Showing papers on "Student engagement published in 2020"

Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in higher education: a systematic evidence map

Abstract: Digital technology has become a central aspect of higher education, inherently affecting all aspects of the student experience. It has also been linked to an increase in behavioural, affective and cognitive student engagement, the facilitation of which is a central concern of educators. In order to delineate the complex nexus of technology and student engagement, this article systematically maps research from 243 studies published between 2007 and 2016. Research within the corpus was predominantly undertaken within the United States and the United Kingdom, with only limited research undertaken in the Global South, and largely focused on the fields of Arts & Humanities, Education, and Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics. Studies most often used quantitative methods, followed by mixed methods, with little qualitative research methods employed. Few studies provided a definition of student engagement, and less than half were guided by a theoretical framework. The courses investigated used blended learning and text-based tools (e.g. discussion forums) most often, with undergraduate students as the primary target group. Stemming from the use of educational technology, behavioural engagement was by far the most often identified dimension, followed by affective and cognitive engagement. This mapping article provides the grounds for further exploration into discipline-specific use of technology to foster student engagement.

Effectiveness of Virtual Medical Teaching During the COVID-19 Crisis: Systematic Review.

Abstract: Background: In December 2019, COVID-19 emerged and rapidly spread worldwide. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is high; as a result, countries worldwide have imposed rigorous public health measures, such as quarantine. This has involved the suspension of medical school classes globally. Medical school attachments are vital to aid the progression of students’ confidence and competencies as future physicians. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, medical schools have sought ways to replace medical placements with virtual clinical teaching. Objective: The objective of this study was to review the advantages and disadvantages of virtual medical teaching for medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the current emerging literature. Methods: A brief qualitative review based on the application and effectiveness of virtual teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted by referencing keywords, including medical student virtual teaching COVID-19, virtual undergraduate medical education, and virtual medical education COVID-19, in the electronic databases of PubMed and Google Scholar. A total of 201 articles were found, of which 34 were included in the study. Manual searches of the reference lists of the included articles yielded 5 additional articles. The findings were tabulated and assessed under the following headings: summary of virtual teaching offered, strengths of virtual teaching, and weaknesses of virtual teaching. Results: The strengths of virtual teaching included the variety of web-based resources available. New interactive forms of virtual teaching are being developed to enable students to interact with patients from their homes. Open-access teaching with medical experts has enabled students to remain abreast of the latest medical advancements and to reclaim knowledge lost by the suspension of university classes and clinical attachments. Peer mentoring has been proven to be a valuable tool for medical students with aims of increasing knowledge and providing psychological support. Weaknesses of virtual teaching included technical challenges, confidentiality issues, reduced student engagement, and loss of assessments. The mental well-being of students was found to be negatively affected during the pandemic. Inequalities of virtual teaching services worldwide were also noted to cause differences in medical education. Conclusions: In the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical schools have a duty to provide ongoing education to medical students. The continuation of teaching is crucial to enable the graduation of future physicians into society. The evidence suggests that virtual teaching is effective, and institutions are working to further develop these resources to improve student engagement and interactivity. Moving forward, medical faculties must adopt a more holistic approach to student education and consider the mental impact of COVID-19 on students as well as improve the security and technology of virtual platforms.

An overview and comparison of supervised data mining techniques for student exam performance prediction

Abstract: Recent increase in the availability of learning data has given educational data mining an importance and momentum, in order to better understand and optimize the learning process and environments in which it occurs. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis and comparison of state of the art supervised machine learning techniques applied for solving the task of student exam performance prediction, i.e. discovering students at a “high risk” of dropping out from the course, and predicting their future achievements, such as for instance, the final exam scores. For both classification and regression tasks, the overall highest precision was obtained with artificial neural networks by feeding the student engagement data and past performance data, while the usage of demographic data did not show significant influence on the precision of predictions. To exploit the full potential of the student exam performance prediction, it was concluded that adequate data acquisition functionalities and the student interaction with the learning environment is a prerequisite to ensure sufficient amount of data for analysis.

