Showing papers on "Student engagement published in 2010"

Effects on teachers' self-efficacy and job satisfaction: Teacher gender, years of experience, and job stress.

Abstract: The authors of this study sought to examine the relationships among teachers' years of experience, teacher characteristics (gender and teaching level), three domains of self-efficacy (instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement), two types of job stress (workload and classroom stress), and job satisfaction with a sample of 1,430 practicing teachers using factor analysis, item response modeling, systems of equations, and a structural equation model. Teachers' years of experience showed nonlinear relationships with all three self-efficacy factors, increasing from early career to mid-career and then falling afterwards. Female teachers had greater workload stress, greater classroom stress from student behaviors, and lower classroom management self-efficacy. Teachers with greater workload stress had greater classroom management self-efficacy, whereas teachers with greater classroom stress had lower self-efficacy and lower job satisfaction. Those teaching young children (in elementary grades and kindergarten) had higher levels of self-efficacy for classroom management and student engagement. Lastly, teachers with greater classroom management self-efficacy or greater instructional strategies self-efficacy had greater job satisfaction.

Mining LMS data to develop an early warning system for educators: A proof of concept

Abstract: Earlier studies have suggested that higher education institutions could harness the predictive power of Learning Management System (LMS) data to develop reporting tools that identify at-risk students and allow for more timely pedagogical interventions. This paper confirms and extends this proposition by providing data from an international research project investigating which student online activities accurately predict academic achievement. Analysis of LMS tracking data from a Blackboard Vista-supported course identified 15 variables demonstrating a significant simple correlation with student final grade. Regression modelling generated a best-fit predictive model for this course which incorporates key variables such as total number of discussion messages posted, total number of mail messages sent, and total number of assessments completed and which explains more than 30% of the variation in student final grade. Logistic modelling demonstrated the predictive power of this model, which correctly identified 81% of students who achieved a failing grade. Moreover, network analysis of course discussion forums afforded insight into the development of the student learning community by identifying disconnected students, patterns of student-to-student communication, and instructor positioning within the network. This study affirms that pedagogically meaningful information can be extracted from LMS-generated student tracking data, and discusses how these findings are informing the development of a customizable dashboard-like reporting tool for educators that will extract and visualize real-time data on student engagement and likelihood of success.

Adolescents’ Perceptions of School Environment, Engagement, and Academic Achievement in Middle School

Abstract: This short-term longitudinal research examined the relationships among middle school students’ perceptions of school environment, school engagement, and academic achievement. Participants were from a representative, ethnically diverse, urban sample of 1,046 students. The findings supported the theoretical conceptualization of three different, but related, dimensions of school engagement: school participation, sense of identification with school, and use of self-regulation strategies. The results also indicated that students’ perceptions of the distinct dimensions of school environment in seventh grade contribute differentially to the three types of school engagement in eighth grade. Finally, the authors found that students’ perceptions of school environment influenced their academic achievement directly and indirectly through the three types of school engagement. Specifically, students’ perceptions of school characteristics in seventh grade influenced their school participation, identification with school...

Improving student engagement: Ten proposals for action

Abstract: Since the 1980s an extensive research literature has investigated how to improve student success in higher education focusing on student outcomes such as retention, completion and employability. A parallel research programme has focused on how students engage with their studies and what they, institutions and educators can do to enhance their engagement, and hence success. This article reports on two syntheses of research literature on student engagement and how this can be enhanced. It first synthesizes 93 research studies from ten countries to develop a conceptual organizer for student engagement that consists of four perspectives identified in the research: student motivation; transactions between teachers and students; institutional support; and engagement for active citizenship. Secondly, the article synthesizes findings from these perspectives as ten propositions for improving student engagement in higher education. It concludes by identifying some limitations with the conceptual organizer and one suggestion for developing a more integrated approach to student engagement.

Feedback : all that effort, but what is the effect?

