Asynchronous Learning Environments Research Articles

Fun and Different Course

This article examines how one instructor employs the principles of gamification in an introductory U.S. history survey. Through the use of a "choose your own grading adventure," which includes 350 assessment choices, the instructor has created a course where students exercise their autonomy and demonstrate their competency over course content. The article argues that gamifying an introductory college-level survey has many advantages for students. Most notably, the course's grading adventure motivates students to complete work in one of the more difficult course modalities -- an asynchronous online learning environment -- as evidenced by the high proportion of students who earn an A each semester.

The Holodeck model, learning environments, and resilience in higher education

This paper proposes a flexible framework for developing asynchronous online learning environments for multidisciplinary contexts at an Australian university. The project addresses the need to build organisational resilience following the fragility demonstrated by educational institutions during the emergency transition to online learning in 2020. The paper examines the challenges experienced by staff and students, the future implications and the potential of the Holodeck model of a learning environment in circumventing these barriers. The analysis of the strategies implemented through various educational technologies in criminology, teacher education, international relations and research methodology, demonstrated its applicability in diverse academic fields. The paper promotes the capacity of the Holodeck-based framework to provide systematic support structures for university online and on-campus programs, and, consequently, to develop institutional resilience in multidisciplinary university contexts. The paper also outlines the next phase of the project, focusing on a student perspective of the use of the Holodeck model.

Effectiveness of a gamified learning analytics dashboard with coregulation mechanism for self-regulated learning in college ethics courses

ABSTRACT It is known that teachers commonly utilize learning platforms equipped with Learning Analytics Dashboards (LAD) to support students in their Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) endeavors. However, students may struggle to effectively employ LAD due to a lack of sufficient metacognitive skills. Co-regulation of learning (CoRL) has been proven to facilitate metacognitive knowledge sharing. However, the implementation of LAD with CoRL mechanisms in self-paced, asynchronous learning environments, aimed at enhancing students' SRL, remains unclear. Investigating how students utilize a LAD with CoRL and how such a system can promote SRL in selfpaced, asynchronous courses is an important topic. This study designed a gamified LAD utilizing a futures trading market interactive interface as the CoRL mechanism. A quasi-experimental design was adopted to assess the effects of the gamified LAD with CoRL on SRL, learning engagement, and academic achievement among 60 students from two Business Ethics classes over the course of a semester. The gamified LAD with CoRL had positive effects on the SRL and learning engagement of the asynchronous learners in the experimental group. Significant differences were observed in the academic achievement of the experimental and control groups. The gamified LAD with CoRL had positive effects on learners in self-paced, asynchronous courses.

Relationship Between Academic Procrastination and Differential Learning Outcomes in Asynchronous Online EFL Learning

Although one advantage of asynchronous online language learning is that learners can choose when and where to learn, this learning environment can also lend itself to procrastination. However, procrastination during asynchronous language learning has not been sufficiently studied. Therefore, the present study investigates student procrastination in an asynchronous English learning environment and examines its impact on learning outcomes. University students engaged in asynchronous learning were divided into three groups, reflecting the timing of access to online materials: procrastinators, habitual learners, and uncategorized learners. When the pre- and post-test scores of the three groups were compared, the procrastinators showed significantly less score growth than the habitual learners. However, these results leave room for further research on the learning outcomes of uncategorized learners, who lacked good study habits but did not procrastinate. The results suggest that, even in asynchronous language learning environments characterized by anytime/anywhere learning, interventions are needed to help students avoid procrastination and become habitual learners.

Examining self-regulated learning as a significant mediator among social presence, cognitive presence, and learning satisfaction in an asynchronous online course: A partial least squares structural equation modeling approach

Using a 33-item 5-point Likert scale and partial least squares structural equation modeling approach, this study examined the role of 347 Chinese college first-year students’ self-regulated learning as a mediator among social and cognitive presences and their learning satisfaction in an asynchronous online course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it examined the extent to which their self-regulated learning and cognitive presence mediated the influence of social presence on their learning satisfaction. The results indicated that participants’ self-regulated learning had a significant positive effect on their learning satisfaction. It also had a significant mediation effect between social presence and their learning satisfaction, as well as between social and cognitive presences. Furthermore, social presence played a significant role in participants’ self-regulated learning and their learning satisfaction through the mediation of their self-regulated learning and cognitive presence. Implications for designing asynchronous online courses are discussed. Implications for practice or policy Course designers should consider how to leverage and increase students’ social presence in the asynchronous online learning environment. Course designers should make it a priority to clarify learning goals, inform learning activity time, provide prompt feedback, design appropriate autonomous tasks, arrange appropriate social learning activities, and specify optional online learning paths. Course designers should foster learners’ self-regulated learning, help them build online confidence, manage their time well, and overcome difficulty in completing the online learning tasks.