Facilitating student engagement through the flipped learning approach in K-12: A systematic review

Abstract: The flipped learning approach has been growing in popularity in both higher education and K-12, especially for its potential to increase active learning and student engagement. However, further research is needed to understand exactly how the flipped approach enhances student engagement. This narrative systematic review synthesises literature published between 2012 and 2018, focused on the flipped learning approach in K-12 contexts, and indexed in 7 international databases. 107 articles, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers and grey literature were included for review, and the results are discussed against a bioecological model of student engagement. The results indicate that the majority of research has been undertaken in North American and Asian high schools, heavily focused on student perceptions of flipped learning and achievement within STEM subjects, especially Mathematics, with a slight preference for quantitative methods. Studies in this review found the approach to overwhelmingly support student engagement, with 93% of studies citing at least one dimension of behavioural, affective or cognitive engagement, whereas 50% of studies reported facets of disengagement. Collaborative technologies such as Google Docs, Google Classroom and Edmodo were particularly linked to engagement, with videos not created by teachers more likely to lead to disengagement. Only 12% included a definition of student engagement, and less than half used a theoretical framework. Future empirical research should ensure that all contextual information is included, including year level of student participants, that multiple methods of both quantitative and qualitative data collection are included, and close attention is paid to grounding research in theory. Further research is needed on parent, teacher and school leader perceptions, as well as longitudinal and multiple-class studies.

Designing a Community of Inquiry in Online Courses

Abstract: This article describes a practical approach for implementing instructional strategies in order to build a Community of Inquiry (CoI) into an online course. Online community building has positive effects on the quality of student learning, increases student engagement, and encourages motivation of students in online courses. The CoI is a theoretical framework focusing on facilitating meaningful learning experiences through three presences: cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. This article will introduce the CoI framework by way of literature review focusing on CoI instructional strategies. Using Sorensen and Baylen’s (2009) seven principles of good practice, the author will structure CoI instructional activities into presence categories for practitioner use.

Student retention and engagement in higher education

Abstract: This article reports on a systematic review of research into student retention and student engagement in higher education (HE). It discusses the origins and meaning of these terms, their relation t...

Schools and emergency remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A living rapid systematic review

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has had an unprecedented impact on education around the world. In order to understand and face this challenge, educators and researchers undertook a range of research, however the time that teachers have to undertake professional development and seek out such literature to inform their practice has been sorely lacking. Furthermore, literature exploring the wider variety of stakeholder experiences has been suggested to be missing. This living rapid systematic review synthesises K-12 research on teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, published in English and indexed in 5 international databases. 89 studies were included for synthesis in the present article, and the results are discussed against a bioecological model of student engagement. The results indicate that the majority of research was conducted in Europe and Asia, predominantly focused on teachers, with more studies undertaken in high schools. Online surveys were the most used method, although future research must include all study design information. Recommendations from the literature include providing further funding for professional development and equipment, prioritising equity, designing collaborative activities, and using a combination of synchronous and asynchronous technology. Gaps in the literature are highlighted and practical tips for teachers are provided.

Challenges of Online Medical Education in Pakistan During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected economy, social life, and educational services all around the globe. Medical colleges and universities are facing challenges to provide quality education to their students during this prolonged period of lockdown. Technologically advanced countries have systems in place for e-learning and online medical education. This is not the case with most of the low-income countries like Pakistan. Here, we describe the challenges being faced by medical faculty members and students in Pakistan while engaging in online medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include lack of faculty training and institutional support, internet connectivity issues, maintaining student engagement, online assessments, and problems with understanding the unique dynamics of online education. A collaborative approach involving all stakeholders, intuitional support, use of free online training resources, and out of box thinking can help overcome these challenges. Key Words: Analysis, E-learning, Coronavirus, Developing countries, Solutions.