Abstract: Constraints in resourcing and student dissatisfaction with assessment feedback mean that the effectiveness of our feedback practices has never been so important. Drawing on findings from a three‐year study focused on student engagement with feedback, this paper reveals the limited extent to which effectiveness can be accurately measured and challenges many of the assumptions and beliefs about effectiveness of feedback practices. Difficulties relating to multiple purposes of feedback, its temporal nature and the capabilities of evaluators reveal that measuring effectiveness is fraught with difficulty. The paper argues that the learner is in the best position to judge the effectiveness of feedback, but may not always recognise the benefits it provides. Therefore, the pedagogic literacy of students is key to evaluation of feedback and feedback processes.

Engaging online learners: The impact of Web-based learning technology on college student engagement

Abstract: Widespread use of the Web and other Internet technologies in postsecondary education has exploded in the last 15years. Using a set of items developed by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the researchers utilized the hierarchical linear model (HLM) and multiple regressions to investigate the impact of Web-based learning technology on student engagement and self-reported learning outcomes in face-to-face and online learning environments. The results show a general positive relationship between the use the learning technology and student engagement and learning outcomes. We also discuss the possible impact on minority and part-time students as they are more likely to enroll in online courses.

How Principals and Peers Influence Teaching and Learning

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of principal leadership and peer teacher influence on teachers’ instructional practice and student learning. Using teacher survey and student achievement data from a mid-sized urban southeastern school district in the United States in 2006-2007, the study employs multilevel structural equation modeling to examine the structural relationships between student learning and theorized dimensions of principal leadership, teacher peer influence, and change in teachers’ instructional practice. The findings confirm previous empirical work and provide new contributions to research on the chain of hypothesized relationships between leadership practice and student learning. Both principal leadership and teacher peer influence were significantly associated with teachers’ instructional practices and English language arts (ELA) student learning. A major contribution of this research is the strong and significant indirect relationships which mediate education leadership and student learning. The results indicate the importance of principals work for student learning because of their indirect influence on teachers’ practices through the fostering of collaboration and communication around instruction.

Creating effective student engagement in online courses: What do students find engaging?

Abstract: While this paper set out to discover what activities and/or interaction channels might be expected to lead to more highly engaged students, what it found was a bit different. After first creating a scale to measure online student engagement, and then surveying 186 students from six campuses in the Midwest, the results indicate that there is no particular activity that will automatically help students to be more engaged in online classes. However, the results also suggest that multiple communication channels may be related to higher engagement and that student-student and instructor-student communication are clearly strongly correlated with higher student engagement with the course, in general. Thus, advice for online instructors is still to use active learning but to be sure to incorporate meaningful and multiple ways of interacting with students and encouraging/requiring students to interact with each other.

Collaborative leadership and school improvement: understanding the impact on school capacity and student learning

Abstract: Fifty years of theory and research offer increasing levels of support for the assertion that principal leadership makes a difference in the quality of schooling, school development and student learning In the current context of global education reform, however, recent inquiries have focused on identifying how teams of school leaders contribute to school improvement and student learning This chapter reports on findings drawn from a series of empirical analyses that assessed the effects of collaborative leadership on school improvement capacity and student learning in a large sample of primary schools in the state of Hawaii over a 4-year period Our findings support the prevailing view that collaborative school leadership can positively affect student learning in reading and math through building the school’s capacity for academic improvement The research further extends this finding, however, by offering empirical support for a more refined conception that casts leadership for student learning as a process of mutual influence in which school capacity both shapes and is shaped by the school’s collective leadership

Defining Student Engagement

Abstract: Few terms in the lexicon of higher education today are invoked more frequently, and in more varied ways, than engagement. None (except perhaps “funding”) is employed more often to describe what ins...

One to One Computing: A Summary of the Quantitative Results from the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative

Abstract: This paper examines the educational impacts of the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative (BWLI), a pilot program that provided 1:1 technology access to all students and teachers across five public and private middle schools in western Massachusetts. Using a pre/post comparative study design, the current study explores a wide range of program impacts over the three years of the project’s implementation. Specifically, the current document provides an overview of the project background, implementation, research design and methodology, and a summary of the quantitative results. The study details how teaching and learning practices changed when students and teachers were provided with laptops, wireless learning environments, and additional technology resources. The results found that both the implementation and outcomes of the program were varied across the five 1:1 settings and over the three years of the student laptop implementation. Despite these differences, there was evidence that the types of educational access and opportunities afforded by 1:1 computing through the pilot program led to measurable changes in teacher practices, student achievement, student engagement, and students’ research skills.