Enhancing Engineering Electromagnetics Education: A Comparative Analysis of Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Environments

This study evaluates implementation of asynchronous learning in teaching engineering electromagnetics module. A group of first-year engineering students participated in the study. The instruction was divided into two periods, with the first period using asynchronous online mode and the second period using synchronous face-to-face mode. The performance evaluation was based on essay questions on class tests, and the data variances were statistically analysed. In addition, student feedback was gathered through interviews conducted at the end of the semester. In terms of overall performance, the results indicate that synchronous and asynchronous learning methods were equally effective, as no significant difference was found. However, individual student grades revealed a variety of outcomes for the asynchronous learning method, suggesting that students have different learning preferences and levels of adaptability. Positive feedback for asynchronous learning included the ability to adjust the pace of learning and conveniently access course materials. Students valued the availability of recorded lectures for reviewing difficult subject matter. Students with lower study motivation or limited experience with independent learning were negatively affected by the absence of scaffolding and immediate feedback in the asynchronous learning approach. Some students emphasized the importance of face-to-face interaction with the instructor, especially in a subject like electromagnetics that requires intuitive thought and elaboration.

Mixed methods study of student participation and self-efficacy in remote asynchronous undergraduate physics laboratories: contributors, lurkers, and outsiders

BackgroundWhile laboratory practices have traditionally been conducted in-person, online asynchronous laboratory learning has been growing in popularity due to increased enrollments and the recent pandemic, creating opportunities for accessibility. In remote asynchronous learning environments, students have more autonomy to choose how they participate with other students in their laboratory classes. Communities of practice and self-efficacy may provide insights into why students are making their participation choices and how they are interacting with peers in asynchronous physics laboratory courses.ResultsIn this mixed methods, explanatory sequential study, students in an introductory physics remote asynchronous laboratory (N = 272) were surveyed about their social learning perceptions and their physics laboratory self-efficacy. Three groups of students were identified based upon their self-reported participation level of communication with peers in asynchronous courses: (1) contributors, who communicated with peers via instant messaging software and posted comments; (2) lurkers, who read discussions on instant messaging software without posting comments; and (3) outsiders, who neither read nor posted comments to peer discussions. Analysis of variance with post hoc Tukey tests showed significant differences in social learning perceptions among contributors, lurkers, and outsiders, with a large effect size, and differences between contributing and lurking students’ self-efficacy, with a small effect size. Qualitative findings from open-ended survey responses indicated contributors felt the structure of the learning environment, or their feeling of connectedness with other students, facilitated their desire to contribute. Many lurkers felt they could get what they needed through vicarious learning, and many expressed their lack of confidence to post relevant, accurate comments. Outsiders felt they did not have to, did not want to, or could not connect with other students.ConclusionsWhile the classroom laboratory traditionally requires all students to participate in the learning process through active socialization with other students, students in a remote asynchronous laboratory may still gain the benefits of participation through lurking. Instructors may consider lurking in an online or remote science laboratory as a legitimate form of participation and engagement.

Distance Teacher Training in Periods of Emergency (COVID-19 Pandemic)

The closing of schools at the beginning of spring 2020 in Greece highlighted the need for school distance education to make up for lost teaching time and to maintain learners’ contact with the educational process and other members of the school community. However, the teachers needed support in this urgent situation since they did not have previous experience with school distance education. The Laboratory for Advanced Teaching Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Distance Education (E-Learning Lab) of the University of Crete attempted to contribute with its own means to the support of these teachers. Within this framework, fast-paced, distance seminars were designed and implemented to support teachers on pedagogical issues of distance education. A total of 20 distance training seminars were conducted from 19 March to 29 April 2020, in which more than 40 000 teachers of primary and secondary education in Greece participated. The overall presentation and assessment of the training actions showed not only the enormous interest of the teaching community but also the need for such training actions. The paper proposes that particular emphasis should be placed on the principles and the methodology of school distance education, synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, and the design of lesson plans based on pedagogical approaches compatible with distance learning.

