Online Coursework Research Articles

Basic psychological needs to online engagement and achievement among first-year undergraduates

Empirical research has largely focused on either identifying online learner characteristics or best practices to support online learning in higher education settings. Yet gaps remain in our empirical understanding of which and to what extent certain factors influence online learning. This exploratory study sought to corroborate the influence of three student-level variables in Basic Psychological Needs (BPNs) of autonomy, competence, and relatedness among students as they participate in online higher education coursework. This study conducted multiple regression modelling on 159 cases of first-year undergraduate students to determine the extent to which the three variables relate to engagement and achievement in online coursework. Results present preliminary empirical evidence that the basic psychological need for autonomy relates to achievement in online coursework. However, the other basic psychological needs of competence and relatedness did not clearly relate with either engagement or achievement. Results in part affirm the claim that efforts to drive student achievement in online higher education coursework ought to embed elements that support student autonomy. And results support a position of nuance where BPNs influence specific dimensions rather than all dimensions of online higher education learning as a catch-all construct.

Learning through Facebook and YouTube: Perceptions of Students of University of Dhaka

In an age of globalization, social networking sites are integral to student life as in Bangladesh as well as globally. Among others, Facebook and YouTube are the most popular and widely utilized social networking platforms among Bangladeshi students. This article examines how students at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh use social networking sites (such as Facebook and YouTube) for their formal and informal studies. Following mixed methodology, data collection was completed using a structured survey questionnaire and a few semi-structured interviews. Social Learning Theory (SLT) is relevant for this research since social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, etc., have contributed to education through observation, imitation and modeling. Attending online classes, communicating with class teachers and classmates, collecting information about the class and exam schedules, uploading, downloading, and sharing academic materials, participating in group discussions, downloading tutorial videos of educational courses and informal education topics, and completing online coursework have come forth as the most prevalent uses of Facebook and YouTube by University of Dhaka students during their studies. Teacher’s World: Journal of Education and Res arch, 50(1): 95-118

Promoting Engagement in Microcredential Coursework: Applications of a Course-Embedded Advising Model

This pilot involved incorporating course-embedded advising into a course offered as part of a micro-credential. Microcredentials are targeted, short programs that align to key skills and are accompanied by documentation, such as digital badges (Varadarajan, Koh, & Daniel, 2023; Yueh, Kamsin,& Fuh, 2023). Emphasizing skills and utility must not come at the expense of engagement, which is a prerequisite to student learning. The inclusion of course-embedded advising offers faculty a venue from which to provide micro-mentorship while preserving course content. Lessons learned and future directions are discussed in the context of relevant best practices for the delivery of online coursework.

Bridging the theory-practice divide: Reflections of school-based student teachers

Background: Teacher education programmes often prioritise theory over practical experience, leaving students struggling to connect classroom learning with real-world application. Addressing this gap, a proposed model integrates online coursework with mentored practice-based experiences through full-time placements in selected schools.Aim: The study delves into the experiences of first-year school-based student teachers (SBST) enrolled in a full-time undergraduate online programme aimed at bridging the theory-practice divide.Setting: First-year student teachers in the 2021 and 2022 cohorts (N = 30) placed full time in selected schools participated in the study.Methods: Using an interpretive qualitative research design, data were collected via focus group interviews with first-year student cohorts. Data was analysed using the cultural-historical activity theory combined with the constant comparative method.Results: Two primary findings emerged. Firstly, SBSTs faced difficulties balancing academic requirements between the school and the programme. Secondly, the varying degrees of support from stakeholders within both the programme and school environment influenced the quality and meaningfulness of SBSTs’ learning experiences.Conclusion: The convergence of university and school activity systems revealed tensions and contradictions yet also presented opportunities for expanded learning when coursework and classroom practices aligned. Despite criticisms of universities being overly theoretical, the research indicates that SBSTs prioritise practical experience in school settings, potentially overshadowing the significance of theoretical knowledge.Contribution: This study contributes to knowledge of the challenges faced by student teachers and highlights the need to address these contradictions through open dialogue within teacher education programmes.

