{"title":"Middle School Students' In-Moment Engagement in Synchronous Online Learning: An Activity–Community of Inquiry Approach","authors":"Zhihao Cui, Oi-Lam Ng, Morris Siu-yung Jong, Xiaojing Weng","doi":"10.1111/jcal.70081","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Background</h3>\n \n <p>Amidst the increasing application of online education in the post-COVID era, new challenges in student engagement have emerged. However, most studies on online engagement have adopted macro-level approaches and relied on self-report measures of retrospective engagement. Few have examined micro-level engagement in terms of real-time and in-the-moment engagement in synchronous online learning environments underpinned by robust theoretical frameworks.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Objectives</h3>\n \n <p>This study presents a qualitative examination of the relationship between various technology-supported online teaching and learning (T&L) activities and middle school students' in-moment engagement by constructing a framework based on Community of Inquiry and Activity Theory.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Methods</h3>\n \n <p>Sixty-two middle school students participated in this synchronous online course. We collected data from multiple sources, including video and screen recordings of the lessons, students' performances, the digital artefacts students created, log data from Zoom's chat room and students' interactions over an online platform, Desmos. A thematic analysis was employed after identifying the mediated actions as units of analysis and indicators based on three dimensions (behaviour, cognitive and emotional) of engagement.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Results</h3>\n \n <p>The results indicated that students' in-moment engagement in online T&L activities was most prevalent during activities that stimulated cognitive presence, followed by those engendering social presence. We also highlight the influence of different tools and technologies through the lens of the Activity–Community of Inquiry framework.</p>\n </section>\n \n <section>\n \n <h3> Implications</h3>\n \n <p>The study contributes theoretical and methodological insights into understanding students' engagement in synchronous online environments, and into future research and instructional design in technology-supported teaching and learning in an online context.</p>\n </section>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":48071,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Computer Assisted Learning","volume":"41 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jcal.70081","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Computer Assisted Learning","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcal.70081","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Amidst the increasing application of online education in the post-COVID era, new challenges in student engagement have emerged. However, most studies on online engagement have adopted macro-level approaches and relied on self-report measures of retrospective engagement. Few have examined micro-level engagement in terms of real-time and in-the-moment engagement in synchronous online learning environments underpinned by robust theoretical frameworks.
Objectives
This study presents a qualitative examination of the relationship between various technology-supported online teaching and learning (T&L) activities and middle school students' in-moment engagement by constructing a framework based on Community of Inquiry and Activity Theory.
Methods
Sixty-two middle school students participated in this synchronous online course. We collected data from multiple sources, including video and screen recordings of the lessons, students' performances, the digital artefacts students created, log data from Zoom's chat room and students' interactions over an online platform, Desmos. A thematic analysis was employed after identifying the mediated actions as units of analysis and indicators based on three dimensions (behaviour, cognitive and emotional) of engagement.
Results
The results indicated that students' in-moment engagement in online T&L activities was most prevalent during activities that stimulated cognitive presence, followed by those engendering social presence. We also highlight the influence of different tools and technologies through the lens of the Activity–Community of Inquiry framework.
Implications
The study contributes theoretical and methodological insights into understanding students' engagement in synchronous online environments, and into future research and instructional design in technology-supported teaching and learning in an online context.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Computer Assisted Learning is an international peer-reviewed journal which covers the whole range of uses of information and communication technology to support learning and knowledge exchange. It aims to provide a medium for communication among researchers as well as a channel linking researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. JCAL is also a rich source of material for master and PhD students in areas such as educational psychology, the learning sciences, instructional technology, instructional design, collaborative learning, intelligent learning systems, learning analytics, open, distance and networked learning, and educational evaluation and assessment. This is the case for formal (e.g., schools), non-formal (e.g., workplace learning) and informal learning (e.g., museums and libraries) situations and environments. Volumes often include one Special Issue which these provides readers with a broad and in-depth perspective on a specific topic. First published in 1985, JCAL continues to have the aim of making the outcomes of contemporary research and experience accessible. During this period there have been major technological advances offering new opportunities and approaches in the use of a wide range of technologies to support learning and knowledge transfer more generally. There is currently much emphasis on the use of network functionality and the challenges its appropriate uses pose to teachers/tutors working with students locally and at a distance. JCAL welcomes: -Empirical reports, single studies or programmatic series of studies on the use of computers and information technologies in learning and assessment -Critical and original meta-reviews of literature on the use of computers for learning -Empirical studies on the design and development of innovative technology-based systems for learning -Conceptual articles on issues relating to the Aims and Scope