Student Perceptions Of Engagement Research Articles

Is there anybody out there? Educator perception of student social presence and engagement in the zoomosphere

ABSTRACT Since COVID-19 lockdowns in many countries shifted face-to-face teaching to online delivery, online student engagement has been centre stage in educational research. However, the educators’ perception of student engagement in synchronous online classes has received less attention. This study explored the transition to synchronous online teaching experienced by educators in an enabling (access) course in an Australian university a year after the shift to online learning. The study gathered the participants’ perceptions of student social presence and engagement and their impact on teaching and self-confidence. Data were drawn from two focus groups with enabling educators who had been teaching via Zoom since March 2020. The findings offer accounts of the participants’ experiences in transitioning their teaching online and identifying student engagement in online classes. While the functionality of the Zoom platform enabled successful teaching, it also allowed students to manage their online presence by turning off their video cameras and microphones. In the absence of verbal and non-verbal cues, the participants found it challenging to gauge student engagement and ascertain the effectiveness of their teaching, which impacted their confidence. The findings suggest a need to reconceptualise student engagement in synchronous online learning, which may involve reassessing the typical reliance on student social presence.

“Everybody Was Included in the Conversation”: Teachers’ Perceptions of Student Engagement in Transdisciplinary STEM Learning in Diverse Elementary Schools

This qualitative interview study examines STEM integration in three diverse elementary schools through the eyes of the teachers and instructional coaches (n = 9) who facilitated the transdisciplinary Box Turtle Model-eliciting Activity (MEA). Prior to implementation, participants attended a full-day professional development workshop in which they experienced the MEA in school-based triads of principals, coaches, and teachers. The educators then implemented the MEA with elementary students from across multiple grade levels. We used the guiding principles of productive disciplinary engagement in our analysis of educator interviews to interpret participants’ perceptions of how an MEA encourages elementary students to (a) problematize real-world scenarios, (b) direct their own learning, and (c) collaborate through meaningful academic discourse. Educators also identified challenges to integrating STEM in elementary classrooms. The Box Turtle MEA offered more equitable access to STEM by positioning students as authorities and providing space for them to be accountable to themselves and others in solving an authentic, real-world problem.

Disentangling Perception and Performance: A Natural Experiment on Student Engagement and Learning in Simulations

Simulations are increasingly recognized for promoting active learning and student engagement and fostering career skills. Yet whether and how simulations facilitate learning, engagement, or both are still subjects of considerable debate. Many existing studies tend to be observational in design, constrained to a single semester, or reliant on student self-assessment to measure efficacy. We use an experimental approach to demonstrate the effects of classroom simulations on both self-assessment and objective academic performance at a large public university. Over the course of three years, we “treated” some sections of an Introduction to International Relations course (N = 244) with simulations while other “control” sections participated in debates and discussions. We compare self-assessed engagement and motivation from surveys, as well as performance on quizzes and exams in the same course (same instructor, materials, and textbook). Our results demonstrate that students “treated” with the simulations show sustained improvements in academic performance in both iterative (weekly quizzes) and long-term (final exam) contexts, controlling for the mode of delivery. These improvements are also found to be robust for both high and low-performing students in the class. However, we were surprised to find a disconnect between student perceptions of engagement and actual course performance: Self-assessed student engagement and motivation were poor predictors of subsequent academic performance.

Stakeholders’ perceptions of within-class ability grouping in a primary school physical education unit