Deepening dialogue: White preservice teachers’ use of mode-switching to revise prior assumptions in an online synchronous class about linguistic racism

ABSTRACT How might teachers and students deepen dialogic space in online discussions centered on race? This paper explores challenges of creating shared spaces of collective inquiry online across audio/visual/written modes. We explore why participants switch modes — e.g. from oral/visual participation to written chat — while participating in a synchronous video call. We use examples from an online teacher-preparation course at a Southern US university to demonstrate how primarily White prospective/practicing teachers mode-switched during dialogue about Black language and linguistic justice. We identify common types of mode-switching whereby participants resist, revise, and renegotiate dialogic space in online coursework. Across examples, dialogic space emerged or deepened when writing “in the background”– before and/or during class — was foregrounded, bringing prior assumptions and present perspectives into creative tension with emerging understandings. Teachers might consider how relationships among modes like writing and talk, across activities and platforms, can support or inhibit dialogue in face-to-face or online spaces. (150)

Re-examining our feedback model: strategies for enhancing student learning and cultivating feedback literacy through formative assessments

Distance education has increased steadily since the onset of Covid-19. As online offerings become a staple in programs of study, rather than the exception, it is important to consider how instructors design their courses to incorporate feedback as well as how they promote active student involvement in feedback processes. In this paper, the authors revisit a feedback model proposed for the online environment, which includes intentional strategies to alleviate potential pitfalls in the feedback cycle, first by conducting a citation analysis of how the model was interpreted and applied by others in their practice and scholarship, and then by describing how they adjusted the model for further inquiry with fully online graduate students. Finally, the authors detail how their model aligns to the four features of the feedback literacy framework. Findings discuss the importance of formative assessments within online coursework to provide space for the application of feedback as well as strategies for creating individualized dialogue with students around their feedback and learning. The findings warrant additional research regarding how the model may provide a structured approach to developing students’ feedback literacy.

Supporting Higher Education Students Through Polls in Inclusive Digital Formats

As digital learning increases globally, the use of evidence-based practices to create community and foster engagement is meaningful for higher education learners. Higher education students in digital formats have identified a lack of engagement and community in their courses. As more instruction moves to digital formats, research demonstrates the use of polls as a strategy based in increasing active learning, resulting in positive outcomes for students and to support student needs. As heterogeneous students are enrolling in online coursework, it is imperative that inclusive teaching strategies are employed. Utilizing this strategy in online coursework would benefit diverse higher education students in academic outcomes, experience and application.

Examining the Knowledge and Training of Secondary School Physical Educators Providing Strength and Conditioning Programming

Purpose: The purpose was to examine secondary physical education teachers’ strength and conditioning (SC) knowledge and evaluate associations between SC teaching role, professional preparation, and development. Method: A knowledge survey was developed/validated and distributed to 2,189 middle/high school teachers, with 605 providing complete data. Results: Seventy-five percent of participants reported serving an SC-related teaching role, and mean SC knowledge was 6.77 correct out of 15 (45%). Participants with SC certification, who taught an SC unit/course, who supervised an SC sport program, and who taught in high school performed significantly better. Physical education teacher education preparation, including exercise physiology and weightlifting activity courses, was a significant predictor of SC knowledge. Professional development, such as SC online coursework, meeting with SC professionals, and reading SC publications, was also a significant predictor. Conclusion: To support physical education teachers’ SC knowledge, physical education teacher education programs should include SC-related course offerings, and school administrators should consider offering professional development to physical education teachers who serve in SC roles.