Learner engagement in MOOCs: Scale development and validation

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of conceptualising and measuring learner engagement in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The paper develops and validates a MOOC engagement scale (MES) to measure learner engagement. The initial questionnaire items of the scale were developed by reviewing existing related literature and validated student engagement constructs. This was followed by a modified scale development process, including two focus group interviews (n = 10), an exploratory survey (n = 12), an expert review (n = 10), a pilot survey (n = 15), an item purification study (n = 590) and a construct validation study (n = 303). The final version of the scale is made up of four dimensions: behavioural engagement, cognitive engagement, emotional engagement and social engagement. The paper concludes with recommendations for how the MES can be used to assess the pattern of engagement in MOOCs and to investigate the relationship between learner engagement and other important MOOC teaching and learning factors.

Pandemic designs for the future: perspectives of technology education teachers during COVID-19

Abstract: The disruption caused by the pandemic declaration and subsequent public health measures put in place have had a substantial effect on teachers’ abilities to support student engagement in technology education (TE). The purpose of this paper is to explore the following research question: How do TE teachers see emergency remote teaching (ERT) transitions to blended learning into the next academic year affecting their profession?,A snowball and convenience sampling design was used to recruit specialist teachers in TE through their professional organization and were asked to respond to the question: What are your concerns about the future of teaching TE remotely? The qualitative data collected from the participants (N = 42) was analyzed thematically (Braun and Clarke, 2006).,The analysis revealed that the switch to ERT impacted the teachers’ ability to support hands-on competency development owing to inequitable student access to tools, materials and resources, all of which affected student motivation and engagement. As a result, teachers raised questions about the overall effectiveness of online learning approaches and TE’s future and sustainability if offered completely online.,This research is the first of its kind exploring the experiences of TE teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In answer to the challenges identified by teachers, the authors offer a blended learning design framework informed by pandemic transformed pedagogy that can serve as a model for educators to use when designing blended instruction.

Effects of teacher role on student engagement in WeChat-Based online discussion learning

Abstract: The online discussion format has proven itself to be useful for promoting student collaboration and for accomplishing better learning outcomes. As a popular instant message software in China, WeChat has been commonly adopted for supporting academic group discussions. Many studies have explored how teacher facilitation affects students' learning performance in the synchronous or asynchronous discussion settings. However, the conclusions are not consistent and there is relative less research about the effects of teacher role on student engagement in the context of online discussion using the semi-synchronous tool-WeChat. This study began by identifying three dimensions of student engagement: behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, and emotional engagement. A quasi-experiment was then conducted to compare student engagement among experiment groups (with teacher facilitation) and control groups (without teacher facilitation). A total of 46 college students were divided into eight groups and asked to discuss two specific topic tasks. To evaluate participants' behavioral and cognitive engagement, this study used a more objective data analysis method by applying content analysis rather than only based on surveys. Participants were required to complete a questionnaire to report their emotional engagement. The results show the behavioral and cognitive engagement of the experimental group with teacher facilitation were significantly higher than that of the control group without teacher facilitation. However, there was no significant effect of teacher facilitation on participants’ emotional engagement in the experimental group. It is also found that the emerging student leaders show similar positive effects of teacher facilitation towards improving behavioral and cognitive engagement. Future studies about the moderating effects of teaching experience and student leaders are also needed.

The seven principles of online learning: Feedback from faculty and alumni on its importance for teaching and learning

Abstract: Effective online teaching and learning requires a carefully designed classroom that promotes student engagement with faculty, peers and course content. This research included an investigation of the importance of faculty–student communication and collaboration; student–student communication and collaboration; active learning techniques; prompt feedback; appropriate time for tasks; high performance expectations; and respect for diverse learning styles (preferences) (Chickering and Ehrmann 1996) to faculty in their online teaching and to alumni in their online learning. The participants were 14 college faculty and 111 alumni, from the same graduate program. A 45-item Likert survey and two open-ended questions were presented to the participants to explore the important factors contributing to their online teaching and learning. The results demonstrated that holding students to high standards of performance, academic honesty and professional conduct was the most important factor to both faculty in their online teaching and alumni in their online learning. Additionally, alumni valued engagement with their faculty more than engagement with other students or course content. Students need an online instructor who is organised and communicative in the online classroom, and faculty need a solidly designed online classroom, with engaged students who are timely in their work. An analysis of the findings with specific application to online teaching and learning is presented in this article.

