupings of students based on the self-report and observational data: moderate and positive association was found between students with coherent perceptions and more engagement; and between students with fragmented perceptions and less engagement with the learning experience. The use of multiple data sources and methods enabled triangulation, strengthened analysis power, and offered a more comprehensive picture of students’ blended learning experience.
About the authors
Feifei Han
Feifei Han currently is an educational researcher at the University of Sydney. Her current research interests comprise of three broad themes: (1) language and literacy education; (2) teaching, learning, and educational technology in higher education, and (3) educational psychology.
Robert Ellis
Robert Ellis is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Sydney. He has been a funded chief investigative researcher for the Australian Research Council since 2005. His current project is funded up until 2019 (with Goodyear and others). Robert’s research interests focus on the student and teaching experience of e-learning, quality and innovation in higher education and learning spaces. He is author of two books and more than eighty internationally refereed publications, mostly in journal articles. He is also a coordinating editor of the Springer Journal ‘Higher Education’, and co-editor of the new book series for Springer ‘Understanding Teaching and Learning practice’. The goal of his research and scholarship is to achieve meaningful social contributions through translational research outcomes.