ABSTRACT Background Ability grouping in education is the practice of separating students into different groups or classes according to their actual or perceived ability levels. Studies of ability grouping in physical education have been few in number or broad in purpose and methodology. What is certain however is that the voices of students remain principally absent. Purpose To examine the pedagogical practice of physical ability grouping from the perspective of teachers and students following a 20-lesson unit in a primary school physical education class. Method One hundred and sixty-five fifth-grade students from three different physical education classes in the United States participated in 20 lesson units of tchoukball. Students in each class were divided into nine teams making up three leagues: Snakes (higher skilled), Dragons (middle level), and Tigers (lower skilled). Each league was led by one of the three teachers responsible for instruction. Individual interviews were conducted with all three teachers, while 24 interviews were conducted with the student participants. While the interviews were open-ended, particular attention was given to participant perceptions of the ability grouping used in the tchoukball unit. Results Four findings are reported generated from teacher interviews: perceptions of grouping outcomes; (ii) perceptions of student engagement; (iii) impact on teaching; and (iv) future intentions with respect to forming groups in physical education. Four further outcomes were created by capturing the voices of the students: (i) their positive overall perceptions of the unit; (ii) their responses to being in their groups; (iii) interactions with teachers; (iv) comparisons with previous physical education lessons. Discussion The discussion is organized around a set of questions that might be considered by teachers if they decide to initiate ability grouping. They are also designed to serve as possible research questions that could be taken up to advance our understanding of the practices of grouping in physical education. These are: (i) are ‘soft’ approaches to grouping the only defendable option? (ii) (how) is it possible to ensure an even distribution of benefit across all students? (iii) what advantages (if any) are to be gained by providing chances to learn from higher skilled classmates? and (iv) are grouping labels necessary?

Teacher Outcomes with a School-Based Mindfulness Intervention during COVID-19

Teacher burnout is one of the primary drivers of turnover. Skills such as improved classroom management have been shown to mitigate teacher burnout. COVID-19 created classroom disruption and an unprecedented youth mental health crisis. This study examined the effectiveness of a school-based mindfulness training at improving classroom management self-efficacy and reducing teacher burnout during COVID-19. Elementary school personnel were invited to participate in two versions of Kidding Around Yoga training and to implement with their students. Pre- and post-tests were conducted at 4-6 months (n = 49) to measure individual items related to classroom management, teacher self-efficacy, perceptions of student engagement, and professional quality of life. There were significant differences at post for items related to teacher skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy, and perceptions of the student experience (specifically, student emotional regulation). There were no significant differences between baseline and post in any of the professional quality of life measures. Findings suggest that Kidding Around Yoga is promising as a universal intervention to improve teachers’ self-efficacy and skills, and their experience of the classroom. More information is needed to understand if the intervention would have long-term impact on teacher burnout and turnover.

Integrating Parsons puzzles within Scratch enables efficient computational thinking learning

A literature review revealed that students learning computational thinking (CT) via Scratch often require substantial teacher support. We surveyed grade 6-9 teachers to learn their perceptions of student engagement with CT and how well their needs are met by existing CT learning systems. The results led us to extend the trend of balancing Scratch’s agency with structure to better serve learners and reduce burden on teachers aiming to learn and teach CT. In this paper, we review architecture and implementation strategies developed to integrate Parsons Programming Puzzles (PPPs) with Scratch, and then analyze their effects on adults, who crucially influence the education of their children. The results from our pilot study suggest PPPs catalyze CT motivation, reduce extraneous cognitive load, and increase learning efficiency without jeopardizing performance on transfer tasks.

More active lessons: teachers’ perceptions of student engagement during physically active maths lessons in Finland

ABSTRACT The Moving Maths study was conducted to increase third grade pupils’ physical activity and support their learning in Finland. Altogether 397 children (mean age 9.3 years) and 22 teachers took part in an intervention with two types of physically active maths lessons for five months. One group carried out lessons in which PA was integrated into maths learning goals, while another group implemented PA as short breaks. A control group was also allocated. The aim of the current study was to qualitatively examine classroom teachers’ (n = 12) experiences and perceptions of student engagement during the intervention. The results indicated that pupils showed positive emotional and social engagement in both intervention groups. Positive cognitive engagement was indicated by concentration on seated work after the activities, but some teachers reported uncertainty about the learning results. It is concluded that in addition to reducing children’s harmful sedentary behaviour, physically active lessons can positively affect student engagement and may thus enhance learning.

LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND THEIR ROLE IN SUPPORTING IT

<p>A positive relationship between emotional engagement and teaching support was reported in a previous quantitative study on students’ perceptions of student engagement in four introductory lecture-based courses at four different German universities. The present qualitative research was designed to collect data from the four German male lecturers who participated in the previous study to explore their perceptions of student engagement and their role in supporting it. The lecturers of varying degrees of experience were observed while lecturing and subsequently interviewed to analyze their motivating teaching behavior. The analysis highlighted that lecturers (1) positioned themselves as committed professionals with a sense of ownership, (2) attributed positioning to students as social scientists, and (3) communicated messages characterized by supporting autonomous motivation. The lecturers implemented motivation strategies to engage their students who exhibited a preference for intentional silence. Certain characteristics of the students attending introductory level courses in Germany, such as having gained self-regulation skills at upper secondary school, highlight the importance of establishing specific goals before attending higher education courses.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0933/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Implications for Selves and Students Through Introducing New Pedagogical Strategies Into Our Teacher Education Practice

Collaborative self-study involving three mid-career teacher educators at different universities who introduced three new teaching strategies into their courses. Strategies promoted students to actively work with one another to construct and share their understandings. Researchers investigated implications for self, practices, outcomes, and relationships with students. Data included researchers’ reflective journals, Zoom conferences, course materials, teaching notes, and students’ survey responses and feedback. Each instructor’s students were encouraged to critique and reflect on the strategies’ utilization. Four themes emerged: unsettling consequences of change, renewed energy and enthusiasm for teaching, new skills and perspectives, and perceptions of student engagement, learning, and relationships.

Assessing Female Pharmacy Students' Satisfaction with Active Learning Techniques at King Saud University.

BackgroundStudies conducted in Saudi Arabia assess student’s perception towards using the flipped classroom or audience response system (ARS) separately, none integrated the two strategies. This study aims to evaluate pharmacy students at King Saud University – college of pharmacy’s perceptions of student engagement and satisfaction with audience response system (ARS), and the flipped classroom techniques.MethodsTwo lecture topics were flipped and delivered to female students enrolled in the pharmacy practice lab course at the university. An audience response system was integrated into the flipped classroom. The satisfaction of the students was measured using an online questionnaire. They then rated their satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).ResultsOverall, 82.1% of the students stated that the ARS made the class better; 71.64% agreed that taking a course in a flipped classroom was a useful learning experience. Online questionnaire revealed that the ARS fostered students’ thinking skills and peers’ interaction. Many students report that the flipped classroom made them evaluate their learning processes and pace themselves according to their speed, time, and level of interest. Students, however, stated that technical issues and time-consuming tasks were a downside to these teaching strategies.ConclusionAlthough the students’ overall response to the use of ARS and flipped classroom techniques was positive; limited class time hindered students from achieving the full benefits reaped from these strategies. Therefore, as per our study's results, modifying the duration of the class to ensure it is not too short to be overwhelming can help instructors utilize these startegies in the best possible manner. Alternatively, a thorough and pre-emptive selection of familiar discussion topics ahead of time would also help in this regard.

Impacts of course activities on student perceptions of engagement and learning online

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to examine the impacts of course activities on student perceptions of engagement and learning in online courses. Using eight interactive course activities as indicators of course interactivity, we conducted a latent profile analysis to cluster students into different groups. Based on students’ perceptions, we observed three distinct groups of instructional contexts: (a) courses with low student-student but high student-instructor interactions (Low S-S but High S-I Interactions; 25.3%), (b) courses that mainly utilize group discussions (Group Discussion Focused; 20.2%), and (c) courses with high student-student and high student-instructor interactions (High S-S and S-I Interactions; 54.4%). Students’ perceptions of engagement and learning outcomes varied across groups. Notably, students in the highly interactive courses (High S-S and S-I Interactions) reported the most favorable perceptions of engagement and learning outcomes, compared to students in the other two groups. Implications for instruction professionals and future research directions are discussed.