Student Engagement Level in an e-Learning Environment: Clustering Using K-Means.

Abstract: E-learning platforms and processes face several challenges, among which is the idea of personalizing the e-learning experience and to keep students motivated and engaged. This work is part of a lar...

Scaling up behavioral science interventions in online education.

Abstract: Online education is rapidly expanding in response to rising demand for higher and continuing education, but many online students struggle to achieve their educational goals. Several behavioral science interventions have shown promise in raising student persistence and completion rates in a handful of courses, but evidence of their effectiveness across diverse educational contexts is limited. In this study, we test a set of established interventions over 2.5 y, with one-quarter million students, from nearly every country, across 247 online courses offered by Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford. We hypothesized that the interventions would produce medium-to-large effects as in prior studies, but this is not supported by our results. Instead, using an iterative scientific process of cyclically preregistering new hypotheses in between waves of data collection, we identified individual, contextual, and temporal conditions under which the interventions benefit students. Self-regulation interventions raised student engagement in the first few weeks but not final completion rates. Value-relevance interventions raised completion rates in developing countries to close the global achievement gap, but only in courses with a global gap. We found minimal evidence that state-of-the-art machine learning methods can forecast the occurrence of a global gap or learn effective individualized intervention policies. Scaling behavioral science interventions across various online learning contexts can reduce their average effectiveness by an order-of-magnitude. However, iterative scientific investigations can uncover what works where for whom.

A Dialogic Teaching Companion

Abstract: Building on Robin Alexander’s landmark Towards Dialogic Teaching, this book shows how and why the dialogic approach has a positive impact on student engagement and learning. It sets out the evidence, examines the underpinning ideas and issues, and offers guidance and resources for the planning, implementation and review of effective dialogic teaching in a wide range of educational settings. Dialogic teaching harnesses the power of talk to engage students’ interest, stimulate their thinking, advance their understanding, expand their ideas and build and evaluate argument, empowering them for lifelong learning and for social and democratic engagement. Drawing on extensive published research as well as the high-profile, 5000-student trial and independent evaluation of Alexander’s distinctive approach to dialogic teaching in action, this book: Presents the case for treating talk as not merely incidental to teaching and learning but as an essential tool of education whose exploitation and development require understanding and skill; Explores questions of definition and conceptualisation in the realms of dialogue, argumentation and dialogic teaching, revealing the similarities and differences between the main approaches; Discusses evidence that has enriched the debate about classroom talk in relation to oracy, argumentation, student voice and philosophy for children as well as dialogic teaching itself; Identifies what it is about dialogic teaching that makes a difference to students’ thinking, learning and understanding; Presents the author’s rationale and framework for dialogic teaching, now completely revised and much expanded; Proposes a professional development strategy for making dialogic teaching happen which, like the framework, has been successfully trialled in schools; Lists resources from others working in the field to support further study and development; Includes an extensive bibliography. Robin Alexander’s A Dialogic Teaching Companion, like its popular predecessor Towards Dialogic Teaching, aims to support the work of all those who are interested in the quality of teaching and learning, but especially trainee and serving teachers, teacher educators, school leaders and researchers.

