Active Learning In Higher Education Research Articles

The effect of technology on Arabic language learning in higher education

Technology is advancing and developing, and we cannot let go of our lives. One of them is in the world of education, the use of technology is often found. teachers combine technological devices in the learning process so that the learning atmosphere becomes more interesting, not only with increasingly open technological developments and the spread of information and knowledge throughout the world across the boundaries of space and time. Thus, technological developments have a positive impact on educators and students. In this study, researchers measured the extent to which the application of this technology in the learning process was highly valued. For this reason, this research aims to find out the impact of technology on Arabic language learning at the Batusangkar Institute State Islamic University. The method used in this research is a survey research method. Data collection uses observation, interviews and questionnaires. Furthermore, the expected result of this research is to find out the role or influence of technology on Arabic language learning activities in higher education. Based on the research results, it can be seen that there is an influence or influence of technology on Arabic language learning at the Batusangkar State Islamic Institute.

Effects of providing EFL learners with additional online and face‐to‐face practise opportunities to promote active learning in higher education

AbstractBackgroundLimited research on the effectiveness of additional online and face‐to‐face practise opportunities for promoting active learning among Chinese EFL learners in higher education. Current understanding of self‐regulated and collaborative learning theories in educational contexts.ObjectivesTo establish the efficacy of interactive online and face‐to‐face practise opportunities for enhancing active learning among Chinese EFL learners.MethodsEmployed mixed methods research to assess the impact of different types of practise opportunities on 116 EFL learners. Utilised methodological triangulation of QUAN + QUAL data and one‐way ANOVA for interpretation.Results and conclusionsThe study demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating online and face‐to‐face practise opportunities to enhance active learning. Empirical evidence supports the pedagogical and theoretical benefits of these opportunities for promoting active learning among EFL learners.

Promoting Student Success with Neutrosophic Sets: Artificial Intelligence and Student Engagement in Higher Education Context

Several higher education institutions recommended active learning many decades ago. In many fields, artificial intelligence (AI) has turned out to be a dominant aspect of people's lives. One of the fields that welcome AI is education. AI can play a crucial role in active learning, which is a teaching method that encourages students to take an active role in their learning process. Active learning can involve a wide range of activities, such as problem-solving, group discussions, and self-reflection. This quantitative research paper aims to explore students' engagement and perceptions of patterns of embracing AI tools and their relationship to student learning outcomes. A diverse sample of 355 students from a highly reputable university in the United Arab Emirates participated in the research study (UAE). Descriptive Analysis and Correlation Coefficient were used to achieve the paper's objectives. Findings uncovered students’ high engagement level in classroom activities, and they perceived AI tools as useful and effortless, which promotes their engagement and attention inside classrooms. Furthermore, the results demonstrated the existence of a positive association between students' perceptions of embracing AI and student engagement in the learning environment. However, students’ learning outcomes have a non-remarkable association with student engagement and their perception of AI patterns. The study's findings suggest embracing and promoting AI applications in classrooms to keep students engaged. This study's use of Neutrosophic sets offers a fresh way to approach the problem of ambiguity when evaluating students' opinions and performance in relation to AI technologies. Neutrosophic sets, a mathematical framework designed to manage uncertainty, provide a sophisticated way to understand how students' complicated interactions with AI operate. This integration promises a more comprehensive and flexible educational paradigm and is a trailblazing method of negotiating the complexities of active learning in higher education.

The Increasing Role of Technology in Teaching and Learning Activities in Higher Education

We are pleased to publish the second regular issue (Volume 13, Issue 2) of <em>Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC)</em> for 2023. If there is a common theme that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the increased role that technology did and will continue to play in teaching and learning activities in tertiary education. The range of articles reflects the interest in digital teaching and learning and includes the use of scaffolded simulations, the influence of immersive virtual reality in the classroom, and gamification. In addition, guidelines around instant messaging are proposed that should continue the conversation around the ethical use of technology in teaching and learning. As is typical in the HLRC, the authors reflect diverse countries, including Canada, India, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States. We look forward to 2024, when we expect to publish a special issue on English language influence in higher education teaching, learning, and research.

