Abstract
This research study was conducted in 2018 and resulted in an instructional system designed to support university instructors that seek to promote student agency in lecture-based learning environments. The objective of the study was to design and test an instructional system that supplements the traditional lecture and provides opportunities for the development of agentic engagement. In support of the instructional system design, the study examined ways in which university undergraduates used a digital backchannel, determined if using a digital backchannel affected agentic engagement, and identified the features of a digital backchannel that influenced student agency. The study employed a mixed methodology design using a questionnaire to collect quantitative student profile data and phenomenography to conduct a qualitative inquiry into participants’ experience. The population for this study consisted of undergraduates at a private, international university located outside of Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 171 participants took part in this study, with ten students selected for a focus group through a non-probability, purposive sampling. Overall, the study found that a lecturing system that employs the strategic use of a digital backchannel can promote student agentic engagement. Student agency and instructor effectiveness were both positively influenced through the employment of an instructional system.
Highlights
An issue facing today’s university lecture halls, worldwide, is the universal lack of student engagement, student agency
With over 2,000 backchannel entries by the 171 participants over 15 weeks results showed that the use of personal technology in lecture-based learning environments can increase participation
To further elicit this point, participants that did not contribute readily to the focus group discussion were more productive within the digital backchannel
Summary
An issue facing today’s university lecture halls, worldwide, is the universal lack of student engagement, student agency. Agentic engagement is a student-initiated pathway, representing the “students’ constructive contribution to the flow of instruction” as they express interests and offer input to their instructor (Reeve & Shin, 2020). For the agentically-engaged learner, their role in lecture-based learning environments is unclear. They seek to take an active role in the classroom, but in an environment where questioning, commenting, and contributing are not coveted, this leaves them isolated and unsure of expectations. The lecture hall does not promote what Reeve and Shin (2020) describe as the “purposive, proactive, and reciprocal type of engagement” Lecture-based instruction has a long and revered history in tertiary education. It is an appealing format for instructors and curriculum writers for several reasons.
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