Effect of Personalized Email-Based Reminders on Participants' Timeliness in an Online Education Program: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Postsecondary students need to be able to handle self-regulated learning and manage schedules set by instructors. This is particularly the case with online courses, as they often come with a limited number of social reminders and less information directly from the teacher compared to courses with physical presence. This may increase procrastination and reduce timeliness of the students. Reminders may be a tool to improve the timeliness of students' study behavior, but previous research shows that the effect of reminders differs between types of reminders, whether the reminder is personalized or general, and depending on the background of the students. In the worst cases, reminders can even increase procrastination. The aim of this study was to test if personalized email reminders, as compared to general email reminders, affect the time to completion of scheduled online coursework. The personalized reminders included information on which page in the online material the participants ought to be on at the present point in time and the last page they were on during their last session. The general reminders only contained the first part of this information: where they ought to be at the present point in time. Weekly email reminders were sent to all participants enrolled in an online program, which included 39 professional learners from three East African countries. All participants in the Online Education for Leaders in Nutrition and Sustainability program, which uses a question-based learning methodology, were randomly assigned to either personalized or general reminders. The structure of the study was AB-BA, so that group A received personalized reminders for the first unit, then general reminders for the rest of the course, while group B started with general reminders and received personalized reminders only in the third (and last) unit in the course. In total, 585 email reminders were distributed, of which 390 were general reminders and 195 were personalized. A Bayesian mixed-effects logistic regression was used to estimate the difference in the probability of being on time with one's studies. The probability of being on time was 14 percentage points (95% credible interval 3%-25%) higher following personalized reminders compared to that following general reminders. For a course with 100 participants, this means 14 more students would be on time. Personalized reminders had a greater positive effect than general reminders for a group of adults working full-time while enrolled in our online educational program. Considering how small the intervention was-adding a few words with the page number the student ought to be on to a reminder-we consider this effect fairly substantial. This intervention could be repeated manually by anyone and in large courses with some basic programming.

Accuracy of Undergraduate Students' Language Sample Analysis in Online and Face-to-Face Courses

Purpose: Language sample analysis (LSA) is an essential part of evaluations for young children, but few studies have investigated whether instructional methods for teaching LSA are effective based on student outcomes. Furthermore, with the growth of online coursework, there is a need to understand whether student outcomes differ depending on instructional modality. This study examined the results of an LSA project from two classes, online and face to face. Research questions addressed whether the measures calculated by the students differed significantly from the values derived by the instructor and whether the results of each language sample measure differed between the two classes. Method: There were 39 total participants: eight online students and 31 face-to-face students. Students transcribed an audio sample of a mother conversing with her 3-year-old son. Students calculated the number of complete and intelligible utterances, mean length of utterance in words (MLU-w), MLU in morphemes (MLU-m), number of total words (NTW), number of different words (NDW), and type–token ratio (TTR). Results: When compared to the instructor's values, students' results were significantly different for measures that involved totals (complete and intelligible utterances, NTW, NDW). However, the students used these values to calculate MLU-w, MLU-m, and TTR numbers that were not significantly different from those of the instructor. Results also indicated that there were no differences between the class calculations for most measures. Conclusion: Results are discussed considering how they inform the evidence-based teaching practices of instructors who are teaching undergraduate courses in communication sciences and disorders.

From I Don’t Know to Let me Show You: A Pre-Service Teacher’s Toolkit

Abstract 
 The underpinning of our yearlong teacher residency program is an extensive support network (AVID®, Sanford, Salary/Benefits) that ensures pre-service teachers complete residencies poised to begin their first year of teaching with the experience, and confidence, of second year teachers. Helping to meet the demand for high-quality PreK – 12th grade educators career pathways include traditional four-year and accelerated three-year students. We further embed a yearlong mentoring plan that supports teacher residents at the classroom, district, and university levels. In fall 2023, we will add a rural residency program providing 100% online coursework for students up to 300 miles from campus.

Transferring Institutions in Different Modalities: Lessons from Undergraduates Across Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The broad-scale challenges that higher education undertook in response to the COVID-19 pandemic changed a great deal about the student experience. Ongoing throughout several semesters, those changes may have affected the ways that transfer students experienced transition to the 4-year university setting, with implications for student retention. Interviews with students who transferred from community colleges to a large research university at three different pandemic stages—in 2019, 2020, and 2021—reveal that some aspects of the transfer experience remained consistent, while others changed. Notably, students experienced university-level coursework as academically challenging regardless of its mode of delivery and reported finding a diversity of academic and social options at the university. Transferring into online coursework helped reduce the shock associated with large-enrollment classes and navigating a large campus. Students reported fewer issues overall with course delivery when taking solely online coursework. The paper closes with recommendations to increase transfer student retention.