Students’ motivation and engagement in higher education: the importance of attitude to online learning

Abstract: The emergence of online environments has changed the landscape of educational learning. Some students thrive in this learning environment, but others become amotivated and disengaged. Drawing on self-determination theory, we report the findings of a study of 574 undergraduate business students at an Australian higher education institution on their attitude toward online learning, and its impact on their motivation and educational engagement. Data was collected via an e-mail survey and analysed using structural equation modelling and the Hayes’ bootstrapping method. The results of the study were mixed. Attitude to online learning mediated the relationships of both intrinsic motivation to know and extrinsic motivation with engagement, indicating that the design of online learning environments can play a role in enhancing learning experiences. However, attitude to online learning was not found to mediate the intrinsic motivation to accomplish and engagement relationship. A negative mediation effect was partially supported between amotivation and engagement, with study mode found as a moderated mediator to this effect, being stronger and significant for online students as opposed to on-campus students. These results have implications for how students can be engaged online, and the need for educators to design online learning environments that support the learning experience for all students.

Instructional design of scaffolded online learning modules for self-directed and inquiry-based learning environments

Abstract: Technology is ubiquitous in the modern world; to harness its educational potential in the quest to introduce environments that are flexible and differentiate for individual student learning needs, the strategic use of the complex array of tools is required. Engagement with this challenge has the potential to lead to the provision of interfaces that allow students to access these resources and become independent learners. It is therefore important to identify and evaluate the features of such interfaces to calibrate and respond to individual student needs. In this context, the quality of differentiated support for learning, referred to as scaffolding, is established as paramount to the design and structure of online environments. In this study, the instructional design referred to as predict, observe, explain and evaluate (POEE), informed by constructivist theories of learning, to implement multiple scaffolding strategies is described. The POEE scaffolding strategy was applied in the creation of two inquiry learning modules. Student engagement with these inquiry modules in a self-directed online environment was explored to identify critical elements of the scaffolding. The findings of this study, based on students' interactions and engagement with the learning modules, enabled the conceptualisation of a multimodal scaffolding strategy for self-directed inquiry. We propose that the recommendations from the implementation of these scaffolded learning modules can represent exemplars illustrative of an enriched instructional design paradigm to support students’ independent study in blended environments.

Academic Communities of Engagement: an expansive lens for examining support structures in blended and online learning

Abstract: In this article we share the Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework, which describes a student’s ability to engage affectively, behaviorally, and cognitively in an online or blended course independently and with support. Based on Vygotsky’s (Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1978) zone of proximal development, the framework examines how a student’s ability to engage in online or blended courses increases with support from two types of communities. The course community is organized and facilitated by those associated with the course or program. The personal community is comprised of actors not officially associated with the course who have typically formed relationships with the student before the course or program began and may extend well beyond its boundaries. Actors within each community have varying skills and abilities to support student engagement, and a student is most likely to reach the necessary engagement for academic success with active support from both. The framework identifies the community actors most likely to provide specific support elements, aligning them to the different types of student engagement. The article outlines implications for practice and research, concluding with illustrative examples.

The agency effect: The impact of student agency on learning, emotions, and problem-solving behaviors in a game-based learning environment

Abstract: Game-based learning environments are designed to foster high levels of student engagement and motivation during learning of complex topics. Game-based learning environments allow students freedom to navigate a space to interact with game elements that foster learning, i.e., agency. Agency has been studied in learning, and it has been demonstrated that increased student agency results in greater learning outcomes. However, it is unclear what is the level of agency that is required to demonstrate this effect, and whether this effect applies only to learning or to problem solving and affect during game-based learning as well. To investigate how the level of student agency impacts learning, problem solving, and affect, a study was conducted with 138 college students interacting with a game-based learning environment for microbiology, Crystal Island. This study is an extension of a previous study that examined the impact of agency on learning and problem-solving behaviors during game-based learning with Crystal Island. Students were randomly assigned to either a High Agency condition, a Low Agency condition, or a No Agency condition. It was found that students in the Low Agency condition achieved significantly higher normalized learning gain scores than students in the No Agency condition, and marginally higher normalized learning gains than the High Agency condition. Post-surveys of interest and presence indicated that students in the No Agency condition were less interested, and perceived themselves as less present in the virtual environment, than students in the other conditions. Students in the No Agency condition also experienced less frustration, confusion, and joy than the other agency conditions, indicating a less cognitively stimulating experience. Overall the results indicate that a moderate degree of agency provided to students in game-based learning environments leads to better learning outcomes without sacrificing interest and without yielding a negative emotional experience, demonstrating how even low levels of agency can positively impact learning, problem solving, and affect during game-based learning.