How Long Can Students Pay Attention in Class? A Study of Student Attention Decline Using Clickers

Abstract: Students enrolled in three levels of general chemistry self-reported their attention decline during both lecture and other teaching approaches via personal response devices (clickers). Students report attention declines of 1 min or less more often than longer attention lapses. The data suggest that student engagement alternates between attention and nonattention in shorter and shorter cycles as lecture proceeds. Introduction of other pedagogies, specifically, clicker questions and demonstrations resulted in significantly lower self-reported student attention decline than lecture. This effect persisted during lectures immediately following the intervening pedagogies. Implications of this research for teaching are discussed.

From Theory to Action: Exploring the Institutional Conditions for Student Retention

Abstract: Though access to higher education in the United States has increased over the past several decades, similar increases in college completion have not followed suit. Despite years of effort, we have, in large measure, been unable to translate the promise increased access affords to students, in particular those of low-income and underserved backgrounds, into the reality of college completion especially as measured by 4-year degrees. That this is the case is reflective in part of our inability to translate what we have learned from research on student retention into a reasonable set of guidelines for the types of actions and policies institution must put into place to increase rates of college completion.

Educational Outcomes and Research from 1:1 Computing Settings

Abstract: Despite the growing interest in 1:1 computing initiatives, relatively little empirical research has focused on the outcomes of these investments. The current special edition of the Journal of Technology and Assessment presents four empirical studies of K–12 1:1 computing programs and one review of key themes in the conversation about 1:1 computing among advocates and critics. In this introduction to our 1:1 special edition, we synthesize across the studies and discuss the emergent themes. Looking specifically across these studies, we summarize evidence that participation in the 1:1 programs was associated with increased student and teacher technology use, increased student engagement and interest level, and modest increases in student achievement.

Smartphones Give You Wings: Pedagogical Affordances of Mobile Web 2.0

Abstract: Built on the foundation of four years of research and implementation of mobile learning projects (m-learning), this paper provides an overview of the potential of the integration of mobile Web 2.0 tools (based around smartphones) to facilitate social constructivist pedagogies and engage students in tertiary education. Pedagogical affordances of mobile Web 2.0 tools are evaluated, and student usage and feedback is outlined via an interactive multimedia timeline (using YouTube videos) illustrating how these mobile Web 2.0 pedagogical affordances have transformed pedagogy and facilitated student engagement in a variety of course contexts. A rubric for evaluating appropriate smartphone choices is provided, and a model for implementing mobile Web 2.0 pedagogical integration is presented.

Academic Trajectories of Newcomer Immigrant Youth.

Abstract: Immigration to the United States presents both challenges and opportunities that affect students' academic achievement. Using a 5-year longitudinal, mixed-methods approach, we identified varying academic trajectories of newcomer immigrant students from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico. Latent class growth curve analysis revealed that although some newcomer students performed at high or improving levels over time, others showed diminishing performance. Multinomial logistic regressions identified significant group differences in academic trajectories, particularly between the high-achieving youth and the other groups. In keeping with ecological-developmental and stage-environment fit theories, School Characteristics (school segregation rate, school poverty rate, and student perceptions of school violence), Family Characteristics (maternal education, parental employment, and household structure), and Individual Characteristics (academic English proficiency, academic engagement, psychological symptoms, gender, and 2 age-related risk factors, number of school transitions and being overaged for grade placement) were associated with different trajectories of academic performance. A series of case studies triangulate many of the quantitative findings as well as illuminate patterns that were not detected in the quantitative data. Thus, the mixed-methods approach sheds light on the cumulative developmental challenges that immigrant students face as they adjust to their new educational settings.

Personal and Social-Contextual Factors in K–12 Academic Performance: An Integrative Perspective on Student Learning

Abstract: Our extensive literature review in the fields of educational, social, and cognitive psychology has led us to identify about a dozen variables that demonstrate direct empirical links to academic achievement at the K–12 level. Those variables are grouped into four major categories: student engagement, learning strategies, school climate, and social-familial influences. We then categorize the first two variables as personal factors and the latter two as social-contextual factors. We document empirical findings that have shown particular relationships between the reviewed personal and social-contextual factors and academic achievement, mainly in the areas of reading and mathematics. Based on our conceptualization, we propose an integrated perspective that students’ personal factors in the domains of behavior, affect, attitude, and cognition as well as their social-contextual environment have to work in concert to produce optimal school performance. We conclude with a discussion on educational implications and...