Student Perceptions of Engagement in Calculus 1

According to the MAA Instructional Practices Guide, deep learning requires student engagement with content both inside and outside the classroom. Hence, mathematics instructors must work to engage students in the learning experience. Higher education research often equates engaged learning and active learning, but what does engaged learning mean to our students? In this study, we asked calculus 1 students at a private, liberal arts university to reflect on their perceptions of engagement in the course in hopes of determining if our students agree that active learning is engaged learning. Students completed an end-of-semester survey in which they gave their own definitions of engaged learning and identified classroom practices that they found engaging. We found that our students' perceptions and definitions of engagement varied greatly and many of our students did not see active learning as engaged learning, which indicates a need to better motivate active learning strategies in the classroom.

A tale of two instructional experiences: student engagement in active learning and emergency remote learning of biomechanics

ABSTRACT This study documents student engagement in face-to-face low-tech active learning and student perceptions of emergency remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic in introductory biomechanics. Students in two classes received 8 weeks of face-to-face instruction with five low-tech active learning techniques and then received 6 weeks of emergency remote, online instruction. Learning was measured using pre-test and post-test administrations of the biomechanics concept inventory (BCI). A survey of engagement in active learning with additional questions on active learning and online instruction were collected with the post-test. No student perceptions of engagement in active learning or online instruction were correlated with learning measured by normalised gain. Student’s perception of the ‘value of group activity’ factor from survey was significantly correlated (r 2 = 12%) with the number of students typically in active learning groups. There was a significant correlation (r 2 = 46%) between student perception of reading the textbook before online video lessons and perception of value of the video lessons in the online portion of the course. Most students (59%) preferred face-to-face instruction in biomechanics. While up to 28% of students may have reported resistance to group-based active learning, low-tech active learning significantly improved mastery of biomechanics concepts above levels previously reported for lecture alone.

P161 Digital Workbooks to Develop and Evidence Learning in a Flipped Nutrition Classroom in Higher Education

<h3>Objective</h3> To evaluate student use and perceptions of a digital workbook in 3 undergraduate nutrition courses taught with a flipped classroom approach (FCA). <h3>Use of Theory or Research</h3> Within the FCA 3 phases of learning are aligned with Bloom's Taxonomy: prepare (self-directed pre-class activities: remember and understand); participate (facilitated in-class activities: apply and analyse) and recap (self-directed post class activities: evaluate and create). While technology can support the delivery of the FCA, there is little evidence for the most effective delivery of FCA learning experiences for nutrition students. <h3>Target Audience</h3> One hundred and sixty-two undergraduate nutrition students at a regional Australian University in Semester 1, 2019. <h3>Course/Curriculum Description</h3> PebblePad digital workbooks were used to deliver 3 FCA courses. Each digital workbook contained weekly workbook tabs with interactive pages based on the FCA phases. Students used the workbook to access and participate in learning experiences during each FCA phase. <h3>Evaluation Methods</h3> An online survey measured self-report student satisfaction and patterns of digital workbook use. Student perceptions of engagement with, usefulness of, and suggestions for assessment and learning to use the digital workbook were collected. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively and qualitative data analyzed using conventional content analysis. <h3>Results</h3> Thirty-nine students (24%) participated. Majority of students reported the digital workbook was engaging. Useful aspects included workbook structure, development of a learning artifact, and convenience. Digital workbooks were well-utilized for learning activities related to learning, applying and consolidating knowledge, with most students accessing their digital workbook several times a week. Less useful aspects included technology issues and limited feedback provided. Suggestions for future use included more ‘how-to' resources and integration of quizzes. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Well-structured digital workbooks can support FCA delivery in nutrition education. Further exploration of feedback integration and student technology support mechanisms would be useful for educators using the FCA.