Engagement, disengagement and performance when learning with technologies in upper secondary school

Abstract: Students need to engage in order to learn. As digitalisation changes the conditions for learning, it is essential to consider how student engagement might be affected. This study explores the relationship between student engagement (and disengagement) in technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and academic outcomes. More specifically, we developed and distributed an instrument to second and third year upper secondary school students (n=410), and matched the student responses with their school grades. The instrument was further validated using principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Using a bivariate correlation test, a one-way ANOVA test, and a post hoc test, we then analysed the associations between low-, average-, and high-performance students and their reported engagement and disengagement when learning with technologies. Results show that high-performance students find it easier to concentrate when working with learning technologies than do average and low performers. We also found significant correlations between low grades and reported time spent on social media and streaming media for other purposes than learning (e.g., YouTube) and significant correlations between a decrease in students' performance and the occurrence of unauthorised multi-tasking via learning technologies while in class: the lower the grades, the more frequently students reported using digital technologies to escape when lessons were boring. Conclusively: high-performance students seem to have developed strategies to use digital technologies in supportive and productive ways. Thus, in order for schools to use digital technologies to ensure that disadvantaged students do not remain disadvantaged when learning with technologies and to not replicate problems in analogue classroom interactions, insights how different performance groups engage and disengage in TEL is critical for learning.

Does my professor think my ability can change? Students’ perceptions of their STEM professors’ mindset beliefs predict their psychological vulnerability, engagement, and performance in class.

Abstract: Two experiments and 2 field studies examine how college students' perceptions of their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professors' mindset beliefs about the fixedness or malleability of intelligence predict students' anticipated and actual psychological experiences and performance in their STEM classes, as well as their engagement and interest in STEM more broadly. In Studies 1 (N = 252) and 2 (N = 224), faculty mindset beliefs were experimentally manipulated and students were exposed to STEM professors who endorsed either fixed or growth mindset beliefs. In Studies 3 (N = 291) and 4 (N = 902), we examined students' perceptions of their actual STEM professors' mindset beliefs and used experience sampling methodology (ESM) to capture their in-the-moment psychological experiences in those professors' classes. Across all studies, we find that students who perceive that their professor endorses more fixed mindset beliefs anticipate (Studies 1 and 2) and actually experience (Studies 3 and 4) more psychological vulnerability in those professors' classes-specifically, they report less belonging in class, greater evaluative concerns, greater imposter feelings, and greater negative affect. We also find that in-the-moment experiences of psychological vulnerability have downstream consequences. Students who perceive that their STEM professors endorse more fixed mindset beliefs experience greater psychological vulnerability in those professors' classes, which in turn predict greater dropout intentions, lower class attendance, less class engagement, less end-of-semester interest in STEM, and lower grades. These findings contribute to our understanding of how students' perceptions of professors' mindsets can serve as a situational cue that affects students' motivation, engagement, and performance in STEM. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

A balancing act: a window into online student engagement experiences

Abstract: This article reports on a qualitative study which explored online student engagement experiences in a higher education institution. There are very few studies providing in-depth perspectives on the engagement experiences of online students. The project adopted a case study approach, following 24 online students over one academic year. The setting for the study was an undergraduate online Humanities programme at Dublin City University. The research question for the study was: What themes are central to online student engagement experiences? Data was collected from participant-generated learning portfolios and semi-structured interviews and analysed following a data-led thematic approach. The five central themes that make up the study’s findings highlight key issues of students’ sense of community, their support networks, balancing study with life, confidence, and their learning approaches. The findings of this study indicate that successful online student engagement was influenced by a number of psychosocial factors such as peer community, an engaging online teacher, and confidence and by structural factors such as lifeload and course design. One limitation of the study is that it is a relatively small, qualitative study, its findings provide insights into how online degrees can support online students to achieve successful and engaging learning experiences.