Development of the Australasian survey of student engagement (AUSSE)

Abstract: Student learning and development are the core business of the academy, yet until recently Australian and New Zealand universities lacked data on students’ engagement in effective educational practices. This paper reports the foundations and development of the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE)—the largest educationally focused cross-institutional collection from current students in Australasia. Results from the 2008 AUSSE are analyzed to elucidate the focus and significance of the collection. A review is undertaken of the AUSSE’s approach to stimulating each institution’s continuous improvement. The analysis is expanded, by way of conclusion, to consider the role of the collection as a general agent for encouraging the expansion of evidence-based quality management in higher education.

Using wikis for collaborative learning: Assessing collaboration through contribution

Abstract: Wikis are widely promoted as collaborative writing tools and are gaining in popularity in educational settings. However, while wikis include features that are designed to facilitate collaboration, it does not necessarily follow that their use will ensure or even encourage collaborative learning behaviour. The few empirical studies that have considered this issue report equivocal findings. We assessed students collaborative behaviour based on their contributions to a wiki-based shared writing task using a variety of text and time based metrics. We found little evidence of collaboration despite adopting a learning design that was intended to support it. While overall participation was high, a relatively small proportion of students did the bulk of the work and many students' contributions were superficial. Students made little use of the wiki's commenting feature - a critical tool for contextualising and coordinating their contributions for and with others, and the majority of contributions were made very late in the task, making the possibility of extensive collaboration unlikely. These findings are discussed in relation to factors that may lead to the more successful integration of innovative, technology based learning activities into broader undergraduate curricula.

Adolescents' satisfaction with school experiences: relationships with demographics, attachment relationships, and school engagement behavior

Abstract: This study investigated the relationships among demographics, parent and peer attachment, school satisfaction, and student engagement behavior in a 1-year longitudinal study of secondary-school students. Statistically significant cross-sectional differences in school satisfaction were observed, based on grade, but not on race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Level of school satisfaction did not moderate the relationships between parent and peer satisfaction and negative student engagement behaviors at Time 2 (controlling for Time 1). School satisfaction did account for significant incremental variance across all levels of parent and peer attachment relationships, although predicting a larger proportion of variance for withdrawal behavior than for resistance/aggression behavior. Adolescents' appraisals of their school satisfaction appear to be an independent predictor of their school engagement behaviors, regardless of the quality of their parent or peer attachment relationships. Limitations of the study as well as implications for future research and educational practice are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Teaching for Student Learning: Becoming an Accomplished Teacher

Abstract: 1. Teaching and Learning in Today's Schools Part I. Foundations for Student Learning 2. How Students Learn: A Primer 3. Motivation and Student Learning 4. Curriculum Design for Student Learning 5. Instructional Differentiation 6. Classroom Assessment Part II. Methods and Models of Teaching 7. Presentation and Explanation 8. Direct Instruction 9. Teaching with Text, Internet and Visual Media 10. Teaching Thinking 11. Concept and Inquiry-based Teaching 12. Cased-based Teaching and Jurisprudential Inquiry 13. Cooperative Learning 14. Problem-based Learning Part III. School-wide Conditions for Student Learning 15. School Change and Teacher Learning

Engagement in After-School Programs as a Predictor of Social Competence and Academic Performance

Abstract: Using the experience sampling method, this study examined two questions related to outcomes associated with after-school programming. First, does the quality of experience in after-school programs mediate the effect of program participation on social competence and academic performance? Second, among program participants, is the difference in quality of experience when in programs versus other settings after school related to higher social competence and academic performance? Middle school students (N = 196) attending eight programs in three Midwestern states reported a total of 4,970 randomly sampled experiences in and out of after-school programs during 1 week in the fall and spring of the 2001–2002 academic year. Engagement during after-school hours partially mediated the relationship between participation in after-school programs and social competence. In addition, relative perceptions of engagement, challenge, and importance when in after-school programs compared to elsewhere after school predicted higher English and math grades. Results suggest that the quality of experiences in after-school programs may be a more important factor than quantity of experiences (i.e., dosage) in predicting positive academic outcomes.