Using learning analytics with temporal modeling to uncover the interplay of before-class video viewing engagement, motivation, and performance in an active learning context

Video learning is a crucial component in flipped learning related to learners' readiness to attend more complex face-to-face activities. However, instructors may not know students' preparedness and motivation for each class. This study intended to examine the underlying mechanism between students' before-class video-viewing engagement and performance. We investigated learners' motivation (i.e., autonomous and controlled motivation) based on self-determination theory and controlled for their gender, age, and prior performance. An integrated temporal model was built under the dynamic structural equation modeling framework. Participants were 118 Taiwanese graduate students (78 females and 40 males) with a mean age of 26.14 years old. Study findings showed that students engage with the video content in a consistent viewing pattern, which has a significant relationship with their motivation and academic performance from week to week. The frequency of skipping backward was negatively associated with controlled motivation, while the frequency of pauses was positively associated with autonomous and controlled motivation. A high frequency of skipping forward predicted lower learning performance. Besides, a higher ratio of skipping backward predicted higher controlled motivation. Male students, older students, and students with higher prior performance exhibited higher autonomous motivation, which was related to better learning performance. Understanding these relationships can help educators and instructional designers develop more effective strategies for fostering students’ preparedness, engagement and success in active learning contexts. The study findings were discussed considering theoretical advancement and practical implications for enhancing personalized and active learning in higher education to achieve educational equity.

Developing teamwork in a multidisciplinary, multicohort curricular context: A case study of vertically integrated projects

The ability to work effectively in a diverse team is a valuable skill which is transferable to many contexts. As such, it is important to build this skill through deliberate, targeted, and meaningful learning activities in higher education. The Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) model enhances team diversity by combining students from different disciplines and years of study to work together on a research project within the curriculum. Additionally, VIP provides the option to remain on the project for an extended period over several semesters and gain team leadership experience. Our research investigates the recent implementation of VIP at the University of St Andrews. Using a survey of student perceptions and analysis of student reflective writing, this case study reports evidence that the VIP model adds value to the development of teamwork skills.

Reconceptualise a dynamic framework of the learning constructs in higher education

AbstractThis paper reconceptualised the interrelated learning constructs in higher education based on the Dynamic Systems Theory (DST). The university students' learning experience before, during and post the Emergency Online Learning (EOL) was investigated to explore the dynamic changes among the learning constructs in higher education. A case study of a Chinese university was conducted, and one hundred and ninety‐three university students participated in the questionnaire. The data collected from this empirical research identify different hierarchical constructs of the conceptualised learning environment and reconceptualise the period of system reformation influenced by the EOL. The key findings include the identifications of the attractors and repellors framed by the DST and the impact on the changes in the learning constructs. The results of this paper contribute to further understanding of the university constructs' changes to better plan and support students' active learning in higher education.

Active Learning in Higher Education from the Perspectives of Faculty Members

Active Learning in Higher Education from the Perspectives of Faculty Members

Utilization of E-learning in The Learning Activities in Higher Education

This study aims to investigate the implementation of distance learning with E-learning conducted in tertiary institutions. After the Covid-19 pandemic, E-learning became the main learning platform carried out in various universities. This research uses a qualitative approach with a type of library research. Sources of data in this study are books and research results that are in accordance with the research theme. The results of the research show that the E-learning system is the result of the development of a digital system in the world of education which aims to provide convenience for teachers and students in learning activities. Through E-learning the teaching and learning process can be carried out without face-to-face contact between the teacher and students and is no longer limited by time and place. E-learning is a solution to the problems in the world of education which are increasingly busy with various services that offer high flexibility and mobility.

