Abstract
Research suggests that students are skeptical about the values of General Education courses. This revelation calls for different strategies to improve students’ engagement in the classes, including the use of online learning platforms. This study documents students’ experiences of the online discussion forum as a tool for strengthening their engagement in the Social Sciences context of General Education. Data collection and analyses were conducted using quantitative and qualitative strategies involving learning analytics and critical incident questionnaire. The findings revealed that the forum aided students’ engagement and learning in the courses, especially when reading and responding to colleagues’ posts and relating topics to their personal experiences. Despite this, the findings showed that students’ engagement was hampered while interfacing with each other on the platform when colleagues repeated ideas, and discussions were inconsistent with their personal experiences. The results suggested that constructive feedback, clear guidelines, and reflective questions can strengthen students’ engagement and learning in online discussions. Based on the findings, implications for practice and stakeholders are discussed.
Highlights
General Education (GNED) programs supplement departmental core courses [1] by allowing students to learn concepts and ideas different from those in their specialization areas
The issue and Reviewing the literature on measures and approaches for addressing the problems, with online discussion forum recognized as a means for promoting students’
Quantitative data on students' engagement in the online discussion forums used in the classes through Blackboard Learning Analytics
Summary
General Education (GNED) programs supplement departmental core courses [1] by allowing students to learn concepts and ideas different from those in their specialization areas. It is not surprising that literature indicates that GNED facilitates the transmission of social, cultural, economic, and educational values and goals [2]. A report indicates that some students see GNED courses as a sheer waste of time because of the inconsistency between those courses and their professional plans [4]. Another study reveals that students may not have an understanding of the values and missions of the GNED courses, and subsequently, they may deem the courses to be unimportant [5]. The scholars state that students were undecided on the GNED program’s relevance despite reorganizing their course [5]
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