Understanding Online Knowledge Sharing: An Interpersonal Relationship Perspective

Abstract: The unique features and capabilities of online learning are built on the ability to connect to a wider range of learning resources and peer learners that benefit individual learners, such as through discussion forums, collaborative learning, and community building. The success of online learning thus depends on the participation, engagement, and social interaction of peer learners, which leads to knowledge sharing. Thus, without frequent and persistent interaction, it is doubtful whether knowledge sharing can take place in online learning. This study argues that theories about the development and maintenance of social relationships provide a theoretical foundation for understanding the motivation to engage in online knowledge sharing behavior. An Online Knowledge Sharing Model (OKSM) is proposed and empirically tested among undergraduate students using an online learning environment. The model introduces two new constructs - Perceived Online Attachment Motivation (POAM) and Perceived Online Relationship Commitment (PORC), which together explained 71 percent of the variance observed in self-reported online knowledge sharing behavior. The findings provide some explanations for the motivation to share knowledge, and have several implications for the design of the features and capabilities of online learning environments.

Student engagement and blended learning: Portraits of risk

Abstract: The widening participation agenda was instigated by a government seeking to develop skilled workers in the global economy, yet it has consistently refused to fund the burgeoning student population adequately. Managers and academics within the HE sector have to reconcile requirements for the implementation of policies with an increasing 'audit' culture and a mass education system. For these stakeholders, perceptions of the benefits of moving aspects of learning online can be attractive. But does this help the widening participation student, struggling to adjust to University life, juggling working to minimise debt and family commitments? A model has been developed through cross case analysis of students' learning experiences at a post-1992 University to illustrate how students are creating new and innovative ways to negotiate their engagement with Higher Education. The negotiation involves their individual expectations of:*Their ability to control technology. *Their forthcoming educational experience. *Expectations of managing their 'learning space. The model provides a way of mapping aspects of course design to different portraits of students, enabling students to be mapped as high, medium and low risk in terms of retention. The use of this model to design and analyse courses, in order to identify such risks for students, will then be demonstrated.

Indicators of engagement

Abstract: Student engagement has become synonymous with the measurement of teaching and learning quality at universities. The almost global adoption of learning management systems as a technical solution to e-learning within universities and their ability to record and track user behaviour provides the academy with an unprecedented opportunity to harness captured data relating to student engagement. This is an exploratory study that aims to show how data from learning management systems can be used as an indicator of student engagement and how patterns in the data have changed with CQ University's recent adoption of Moodle as its single learning management system.

Nursing and healthcare students' experiences and use of e-learning in higher education.

Abstract: Aim. This paper presents research on nursing and healthcare students' experiences and use of e-learning. Background. The inception of e-learning in higher education is supported by a policy background and technological developments, yet little is known of student experience and use in the United Kingdom. Methods. Conducted in 2007 and 2008, this study employed a mixed methods approach. An initial quantitative questionnaire was completed by 25 Higher Education Institutions and nine case study sites were visited. In the sites 41 students took part in focus groups and 35 staff were interviewed. Findings. Twenty-four Higher Education Institutions used a virtual learning environment and all respondents used e-learning to enable access to course materials and web-based learning resources. Three main themes were identified from student interviews, 'Pedagogic use'; 'Factors inhibiting use' and 'Facilitating factors to engagement'. Student's main engagement with e-learning was at an instructivist level and as a support to existing face-to-face modes of delivery. Student use of Web 2.0 was limited, although a number were using social software at home. Limited computer access, computing skills, technical issues and poor peer commitment affected use. Motivation and relevance to the course and practice, in addition to an appreciation of the potential for student-centred and flexible learning, facilitated use. Conclusion. There is scope to broaden the use of e-learning that would engage students in the social construction of knowledge. In addition, experiences of e-learning use could be improved if factors adversely affecting engagement were addressed. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.