Increasing Student Learning Motivation through the Use of Interactive Digital Books Based on Project Based Learning (PjBL)

This research aims to increase student learning motivation through the use of interactive digital books based on project based learning. Biology learning strategy and design is one of the compulsory subjects that must be taken by students of the biology education study program at the University of PGRI West Sumatra and STKIP Ahlussunnah Bukititinggi. Based on observations made in the class of 2020 students who are taking biology learning strategy and design courses at the Biology Education Study Program at the University of PGRI West Sumatra and STKIP Ahlusunnah Bukittinggi, it was found the following problems, low student motivation in learning, this can be seen from students do not understand the explanation of the material presented by the lecturer, the students feel lazy when studying and do not want to read the material learned in the learning process and the boredom of students when listening to the lecturer explain the subject matter. One way that lecturers can do to increase learning motivation is to use digital books. So that with the digital book, students are expected to have the impetus or drive to carry out learning activities in higher education to achieve the learning goals they want. This research is descriptive qualitative research. The technique of collecting data is using a questionnaire, with 32 students as respondents. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that there is an increase in student learning motivation through the use of interactive digital books based on Project Based Learning (PjBL). The results are very high, namely 96.37%.

Learning by engaging

The Universitat de Barcelona research group in teaching innovation GIDTAAVE organized the 2nd International Conference in Experiences in Active Learning in Higher Education, which was held online on 5 November, 2021. The aim of the conference was to provide a forum for high-quality research in teaching innovation in higher education, focusing on active learning methodologies. The event provided an excellent opportunity for lecturers from different universities to discuss their work in a relaxed atmosphere and to develop long-term collaborative relationships. Specifically, twelve papers were presented by authors from different Spanish Universities (Universidad de Salamanca, Universidad de Cantabria, Universidad de Navarra, Universidad Juan Carlos I and Universidad Carlos III, to name a few), who had the opportunity to share their experiences with other colleagues. Each session was followed by fruitful discussions among the participants. The keynote speech of the conference was given by Steven Proud, who is currently the Director of Undergraduate Studies and a Reader in Economics Education in the School of Economics at the University of Bristol. Steven Proud gave a very interesting talk entitled “What are the barriers to active learning in economics?”.

Supporting students’ active learning with a computer based tool

In recent years, the use of information technology to promote active learning in higher education has raised great interest. Teachers are continuously challenged to identify new research-informed approaches and educational practices for supporting students to actively learn and apply their knowledge. The present study tests the effects on students’ learning outcomes of an ad hoc developed learning tool (QLearn) which integrates three active learning strategies, previously empirically validated in face-to-face educational contexts. By using the QLearn software, students can generate questions, explain and develop answers, receive feedback from teacher and test their knowledge. Using a quasi-experimental design, we analyzed whether, in various course settings and instructional contexts, the students who use QLearn, as a support in their learning process, demonstrate a different learning performance compared to students who learn the same content by using their preferred learning strategies. The interventions were offered on a voluntary basis and implied participants from different fields (computer science, psychology) and different study levels (undergraduate and master’s level). The results showed that some groups of our participants significantly benefits from the use of QLearn platform. The outcomes of the present research advanced our understanding of the efficiency of technology-sustained learning in educational contexts and offer a promising strategy for facilitating the active involvement of students in the learning process.

Employability beliefs of business students by gender and year of study: Implications for higher education

Grounded in social-cognitive theory, the study reported here explored undergraduate business students' perceptions of their employability and the impact of year of study and gender on these perceptions. 6,004 undergraduate business students enrolled with multiple Australian universities self-assessed their study and career-related confidence using an online, validated measure of perceived employability. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted and five predicted factors were obtained. Multivariate analysis of variance then identified gender and year-of-study differences across five employability factors. The findings highlight gender and year of study differences in students' understanding of how well their programs related to their future careers. The same differences were noted in students’ confidence that their learning tasks were career-relevant and also their confidence that they could apply their learning in a workplace setting. Student confidence that their degree programs were preparing them for graduate life and work lessened as they progressed through their programs. Implications include the need for business educators to be clear about the relevance of each learning and assessment task, and to take a data-driven approach to informing career development learning activities in higher education.