Knowledge, Perception and Attitude among Dental Students on the Use of Online Education in a Higher Institution of Learning (HEI)

This study aims to examine and identify the knowledge, perception, and attitude of dental students towards online education in higher institution of learning. Online education is an electronically supported learning that relies on the internet for teacher/student interaction and the distribution of class materials. Assessment of knowledge, perception, attitudes, and readiness of 3rd year to 6th year dental students at Lyceum Northwestern university toward the challenges of online learning in dental education was done through electronic questionnaires. Ethical approval was secure from the UREB of the university. The study found that the dental students who participated had a good understanding of online coursework and were proficient in computer skills. The success of e-learning is largely dependent on technological accessibility and having a stable internet connection. However, respondents expressed reservations about the quality of the learning process compared to traditional face-to-face classroom learning. The respondents felt that a combination of both traditional teaching methods and online tutorials would be more ideal than either method alone.

Impact of a Multiday, High-fidelity, Immersive Simulation on Military Medical Students' Self-confidence.

Decision-making is a critical competence that all medical students must develop before becoming independently licensed physicians. One aspect of the decision-making process is confidence, which has not been extensively studied in undergraduate medical education. Intermittent simulation has been found to improve medical students' self-confidence across a wide range of clinical scenarios; however, no research to date has examined how a more extensive medical and operational simulation impacts miltary medical students' confidence in their decision-making abilities. This study was conducted online through the Uniformed Services University and in person at Operation Bushmaster, a multiday, out-of-hospital, high-fidelity, immersive simulation held at Fort Indiantown Gap, PA. This investigation focused on examining the impacts of asynchronous coursework and simulation-based learning on improving decision-making confidence for senior medical students 7 months before graduation. Thirty senior medical students volunteered. Each completed a 10-point confidence scale before and after either accomplishing asynchronous online coursework (control group) or attending a medical field practicum (experimental group). We conducted a repeated-measures analysis of variance to examine any change in students' confidence scores before and after completing each educational modality. The results of the analysis of variance indicated a significant time effect for our students' confidence in both the experimental and control groups as measured on our confidence scale, suggesting that Operation Bushmaster and asynchronous coursework both possessed the potential to increase students' confidence in their decision-making. Both simulation-based learning and asynchronous online learning can increase students' decision-making confidence. Future larger-scale research is needed to calculate the impact of each modality on military medical students' confidence.

The potential power of “studygram”: Concrete visual representations may increase student motivation, engagement, and enjoyment of routine course assignments

AbstractStudents are often unmotivated to engage with their online coursework. Research has shown that concretely visualizing one's goals (e.g., photo‐taking) can improve motivation to learn. This study explored the effect of taking a photo of one's study space (i.e., a studygram photo similar to a post on Instagram) on students' motivation to start, engagement with, and enjoyment of routine assignments. In a within‐subjects design, students took a photo of their study space before starting or after completing the assignment or took no photo. Data were collected from six undergraduate courses across three disciplines (Education, Psychology, and Theatre). Results revealed that students in an online Education course completing routine and formulaic assignments were significantly more motivated to start their coursework when they took a photo compared to when they did not. Results were similar for student engagement and enjoyment. Outcomes were replicated in the course's second iteration but were not found in the Psychology or Theatre courses. Differences between the courses' formatting may have lessened the impact of photo‐taking on students' experiences. Together our results suggest that motivation and engagement with routine coursework may be influenced by an easy‐to‐implement visualization intervention under certain circumstances. Potential implications for teaching are reviewed.

Academic discourse and peer collaboration in online high school learning environments

AbstractBackgroundDialogic engagement is instrumental in promoting higher‐order thinking, motivation, and learning. Despite their dramatic uptake in the US in the past decade, there is limited evidence that online high school courses offer sufficient opportunities for students to communicate and collaborate with teachers and peers.ObjectivesThis two‐part study explores teacher perspectives and the experiences of students in online learning environments to determine if, how, and why students engage in two forms of dialogic engagement–academic discourse and peer collaboration.MethodsTo identify the extent to which teachers perceive academic discourse and peer collaboration to be valuable and feasible in online learning environments, Study 1 surveyed educators and advisors of online learning programs (n = 49). To determine whether these perspectives align with student experiences, Study 2 included a series of over‐the‐shoulder observations of five high school students engaging in their online coursework.Results and ConclusionsFindings reveal a disconnect between best practices in education and reality. Online teachers report that academic discourse is valuable and feasible, but also detail several challenges to successful implementation in online coursework. At the same time, direct observations of high school students indicate that they rarely, if ever, engage in peer collaboration and academic discourse activities.Major TakeawaysAlthough valued as a means to improve educational outcomes, opportunities for dialogic engagement are not translating to online learning environments. The solution is to develop curriculum, policies, and procedures that centre on meaningful integration of dialogic activities, motivating students to engage.