The Effectiveness of Using H5P for Undergraduate Students in the Asynchronous Distance Learning Environment

As the COVID-19 pandemic caused many schools to go online, asynchronous distant learning has become popular. One of the main challenges of asynchronous distance learning is keeping students engaged and motivated, as they do not have the same engagement with their peers and teachers as in traditional face-to-face learning environments. HTML 5 package (H5P) is an interactive learning tool that has the potential to fill this need due to its numerous immediate interactive features, such as interactive videos, pop quizzes, and games during media playback. This study investigates the effectiveness of using H5P and Moodle in asynchronous distance learning environments for undergraduate students. The data collection methods included pre-and post-surveys for Moodle and H5P and the questions related to the student perspectives towards H5P features. The technology acceptance model (TAM) is employed to find student satisfaction. The results of this study suggest that both the H5P and Moodle could be valuable tools for making E-learning more effective. The interactive and engaging nature of H5P can provide students with a more enjoyable and effective learning experience, helping to keep them motivated and engaged throughout their studies.

The analysis of interactive scenario design principles supporting critical and creative thinking in asynchronous learning environments

ABSTRACT This study determines and analyzes the principles of interactive scenario design supporting critical and creative thinking in asynchronous learning environments. The study was conducted as a qualitative research, framed by two theoretical approaches, heutagogy and inquiry-based learning, and a holistic case study. The basic principles of the theoretical approaches and then theoretical matrix where sixteen semi-structured interview questions transformed later on were the beginning of the study. Semi-structured interview questions were given to 7 open and distance learning field experts and the data was collected. For the data analysis descriptive and content analysis, for content analysis inductive analysis was used. NVivo12 was employed. The result of the study shows that in the design of interactive scenarios which is the basis of interactive videos, 4 main themes, which are (1) Support Productivity with Natural Curiosity, (2) Create Self-awareness, (3) Provide Self-discovery, (4) Spark off Intellectual Transformation, 16 themes describing the main themes and 55 sub-themes were achieved. The components leading the interactive scenario design where the themes explaining the main themes and the sub-themes take place were used as a checklist in the form of hypothesis.

Asynchronous student engagement in analysis of climate data achieves learning objectives related to climate change understanding, statistical competence, and climate anxiety

Learning in asynchronous online environments has gained importance over the last several decades, and educational environment shifts from the COVID-19 pandemic appear to have increased this need. Science educators and students need information about which approaches work in the asynchronous environment where informal feedback tends to be reduced, compared to other teaching modalities. In this study, we asynchronously implemented a learning module across 5 institutions that guided students (N = 199) from prescriptive data analysis through guided inquiry and eventually to open inquiry. The module focuses on the science behind climate change. Students work with the same authentic data sets used by professional scientists to examine geologic history and causes of climate change. By analyzing contemporary atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature data and then using the 800,000-year record available from the Vostok ice core proxy record of atmospheric properties, students identify the causes of climate change and discover the unprecedented nature of recent atmospheric changes. Using a pre/post-module assessment, we demonstrate improvement in students’ understanding of climate change processes and statistical methods used to analyze data. However, there was no evidence that the module develops students’ scientific reasoning about the relationship between causation and correlation. Students maintained that correlation is not causation, even when a robust causal mechanism (i.e., the greenhouse effect) explains the link between atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature. Finally, our analysis indicated that generally, anxiety about climate change was reduced during the module, such that students become less anxious about the climate change the more they learn about it. However, science-denying students experienced much higher anxiety about climate change than students who accepted the scientific consensus about climate change. Climate science-dissenting students were so few in this study that a statistical comparison was not possible, but this intriguing finding warrants further investigation of the role of anxiety in science denial. Mainly, this study demonstrates how asynchronous online learning environments can indeed support the achievement of learning objectives related to conducting authentic science, such as increasing understanding of climate change and statistical concepts, all while not provoking anxiety about climate change.

Dancing on the inside: A qualitative study on online dance learning with teacher-AI cooperation.

Recent technologies have extended opportunities for online dance learning by overcoming the limitations of space and time. However, dance teachers report that student-teacher interaction is more likely to be challenging in a distant and asynchronous learning environment than in a conventional dance class, such as a dance studio. To address this issue, we introduce DancingInside, an online dance learning system that encourages a beginner to learn dance by providing timely and sufficient feedback based on Teacher-AI cooperation. The proposed system incorporates an AI-based tutor agent(AI tutor, in short) that uses a 2D pose estimation approach to quantitatively estimate the similarity between a learner's and teacher's performance. We conducted a two-week user study with 11 students and 4 teachers. Our qualitative study results highlight that the AI tutor in DancingInside could support the reflection on a learner's practice and helpthe performance improvement withmultimodal feedback resources. The interview results also revealthat the human teacher's role isessential in complementing the AI feedback. We discuss our design and suggest potential implications for future AI-supported cooperative dance learning systems.