Network mapping of asynchronous student interactions in online discussion boards

The recent movement towards asynchronous learning activities in higher education has transformed student and educator interactions. However, as the efficacy of such approaches are unknown, many educators must rely on personal experience and peer anecdotes regarding student engagement without underlying data to inform assessment. As educators transition from pandemic‐driven pedagogy to sustainable models of course design, the use of course‐based analytics can help instructors understand the ways in which students are interacting with asynchronous activities and each other.To develop fluency in reading and understanding scientific journal articles and to provide an interactive forum for discussions between students, weekly discussion boards were assigned in a graduate‐level neuroscience course. Based on an assigned article, each student was required to post an original response to the reading and reply to two posts made by their peers. These discussion board interactions were analyzed to form a social network map of asynchronous student interactions. Of the 27 students initially enrolled in the course, 24 completed it. The 3 students that did not complete the course were included as nodes and edges but excluded from statistical analysis.During the 9‐week semester (9 original posts, 18 required peer replies), students responded well to instructions about ensuring that the majority of posts received peer interaction, with 91.5% of all original posts receiving at least one reply and 28.7% of posts receiving 3 or more replies. Prestige or indegrees, measured as the average number of replies each student received, was 17.96 (SD 6.39). Centrality or outdegrees, measured as the average number of replies each student made, was 17.92 (SD 1.64). Students connected to an average of 45% (SD 0.07) of their peers. There was no correlation between student quiz performance and either prestige or centrality. Students that tended to post earlier saw a non‐significant trend to receive more peer replies than those who tended to post later. This trend became significant (p < 0.001) when analyzing the correlation between absolute post order and number of replies rather than the average post order of each student.These findings provide evidence regarding student engagement behaviors as they pertain to online discussion boards. Students generally did not exceed the mandated minimums for full points, and in some cases, self‐reported through end‐of‐semester feedback that they strategically engaged either to maximize earned points or to minimize overall effort. Collectively, in their feedback, the students provided deep and nuanced feedback on the activity experience. Overall, while many students noted the time required and initial difficulty in regularly reading scientific literature, 92% of responses indicated that the student found value and utility in reading and discussing the scientific papers in this format, supporting the use of this activity in future versions of this course.

Trends of Active Learning in Higher Education and Students' Well-Being: A Literature Review.

This literature Review had the purpose of inspecting how the use of active learning methodologies in higher education can impact students’ Well-being. Considering the Heads of State meeting at United Nations Headquarters on September 2015, in which the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by all United Nations Member states, this literature review is limbered to the time period between September 2015 and September 2021. A Previous research focused on reviews was made to support the conceptual framework. The search was done in two databases - Web of Science main collection and Scopus - by two researchers autonomously, using the following search criteria: “higher education AND active learning AND student AND wellness OR well-being OR wellbeing.” The studies section attended the following inclusion criteria: (i) published in peer-reviewed journals; (ii) empirical studies; (iii) written in English, French, Portuguese or Spanish; (iv) open access full text; (v) Higher education context; and (vi) focused on the topic under study. The search provided 10 articles which were submitted to an inductive thematic analysis attending to the purpose of this review, resulting in two themes: (i) students’ well-being during confinement; (ii) methodological solutions for students’ well-being. Data show that the use of active methodologies, as digital technologies, and the incorporation of some practice as physical activity and volunteering seems to benefit students’ well-being, namely in their academic achievement, physical, emotional, and social life, and empower them to the professional future with multi-competencies. Higher education institutions need to understand the value of active learning methodologies in sustained education and promote them in their practices.

