Foorumite kasutamine vaba juurdepääsuga e-kursustel kursuse "Programmeerimisest maalähedaselt" näite

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Which conditions facilitate the effectiveness of large-group learning activities? A systematic review of research in higher education

Large-group activities have increased in higher education since 2000. Research focused on the possibility to have positive effects on students’ learning, regardless of the number of students by identifying facilitating factors. Hence, the achievement of learning results is used as a criterion of effectiveness. This review summarises the findings of research studies on conditions that determine the effectiveness of large-group learning activities in higher education contexts published from 1996 to 2016. The PRISMA declaration for conducting literature reviews was followed. Articles were searched through the ERIC, Web of Science, SCOPUS, SCIELO, and EBSCO databases, including additional sources. A total of 78 articles met the inclusion criteria and were selected for thematic analysis. These studies came from a wide range of disciplines, types of institutions, and locations. Five themes emerged as conditions that facilitate the effectiveness of large-group learning activities: (1) student–teacher and student–student interaction, (2) implementation of active learning strategies, (3) classroom management, (4) students’ motivation and commitment, and (5) the use of online teaching resources. The discussion is centred on the conditions by which large-group activities can be effective learning strategies in terms of student’s achievement of learning outcomes

Implementing a Digital Sharing Space in Online Studio Coursework in the Field of Landscape Architecture

Landscape architecture education focuses on creating socially-rich environments for learning. Coursework in landscape architecture often is labeled as “studio learning.” These types of classes involve a high degree of collaboration and detailed critique. They create opportunities for students to interact with each other and their professors. When considering the adoption of online learning, a primary concern of landscape architecture professors is to maintain this high degree of social interaction in online classes. This study explores the use of several platforms to facilitate social interaction in online landscape architecture coursework. These platforms include Canvas, Basecamp, and Conceptboard. Canvas is the learning management system used for the course, and work done for this project included interaction on the discussion boards. Basecamp is a collaboration tool that included message boards and check-ins for students. Conceptboard included visual work-sharing on an online whiteboard and was used for scheduled critiques between students and the professor or TA. Over the course of two assignments, students interacted online within these different platforms. To determine the effectiveness of the platforms, data was collected from the content posted to platforms, the grades of students’ assignments, and a survey sent to students. Students that used any platform performed better on their assignments than those who did not. Conceptboard users especially had higher grades than those who did not. Conceptboard was generally used to post work and receive a critique from a professor or TA. When comparing students who used Basecamp and Canvas, there was little difference in students’ performance. Basecamp provided a benefit in more participation, and students who used the platform responded that they were more engaged with their fellow peers. During the study, students did respond that they had opportunities to interact with their peers. This study suggests that using online platforms for student interaction can have a positive benefit for students

Three essays on how social context shapes engagement online

Understanding online user engagement is a key challenge for social platforms that support the communal creation or transfer of knowledge and information. Engagement is not only a function of individual attributes but also the result of the social context that derives from platform choices. This dissertation presents several empirical examples of how social context shapes online engagement in social platforms such as social media or online communities. In the first chapter, I investigate how the social network structure influences Twitter users’ information sharing behavior. I reconcile contradictory theories of the diversity of information sharing on social media using data representative of the whole population of Twitter users. In the second chapter, I investigate how online community size impacts users’ platform engagement. By conducting a randomized field experiment on edX, I show a causal influence of community size on individual user’s knowledge-sharing behavior, retention and performance. In the third chapter, I examine how social learning impacts out-group users’ engagement in an online learning community in terms of language and culture. I broaden the scope of my research in this last chapter by studying a context that has received little attention in the platform engagement literature. I use an interdisciplinary multi-method approach in my research that includes social network analysis, randomized field experiment, and econometrics. This dissertation involves a combination of these methods to understand user-behavior in the social platform and introduce interventions to maximize the benefit for digital platform and users alike

The Impact of Instructor Workload on the Use of Written Corrective Feedback

The personal and professional feedback instructors provide impact of their workload. Moore’s theory of transactional distance was the theoretical foundation for this study. The purpose of this study to is to examine whether number of students, number of classes, and years of online teaching experience determine what written corrective feedback types (direct and indirect feedback) instructors use. There was a gap in literature concerning number of students, number of classes, and years of online teaching experience among university instructors. The questionnaire along with demographics were distributed to 40 university instructors who were members of an accredited university. The findings determined that one variable or a combination of variables did not determine what written corrective feedback (WCF) type instructors use in relation to workload. The findings may be used by university administration for positive social change in order to better sever faculty and students