Disengagement, engagement and digital skills in technology-enhanced learning

Abstract: With the digitalisation of education increasing, the relationship between student engagement in Technology-enhanced Learning (TEL) and digital skills has remained largely unexplored. There is a strong consensus that engagement is necessary for students to succeed in school. We hypothesised that students reporting high and low levels of general engagement display differences in terms of their engagement in TEL, and that students’ digital skills correlate with their engagement in and disengagement in TEL, which in turn is related to their learning outcomes. We used statistical tests to explore the relationship between the students’ (N = 410) general engagement and engagement in TEL, and investigated how digital skills were related to engagement and disengagement in TEL. We found significant correlations between students’ digital skills and engagement in TEL, showing that the possession of high levels of digital skill is related to engagement in TEL. Interestingly, digital skills were not related to disengagement. This suggests that students reporting both high and low levels of digital skills disengage to some extent when learning with technologies. We also identified variables reflecting both engagement and disengagement in TEL that predict student performance as measured via final grades, implying that in order to understand and support students who learn with technologies, a broader understanding of the factors influencing engagement and disengagement is key.

The Effects of Using Different Tools in Programming Teaching of Secondary School Students on Engagement, Computational Thinking and Reflective Thinking Skills for Problem Solving

Abstract: The aim of this research is to determine the effects of Scratch and Alice tools and programming teaching practices on student engagement, reflective thinking and problem-solving skills and computational thinking (CT) comparatively. A quasi-experimental design was used in the research and patterns with pretest–posttest control group were chosen for the variables. The study group was compromised of 110 students at 5th grade in 2016 spring semester. 1st and 2nd groups of Computing Technologies Course have been assigned objectively. Alice programming tool was preferred in the learning process of the 1st experimental group, whereas, Scratch programming tool was utilised in the 2nd study group during application process which lasted for 8 weeks. Results of the research show that programming teaching with Scratch has affected engagement and reflective thinking skills of the students for problem solving more positively than Alice. It has been stated that teaching with Alice affects skills related to CT of the students positively. Furthermore, some recommendations have been made for the future researches.

The Use of Peer Instruction and Flipped Learning to Support Flexible Blended Learning During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: This article provides an overview of peer instruction and flipped learning, two active learning approaches, in the context of learning and teaching in higher education and illustrates their relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Peer instruction and flipped learning should be considered when designing for flexible learning. These approaches can stimulate learning and create seamless active engagement in fully online and blended settings even when switching between these modes becomes necessary due to developments in this pandemic. This transitioning between fully online and blended, as and when required, is something that is of high importance during these challenging times, especially for campus-based universities as they are keen to secure the smooth running of their programmes under difficult circumstances. This article provides practical advice for course designers, module and programme leaders on how they can utilise peer instruction or flipped learning to maximise student engagement and learning.

Facilitating student engagement through educational technology in higher education: A systematic review in the field of arts and humanities

Abstract: Understanding how educational technology can enhance student engagement is becoming increasingly necessary in higher education, and particularly so in arts and humanities, given the communicative nature of courses. This narrative systematic review synthesises 42 peer-reviewed arts and humanities articles published between 2007-2016, indexed in four international databases. The results indicate that the majority of research has been undertaken in language learning, predominantly in East Asian countries, with limited grounding of research in theory. This review found that educational technology supports student engagement, with behavioural engagement by far the most prevalent dimension. Affective engagement was the lowest observed dimension, with affective disengagement the most prevalent negative dimension. Blogs, mobile learning, and assessment tools were the most effective at promoting engagement. However, caution and education in how to use technology are needed, as any use not underpinned by effective and informed pedagogy can also lead to students feeling overwhelmed and disengaging from learning. Further research is needed on online collaboration, as well as international courses that offer cross-cultural opportunities for language use, and the increased use of qualitative methods is also advised.