Relationship Between COVID-19 Related Knowledge and Anxiety Among University Students: Exploring the Moderating Roles of School Climate and Coping Strategies.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in abrupt disruptions in teaching and learning activities in higher education, with students from diverse programs suffering varying levels of anxieties. The physical education field happens to be one of the most affected academic areas due to its experiential content as a medium of instruction. In this study, we investigated the roles of school climate and coping strategies in the relationship between COVID-19 related knowledge and anxiety. Through the census approach, a cross-sectional sample of 760 students was administered a questionnaire in two universities offering Physical Education in Ghana: the University of Education, Winneba, and University of Cape Coast. The outcome of the study found a positive and significant link between COVID-19 knowledge and anxiety. Further, school climate and coping strategies significantly moderated the relationship between students’ COVID-19 knowledge and associated anxiety. The findings have implications for creating a conducive school environment that reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection and through students’ adoption of active coping strategies in an attempt to reduce psychological distress associated with COVID-19 anxiety.

Smart Analysis of Learners Performance Using Learning Analytics for Improving Academic Progression: A Case Study Model

In the current COVID-19 pandemic era, Learning Management Systems (LMS) are commonly used in e-learning for various learning activities in Higher Education. Learning Analytics (LA) is an emerging area of LMS, which plays a vital role in tracking and storing learners’ activities in the online environment in Higher Education. LA treats the collections of students’ digital footprints and evaluates this data to improve teaching and learning quality. LA measures the analysis and reports learners’ data and their activities to predict decisions on every tier of the education system. This promising area, which both teachers and students can use during this pandemic outbreak, converges LA, Artificial Intelligence, and Human-Centered Design in data visualization techniques, semantic and educational data mining techniques, feature data extraction, etc. Different learning activities of learners for each course are analyzed with the help of LA plug-ins. The progression of learners can be monitored and predicted with the help of this intelligent analysis, which aids in improving the academic progress of each learner in a secured manner. The Object-Oriented Programming course and Data Communication Network are used to implement our case studies and to collect the analysis reports. Two plug-ins, local and log store plug-ins, are added to the sample course, and reports are observed. This research collected and monitored the data of the activities each students are involved in. This analysis provides the distribution of access to contents from which the number of active students and students’ activities can be inferred. This analysis provides insight into how many assignment submissions and quiz submissions were on time. The hits distribution is also provided in the analytical chart. Our findings show that teaching methods can be improved based on these inferences as it reflects the students’ learning preferences, especially during this COVID-19 era. Furthermore, each student’s academic progression can be marked and planned in the department.

Government Policy of Independent Learning-Independent Campus: Analysis of Student Knowledge and Readiness

This study aimed to analyze the knowledge and readiness of students in the application of Independent Learning-Independent Campus (MBKM) in the Study Program of Information Systems, Faculty of Information Technology, Flores University. This study applied a survey method with a descriptive approach. The data obtained from the population are 277 student respondents. The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire using SPADA DIKTI by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (KEMDIKBUD RISTEK). Data that has been collected through questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive analysis. The results of this study indicated that students in the Study Program of Information Systems, Faculty of Information Technology, Flores University have sufficient knowledge and readiness and a positive response to the MBKM program. This shows that MBKM has a positive impact on the technical, learning process and evaluation of learning activities in higher education.

Reflection on peer reviewing as a pedagogical tool in higher education

Previous research has emphasized both the importance of giving and receiving peer feedback for the purpose of active learning, as well as of university students’ engagement in reflection to improve learning outcomes. However, requiring students to explicitly reflect on peer reviewing is an understudied learning activity in higher education that may contribute to the utilization of peer-feedback and promote further learning. In this study, we suggest reflection on peer reviewing as one approach to providing a platform for students to engage in reflective practices and for stimulating active learning in higher education, and to make that learning visible to the educator. We examine 26 undergraduate students’ reflections on peer-review to identify categories of reflection and what students have learnt from the peer reviewing process. Our findings reveal six different categories of reflection suggesting students’ active engagement in learning and pointing to the ways educators can direct and instruct students how to reflect. We discuss how these findings can inform university lecturers in the use of reflection upon peer reviewing as a pedagogical tool in higher education.

Active Learning in Higher Education by SOLO Taxonomy

Active Learning in Higher Education by SOLO Taxonomy