Increasing Social Presence in Online Learning through Small Group Discussions

Social presence is a difficult to achieve, but an imperative component of online learning. In this study, we investigated the effect of group size on students' perceptions of social presence in two graduate-level online courses, comparing small group versus whole class discussions. Our results indicated that when in small group discussions, students perceived a higher level of social presence in terms of sociability, t(32) = 3.507, p = .001; social space, t(29) = 3.074, p = .005; and group cohesion, t(32) = 3.550, p = .001. We discuss how placing students in small and permanent discussion groups can augment social presence. Designers and educators of online learning can strategically modify group size to promote social presence in asynchronous online discussions

Rise like a Phoenix: Empowering Youth At Risk through Self-Directed Learning and Technology

This presentation will demonstrate a self-directed learning system, Learner Power, in which students gradually take ownership of their own learning process while preparing for jobs in Georgia’s fast-growing film and television industry. Students develop essential workplace skills such as communication, collaboration, problem solving, goal setting, research skills

International perspectives on using OER for online learning

This article examines the work by Hilton (Educ Technol Res Dev 64: 573–590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9, 2016) entitled, “Open educational resources and college textbook choices: A review of research on efficacy and perceptions” from international perspectives. Hilton (Educ Technol Res Dev 64: 573–590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9, 2016) synthesized findings of 16 studies that investigated the academic outcomes of open educational resources (OER) and perceptions of college students and instructors. The academic outcomes were comparable to using traditional textbooks, and perceptions were positive. His work highlights effectiveness of OER in online courses resulting from their technological affordances. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many institutions around the globe to abruptly shift their instructions digital and make learning more flexible and affordable for those who face medical, financial, and daily life challenges. Hilton’s findings (Educ Technol Res Dev 64: 573–590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9, 2016) provide collective evidence to support the adoption of OER and shed light on how it can be used and what future work is needed internationally. This article examines the international value, implications, and limitations of his work and suggests future directions

Writing Stories in the Sciences

Writing stories is advocated as an excellent means of learning the process of science; however, little is understood about students\u27 experiences of engaging in story writing in postsecondary science courses. The study described in this article was designed to improve the practice of using stories in science by examining students\u27 lived experience through interviews, surveys, and observations

The Effects of Online Glossary Quizzes and Student Autonomy on Domain Vocabulary Learning in Business Law

While understanding of domain specific vocabularies is essential in content learning, little research informs teaching practices for glossary learning. This study examines the relationship among vocabulary learning, student autonomy, and course performance through the theoretical framework of self-determination theory and second language acquisition. Undergraduate business law students (n = 209) took weekly online glossary quizzes via a learning management system before coming to the class. Students were divided into two groups where (a) glossary quizzes were required and graded and (b) optional and not graded. There was a significant relationship among the number of quiz attempts and overall course performance. While both groups valued the glossary quiz as a helpful learning activity, students in the required group made more attempts at quizzes (t = 17.029, p \u3c .01), received higher scores (t = 2.841, p \u3c .01), and demonstrated higher perceived competence (t = 5.544, p \u3c .01) in their command of vocabularies than students in the optional group. Also, students who reported more autonomous motivation toward the course made more attempts and received higher scores. Findings suggest required glossary quizzes enhance student engagement with quizzes and further improves content learning. However, the use of glossary quizzes proved effective only when students actually completed these numerous times. Educators are recommended to encourage repeated attempts at glossary quizzes where unfamiliar vocabularies are crucial to content understanding and professional practice

Autonomy Support for Online Students

Despite the rapid growth of online learning in higher education, the dropout rates for online courses has reached 50 percent. Lack of student engagement rank as a critical reason for frequent online course dropout. This article discusses autonomy support as a strategy to enhance online students’ intrinsic motivation and engagement. Drawing from current theories and research, three guidelines are offered to provide choices, rationale behind why assignments are designed in particular ways, and flexibility in completing more personally meaningful assignments. Each guideline is accompanied with examples from existing higher education courses. This article is intended for educators and designers of online learning to employ autonomy support strategies to engage students in active participation and successful completion of the course

Law is a ‘Foreign’ Language: An Analysis of the Language of Law and the Use of Second-Language Teaching Pedagogy in an Undergraduate Business Law Course

Lawyers have long been and, to some extent, remain notorious for using language that the general public cannot understand. Some accuse lawyers of “poisoning language in order to fleece their clients.”1 In light of the existence of and progression of the plain-meaning movement, it is at least equally possible that lawyers are more like Harry Potter speaking Parseltongue, speaking legal language without even realizing it. Either way, when the audience does not have a law school education, they may benefit from guidance relating to legal language and terms that may otherwise be ignored. As the plain language movement continues, the expression of law will become less archaic, but even so, the practice of law and the writing and teaching of legal concepts will continue to require terminology unique to the field. A brief review of the historic origins and other aspects of the language of law support the suggestion that law is like a second language. In light of this reality, students in undergraduate business law classes may benefit from teaching efforts to consider and borrow from the pedagogy of second-language teaching. Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), which incorporates goals that are at least reminiscent of those found in a practice-based undergraduate business law text, is useful, as is research relating to the use of vocabulary activities for students learning a second language. Moreover, a view of these options yields a ready list of practical considerations for those teaching undergraduate business law, or other lexicon-rich disciplines, interested in improving student fluency within the subject

Differences in personalized learning practice and technology use in high- and low-performing learner-centered schools in the United States

The Every Student Succeeds Act supports personalized learning (PL) to close achievement gaps of diverse K-12 learners in the United States. Implementing PL into a classroom entails a paradigm change of the educational system. However, it is demanding to transform traditional practice into a personalized one under the pressure of the annual standardized testing while it is unclear which PL approaches are more likely to result in better academic outcomes than others. Using national survey data of ELA teachers in identified learner-centered schools, this study compared high and low-performing learner-centered schools (determined by their standardized test results) in terms of their use of five PL features (personalized learning plan, competency-based student progress, criterion-referenced assessment, project- or problem-based learning, and multi-year mentoring) and their use of technology for the four functions of planning, learning, assessment, and recordkeeping. Generally, teachers in high-performing schools implemented PL more thoroughly and utilized technology for more functions than those in low-performing schools. Teachers in high-performing schools more frequently considered career goals when creating personal learning plans, shared the project outcomes with the community, and assessed non-academic outcomes. They stayed longer with the same students and developed close relationships with more students. Also, they more frequently used technology for sharing resources and reported having a more powerful technology system than those in low-performing schools. This study informs educators, administrators, and researchers of which PL approaches and technology uses are more likely to result in better academic outcomes measured by standardized assessments