Have You Ever Measured Student Engagement Through Online Learning?
Student Engagement and the level of motivation students have to progress through their learning path continues to be a topic of discussion. And now that we are in a pandemic, due to COVID-19 more students are studying in an online learning environment. It has been common for higher or adult education for decades now, however it is now mandatory for K-12 students. It seems although everyone is online, even preschool but I have to ask; how do you measure their engagement? Student engagement is one of the most important and influencing factors when it comes to online learning because if students are not engaged, this will directly affect their task and assessment work.
Driving Student Engagement with Various Tools
Student engagement is one of the most challenging things to measure but it can be measured indirectly through research. Student engagement cannot be directly observed or measured but is undertaken indirectly based on specific indicators. Yes, learning online can be just as effective as traditional learning in classrooms, however with a difference. Not only do the learning resources need to be delivered differently and often audio-visual presentations are utilized but the ways of engaging students need to be altered from traditional methods. Audio-visual stimuli is one way to drive student engagement and understanding learning styles is important for educators. Social constructivism sees students learning in a social setting yet online learning is not as social as direct classroom contact. However, what teachers; who provide online courses do are usually have a forum where students can interact. If educators place requirements as tasks for engaging in the online forum, this can drive student engagement. Yet, how do we measure student engagement?
Measuring Student Engagement with Collaboration
Asynchronous and Synchronous by Stefan Hrastinski
Ways to measure student engagement include qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Research into student engagement factors includes the Community of Inquiry (COI) which addressed the connection between students and students and educators. A theoretical framework of social presence, teaching presence and cognitive presence comprises the COI. Social presence is the level of student engagement with other students in online forums and collaborative learning. Teachers should encourage cooperative learning and collaboration between students on projects; this can be achieved even in online learning settings via utilizing different technologies to communicate and prepare and edit documentation. Increased social presence and sense of connectedness with other students socially and emotionally drive performance. Teaching presence refers to the facilitation of learning and direct instruction and the way in which students engage with instruction measures the level of engagement with the educator and the material. Cognitive presence is the level of student engagement with concepts and whether they have translated a concept into actively negotiating ideas about the concept and to problem-solving and resolutions.
Optimal Online Learning
Student engagement can be measured indirectly through indicators such as social and cognitive presence. Optimal online learning models include the provision of resources in a variety of formats and online forums for students to engage with materials and with one another. Understanding how individual students learn and engage with content in an online learning environment is highly-important for educators. Additionally, understanding of Community of Inquiry (COI) is integral to measuring student engagement.
Levels of Student Engagement by Phillip Schlecty by TeachThought
References:
Bigatel, P. & Williams, V. (2015). Measuring Student Engagement in an Online Program. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. Vol. XVIII. No. 2. University of West Georgia, Distance Education Centre. https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer182/bigatel_williams182.html. Accessed 24/04/2020
Dixson, M.D. (2015). Measuring Student Engagement in the Online Course: The Online Student Engagement Scale (OSE). Online Learning. Vol. 19. Issue 4. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1079585.pdf. Accessed 24/04/2020