Promoting College Student's Systems Thinking

This study examined how college students in a medical school in China engaged in learning in asynchronous online learning environments during the COVID-19 health crisis. A quasi-experimental design approach was employed to compare if a class of students had better learning outcomes and developed systems thinking when asynchronous discussion forums incorporated an inquiry-based pedagogical approach in one unit, whereas the other unit followed a traditional instructor-led approach. In sum, 25 junior students participated in this study. Quantitative results show that the students had statistically significant higher assessment scores and improved systems thinking when the unit incorporated the inquiry-based pedagogical approach. Qualitative findings also demonstrated how students engaged in learning and how the instructor scaffolded students' inquiries and learning. Practical implications for instructors' teaching online courses are also discussed.

Impact of asynchronous virtual learning on student well-being and success

IntroductionAs the world has rapidly changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students' overall well-being has been prioritized. This study aimed to evaluate PharmD students' well-being and perceived academic engagement when moved involuntarily to a majority asynchronous and virtual curriculum during the 2020–2021 academic year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this study aimed to assess demographic predictors relating student well-being and academic engagement. MethodsA survey administered via Qualtrics (SAP) was sent to three cohorts of professional students (Classes of 2022 to 2024) enrolled in the PharmD program at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. These cohorts were engaged in a primarily asynchronous and virtual curriculum due to COVID-19. ResultsAlthough students displayed mixed results on how asynchronous learning affected their well-being, students replied that they would want to continue learning via a hybrid model (53.3%) or completely asynchronous (24%), while 17.3% wanted primarily synchronous and 5.3% did not reply. ConclusionsOur results indicated that aspects of the majority asynchronous and virtual learning environment were favored by students. Through student responses, our faculty and staff can take into consideration students' opinions when making future changes to the curriculum. We provided this data for others to consider when evaluating well-being and engagement with a virtual and asynchronous curriculum.

How Does Student Access to a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Change During Periods of Disruption?

Higher Education often faces disruptions to teaching due to wider events, such as industrial action by staff or the recent COVID-19 pandemic (Li et al., 2022). Digital learning tools (such as Virtual Learning Environments, VLEs) can be used to support teaching and learning processes reducing the impact of disruptive events. This case study, compares student VLE behaviour across three consecutive cohorts featuring two “typical” university semesters (2016 and 2017), and one semester (2018) which featured industrial action. Learning analytics from students’ activity on the VLE system analyzed. Findings show that high- and middle-performing students tend to increase their use to compensate for the lack of teaching, whilst lower-performing students reduce their access possibly due to lower levels of self-efficacy and self￾regulation. These findings suggest that educators need to consider how VLEs could be designed to support students when learning should be delivered through an asynchronous online learning environment. For example, educators should consider designing VLE spaces that promote flexibility, and supporting self-regulation, whilst also providing clear guidance on structuring learning activities.

Guiding Course Development: Trauma-Informed Rubrics for Asynchronous Online Learning Environments

Trauma has a ubiquitous and deleterious impact on learning and engagement, impacting students in physiological and psychological ways and thus interfering with nearly every facet of the learning experience. Educators who are attuned to these effects can design trauma-informed courses that anticipate and attend to student needs. We contribute to the extensive research on humanizing and trauma-informed pedagogies in online spaces by focusing on instructional approaches that can be structured to enhance student safety, engagement, and learning outcomes within asynchronous learning environments. We propose two rubrics – one focusing on the instructor role and other focusing on course content – to provide guidance to instructors and course facilitators in their course development of trauma-informed content in online learning environments.

Designing an asynchronous learning environment to foster students' critical thinking in physics

The purpose of this study is to investigate the design of an asynchronous learning environment that can foster critical thinking (CT) in secondary students taking the Physics subject. Based on findings from the literature review, the paper proposes four key design principles that can promote students' CT in an asynchronous learning environment. These factors are namely design of learning tasks, supporting thinking processes, facilitating productive discussions, and an environment that fosters collaborative and cohesion. A proposed research process for implementing the design of the learning environment is also outlined in the paper.

Designing an engaging asynchronous learning environment for lower secondary students

Designing an engaging asynchronous learning environment for lower secondary students

Designing an engaging asynchronous learning environment for lower secondary students

Designing an engaging asynchronous learning environment for lower secondary students

Designing an Asynchronous Learning Environment to Foster Students’ Critical Thinking in Physics

Designing an Asynchronous Learning Environment to Foster Students’ Critical Thinking in Physics