Timely Completion of Online Assignments among Health Professional Students; an Evaluation of Open Distance and eLearning Platform at a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Uganda

To foster continuity of learning in universities, the Uganda National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) approved Emergency Open Distance and eLearning (ODeL) strategies in 2020. This was implemented at Clarke International University. The study therefore sought to determine the timely completion of online assignments among health professional students at Clarke International University. The quantitative approach was undertaken using the analytical cross-sectional study design from August 2021 to May 2022. Data was collected from systematic randomly selected 317 respondents using a self-administered questionnaire. The chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests were performed for comparison and binary logistic regression was conducted at multivariate analysis. Out of 317 respondents, timely completion of online assignments was observed at 79.8%. The odds of timely online completion reduced with courses that did not integrate theoretical course concepts with real-world applications (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.1, 95%; confidence interval [CI]: 0.0–0.5); and increased with feedback (AOR: 2.7, 95%; CI:1.1–6.8), user-friendly ODeL platform (AOR: 3.8, 95%; CI:1.2–12.1), ODeL training and orientation (AOR: 2.6, 95%; CI:1.1–6.5) and internet access (AOR: 5.0, 95%; CI: 2.0–16.0). A substantial number of students complete their online assignments on time owing to ease of access to the internet, continuous training on how to manoeuvre through the ODeL platform, and receipt of prompt feedback on online coursework. Higher education institutions need to design ODeL platforms where access can be achieved offline and also make its training mandatory.

Designing For Academic Resilience in Hands-On Courses in Times of Crisis: Two Models for Supporting Hands-On Online Learning Drawn From the COVID-19 Pandemic

Expanding on academic continuity planning research in higher education, this article presents two models for transitioning hands-on coursework online. Integrating precedent, case study, and autoethnography methods, the article analyzes higher education leadership and faculty decision-making within the context of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic at The College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. When COVID-19 closed campuses worldwide, 98% of over 1,200 College of Fine Arts class sections were happening in-person; most of those courses required hands-on, applied learning, which is challenging to translate online. With few exceptions, these courses not only continued, but they also demonstrated academic resilience—the ability to survive, adapt, and grow. Academic continuity and planning researchers have reached consensus that institutions need to support high-quality online coursework to effectively manage disruptions; the problem presented in this article is that extant academic continuity models too often conceptualize faculty, students, and staff as a single user with a set of common characteristics and needs related to online learning. Such generalized conceptualizations lead to academic continuity planning strategies and tactics that do not account for the variegated complexities involved in online hands-on education.

Becoming a Teacher of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners: A Future Content-area Teacher’s Professional Identity Construction through Online Coursework

In this exploratory qualitative study, we applied Clarke’s (2009) framework of ethical self-formation (substance, authority sources, self-practices, telos) to data collected from one pre-service teacher’s completed assignments in an online course at a Hispanic-serving university in the Southwestern U.S. This course was dedicated to helping pre-service secondary content-area teachers develop the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to provide effective instruction for emergent bilinguals (EBs). Findings revealed examples of how the four axes of the participant’s identity manifested in her coursework and how they dynamically interacted. By engaging in reflective practices, she developed an increased awareness of her own sociocultural-linguistic identity and gained a better understanding of EB education and advocacy. Implications are discussed for how teacher preparation programs can prepare teachers to enter the field with a stronger sense of who they are and who they want to be as future teachers and advocates for more culturally and linguistically responsive educational practices.

Academic program recommendations for graduate degrees in medical physics: AAPM Report No. 365 (Revision of Report No. 197).

Academic program recommendations for graduate degrees in medical physics: AAPM Report No. 365 (Revision of Report No. 197).