An Active Learning Classroom in Construction Management Education: Student Perceptions of Engagement and Learning

ABSTRACT Learning spaces that engage students actively are becoming more common. Active learning spaces are designed to facilitate collaboration between students as they engage in problem solving, communication, and teamwork. Recently, Auburn University installed an active learning space in the construction management teaching facility which provided a dedicated active learning space for construction education. During the 2018–19 academic year, students were surveyed to better understand their perspectives on the learning environment after having a class in the space. The goals of this exploratory study focused on student experiences within the active learning environment including perceived impact on learning and engagement within construction education. Sixty-eight percent of the students surveyed believed their learning and 82% believed their engagement with the material was enhanced by the space, the teaching tactics, and shared engagement. Results indicated that while the majority of students expressed positive experiences in areas of “group work and collaboration” and the “engaging and interactive” nature of the class, some construction students found the space distracting particularly when traditional lecture teaching was employed. Overall, the active construction management classroom can enhance the quality of students’ experience through appropriate course design and enriched dialogue, and a potential to positively improve the quality of construction education exists.

Perceptions of student engagement in the flipped classroom: a case study

ABSTRACT One of the blended learning strategies that researchers and educators commonly use in higher education is Flipped Classroom. The purpose of this case study was to explore how both professors and students perceive student engagement in flipped classrooms. Three college professors who implemented flipped classrooms and their 14 students participated in the study. Three individual faculty interviews and three student focus group interviewers were conducted. Five components of the utilization-focused evaluation model were used in the data coding. The findings revealed both positive and negative opinions depending on how they implemented the flipped classroom including the engagement of students and the environment. Faculty participants who fully implemented the flipped model had positive opinions about the implementation and student engagement, finding the model helped increase student performance and grades. In addition, the majority of student participants liked the challenges offered by the flipped classroom, which increased their engagement.

Student Perceptions of Engagement in an Introductory Statistics Course

This article presents the results of a case study from one professor’s experience teaching an introductory statistics course. The goal of this study was to better understand student perceptions of engagement in a statistics course. Voluntary, self-reported data were collected daily for students to evaluate the engagement level of the class that day, and students also identified activities that they considered engaging. A final survey was administered at the end of the semester to provide a holistic, retrospective measure of engagement in the course and to collect feedback on various questions related to perceptions of engagement. Results indicate variation in student engagement scores and variation in engagement scores across the semester indicating some influence of class activity on perceptions of engagement. Perceptions of engagement are contextualized with students’ comments from the daily surveys. Associations between engagement and final course grade were also investigated. Student perceptions of engagement were also compared to the professor’s perception of engagement for students.

Examining Student Engagement During a Project-Based Unit in Secondary Science

To investigate any possible differences in student engagement between project-based learning units and non-project–based learning units, this triangulation design-convergence mixed methods study followed a grade 10 teacher and her students as they completed science units on chemistry, aquaponics, and genetics. Student engagement was measured in multiple ways using observed on-task behaviour, student perception surveys, and student interviews. Results reveal significant differences in observed on-task behaviour between project-based and non-project–based activities. However, student perceptions of engagement did not significantly improve with project-based learning. Instead, student perceptions of civic engagement emerged as a critical point of examination.

Assessing a Two-Pronged Approach to Active Learning in Sport Sociology Classrooms

Active-learning research has explored 2 distinct areas: pedagogy and physical space. As existing research has most often explored only 1 area per study and few have been done in the area of sport sociology, additional research is needed. This research combined both areas of active learning through a quasi-experimental design. Using 2 different classes, Sport and Society and Gender and Sport, students were exposed to an unchanging physical space or manipulated physical space, as well as active-learning tasks of varying complexity. No differences in student perceptions of engagement or learning were found when comparing space variations; however, task complexity did lead to significant differences in student perceptions of engagement and learning.

Student Perceptions of Learning and Engagement in a Flipped Versus Lecture Course

Current literature suggests that students have equal or higher learning outcomes in a “flipped” classroom compared with a traditional lecture. However, there are few robust analyses of the flipped-class teaching method. This research uses a yearlong, quasiexperimental study across six sections of a business communication course to track student outcomes and perceptions of student engagement and learning. The results indicate that there were no significant differences between flipped and traditional classes across the learning and engagement variables in how students perceived these different conditions. However, the flipped condition produced better outcomes for oral and written assignments.