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The research around online learning has largely focused on situations like asynchronous learning or situations where it has been synchronous but not really focused on things like engagement or social learning. When the pandemic hit, a lot of focus started to come on how do we create these learning experiences where students are engaging, having social learning and actually interacting with each other? So once the panic-gogy of just get material online passed, people started to look into how do we get people to engage?
Now, engagement is a really interesting thing to consider and the research says that there is the social engagement that is with each other and of course, to us as the staff that are giving the lecture or providing the content or information. And then there’s the incidental social interaction that might be the sideways glance, the twitch, the fidget, the other things that give you the cues and clues of what it is that’s going on for the student. So the research started to look into what are we missing? And in looking in what we were missing, the really interesting thing that happened was, for many teachers, they lost that impromptu moment to check in on the engagement. I think we’ve all had a moment where we’ve been teaching and said, “Let me just check,” a quick hands up or a look of the faces, the face that tells you they’re lost, confused, disagreeing. All of that was lost largely in the void of online teaching.
So when we look at the research, what we can see is that there’s a high need to plan in interaction. The moment to do impromptu interaction still exists but you have to have the tools to know how to bring this in. And for many teachers, their cognitive load is so high in running the teaching and the technology and everything else it takes to teach online that they haven’t thought about when are the natural points to come in and start to plan those interactions? When is the moment that the student might get lost? And then when is that moment when there’s just been too much silence? So the research has started to explore how do we get this interaction with our students that is in real time, that is fun, like it might be if they were in the classroom or a live face-to-face classroom. How do we bring students into a way of creating that student-to-student connection? Because the research has shown that often students who are learning online become consumers of the information rather than actors in the information where they are interacting. And that is really the thing that we’re starting to look at.
So the research then suggests that we have to find planned ways to get the students to talk to each other. And when I say talk, I’m not suggesting that it’s about microphones or webcams. The research is starting to look now at how there are other technology means to get interaction and to bring students back to what they might be using in their day-to-day social interactions on their phones, in their live streaming scenarios, in their social media scenarios. So actually bringing those tools into the classroom provides the opportunity for the online learner to have a social experience and social learning in a way that has previously been under explored in the academic ring.
The research shows that student engagement occurs in three dimensions (Bond et al., 2020). Behavioural, cognitive, and affective. In relation to teaching, the behavioural aspect focuses on active responses by students such as participation, positive conduct etc. while the cognitive is mental effort and self-regulation. Affective is about emotional investment which we often judge by small, spontaneous body movements, like the fidgets, twitches, and other behavioural aspects that are clearly observable, and create a sense of belonging (Hollister B, Nair P, Hill-Lindsay S and Chukoskie L., 2022).
It is acknowledged that engagement has a direct effect on student success and, as such, we as educators and teachers are interested in engagement because of this link. Student success and engagement also increase student satisfaction which is important both at a course and institutional level (Farrell, O., Brunton, J., 2020).
Based on this, focusing on class interaction for engagement helps to support your students to be more successful. “According to Banna et al. (2015), if content played a central focus in the past, engagement plays an important role in stimulating online learning today. To boost student engagement, three basic engagement techniques of online learning have been identified: student-content, student instructor, and student-student (Bernard et al., 2009). Lear, Ansorge, and Steckelberg (2010) say that interactions with content, peers, and instructors help online learners become active and more engaged in their courses. Interactivity and sense of community result in high-quality instruction and more effective learning outcomes” (Martin & Bolliger, p2:2018).
“Student engagement increases student satisfaction, enhances student motivation to learn, reduces the sense of isolation, and improves student performance in online courses. This survey-based research study examines student perception on various engagement strategies used in online courses based on Moore’s interaction framework” (Martin & Bolliger, p1:2018).
References:
Banna, J., Grace Lin, MF., Stewart, M., & Fialkowski, M. K. (2015). Interaction Matters: Strategies to Promote Engaged Learning in an Online Introductory Nutrition Course. J. Online Learn Teach. 11, 249–261.
Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Borokhovski, E., Wade, C. A., Tamim, R. M., Surkes, M. A., & Bethel, E. C. (2009). A Meta-Analysis of Three Types of Interaction Treatments in Distance Education. Review of Educational Research, 79(3), 1243-1289.
Bond, M., Buntins, K., Bedenlier, S., Zawacki-Richter, O., & Kerres, M. (2020). Mapping Research in Student Engagement and Educational Technology in Higher Education: A Systematic Evidence Map. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 17:2.
Hollister, B., Nair, P., Hill-Lindsay, S., & Chukoskie, L. (2022). Engagement in Online Learning: Student Attitudes and Behavior During COVID-19. Frontiers in Education, 7:851019.
Farrell, O., & Brunton, J. (2020). A Balancing Act: A Window into Online Student Engagement Experiences. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 17(1), 25.
Lear, J. L., Ansorge, C., & Steckelberg, A. (2010). Interactivity/Community Process Model for the Online Education Environment. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 6(1), 71–77.
Martin, F., & Bolliger, D.U. (2018). Engagement matters: Student perceptions on the importance of engagement strategies in the online learning environment. Online Learning, 22(1), 205- 222.
Discussions
How can we inspire students to engage positively with each other in online classes? Thinking about the behaviours you have sought, what engagement strategies have worked with your students to date, and what has been less successful?
Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments section below.