CIVIC LEARNING IN ONLINE COURSES: THE EXPERIENCE OF EMERGING ADULTS AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Civic learning is an important part of the mission of higher learning. The community college is a unique and integral part of the system of higher education in the United States. Digital technology has increased the options for students to take classes at a distance in a fully online format. Many of the students in online classes at the community college are in a life stage known as emerging adulthood. While there has been considerable research on each of the four topics of civic learning, the community college, emerging adulthood, and online learning, there remains a substantial gap in the literature where these topics intersect. Instructors, administrators, and designers of online courses need more information with which to best plan and deliver civic learning opportunities to emerging adults in online classes at the public community college. Qualitative research is an appropriate methodology for areas of study with little extant literature. This study used the phenomenological method in order to better understand how emerging adults enrolled in asynchronous online classes at the public community college perceive civic responsibility, civic engagement, and the experience of civic learning in their online classes. The study produced findings that highlighted the importance of respect for diversity, civil discourse, nurturing of a social learning community and instructor presence. Implications for an online pedagogy to promote civic learning are included

A case study of collaborative learning among preparatory year students and their teachers at Hail University in Saudi Arabia

The concept of collaborative learning (CL) relates to the educational use of small groups, in which students work together to maximise their learning and to teach and learn from each other as much as possible, after receiving guidelines and instructions from their teachers. Collaborative learning in Saudi higher education (SHE) has been promoted at the government level in recent years as part of a trend to increase the adoption of e-learning. The policy also aligns with educational reforms and the drive to make the Saudi economy more competitive and diverse. Nevertheless, it is still enforcing itself to become a norm in the teaching and learning process as it is a radical shift from the traditional centralised decision making in educational settings and teacher-centred teaching, which indicate a high power distance structure. Therefore, this study investigates the perceptions of preparatory year students and teachers at Hail University regarding the implementation of CL. A qualitative research methodology was adopted. Data were gathered from observations, six focus groups (composed of five students in each group) and individual interviews with 12 teachers on the foundation year. The findings of this study indicated two modalities for deploying CL: traditional CL (TCL/non-computer- supported collaborative learning [CSCL]) and computer-supported CL (CSCL) in Saudi higher Education. Furthermore, the results showed that CL indeed provides personal, social, and academic benefits. It is still, however, marred by challenges such that effective implementation is curtailed and thus does not produce positive learning outcomes among students. Overall, given the cultural background, the preference for retaining a high power distance, and what teachers and students are accustomed to, the study suggests further research be conducted to implement an form of CL adapted to suit Saudi culture

Engineering serendipity in large scale learning environments:A design-based research investigation into the impact of visualising peer produced content in real-time in FutureLearn courses

This thesis investigates social learning in large scale courses, from the perspective of exploiting the benefits of massive participation. Specifically, I examine the affordances of the FutureLearn course platform, analysing their impact on learner interactions. I then create new affordances through a novel mediating artefact, the Comment Discovery Tool, and develop innovative pedagogical models which are refined through 3 phases of design-based research. The Comment Discovery Tool is an interactive visualisation of all learner commentary that allows learners to see conversations and emergent themes from the course in a non-linear fashion. In the second phase of design-based research I use formal learning design frameworks to introduce inquiry and reflection activities into the pedagogical toolkit. These are generally missing from the established model of large scale course design which values completion, progress and retention only. The third phase of design-based research continues the pedagogical innovation by encouraging learners to alter their writing style towards the development of communities of ‘ambient affiliation’. This demonstrates that learning at scale requires a reconceptualisation of online courses, placing massive-ness and cooperation at the heart of the pedagogic design. This thesis is a case study into how this can be achieved by using design-based research, placing learners at the centre of the design process, and levelling up the human activity of learning to one where learners can extend the range of their own environment for the benefit of others. The research represents an original contribution because I demonstrate how real-time visualisations can encourage cooperative activity and demonstrate how pedagogical innovation can be achieved through a rigorous user-centric analysis, starting from the materiality of the platform, and integrating theoretical frameworks. I also use a GPL open-source licence for the tool which enables others to download, remix and re-use the technology on other courses