Online LearningPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.24059/olj.v27i4.3447
Melanie G. Long, Karen Gebhardt, Kelly McKenna
{"title":"Success Rate Disparities Between Online and On-campus Economics Courses","authors":"Melanie G. Long, Karen Gebhardt, Kelly McKenna","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.3447","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.3447","url":null,"abstract":"Students enrolled in online courses tend to be less successful as measured by the rate of A’s, B’s, and C’s than students enrolled in face-to-face courses. Yet little work has been done addressing whether these gaps vary depending on students’ broader relationship with the university, including whether they are degree-seeking students and whether they take any face-to-face courses. We use institutional data on Economics enrollments between 2012 and 2018 at a mid-sized land-grant university to deconstruct online/face-to-face success gaps into a student’s term modality (or modalities) and institutional affiliation components. We identify these components by using a fixed effects regression methodology and comparing outcomes across four student groups: affiliated students who are enrolled in exclusively online courses, exclusively face-to-face courses, or in a mix of courses each term, as well as unaffiliated (external) students exclusively taking online courses. Although students in online courses are less successful on average, part of this gap is explained by the student’s institutional affiliation and whether they exclusively take online courses. External students are the least successful in online courses while students who are affiliated with the institution fare much better. We examine potential reasons for these patterns using survey data from several online courses. These findings suggest that institutions should take steps to ensure that institutional support services and activities exist and extend to students in online courses.","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":" 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138617116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Online LearningPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.24059/olj.v27i4.4019
Florence Martin, Beth Oyarzun, Ayesha Sadaf
{"title":"Higher Education Instructor Perception of Helpfulness of Inclusive and Equitable Online Teaching Strategies","authors":"Florence Martin, Beth Oyarzun, Ayesha Sadaf","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.4019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.4019","url":null,"abstract":"Online learners are increasingly diverse (NCES, 2022), which underlines the need for instructors to be inclusive and equitable in online teaching. Inclusion refers to providing opportunities for all learners in the online course, so they can actively participate and feel welcomed and belong in the course, and equity ensures that all learners have fair treatment and access to the opportunities and resources needed to succeed. In this survey-based research, we developed an Inclusive and Equitable Online Teaching Strategies (IEOTS) instrument with 45 strategies and examined instructor perceptions of the helpfulness of these strategies. These strategies focused on instructor self-awareness and commitment, getting to know the learners, course design, course facilitation, and evaluation. Based on the 478 online instructor survey responses, descriptive statistics showed that the instructors rated the strategies between somewhat helpful and helpful. In the open-ended question, student choice was described as an important aspect of the online course being inclusive and equitable. Analysis conducted based on the learner (student level), instructor (gender, ethnicity, teaching experience and teaching expertise), course (delivery modality), and organizational differences (required training, collaboration with instructional designer) found that instructor perceptions of helpfulness was higher for the course design subscale for instructors who taught online asynchronously rather than synchronously; higher for the know your learner subscale for instructors who taught graduate students rather than those who taught undergraduate students, and between those who attended training for online teaching compared to those who had not. In addition to supporting diverse online students, this study has implications for online instructors, instructional designers, and administrators who provide support to integrate these strategies effectively.","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":"8 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138625606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Online LearningPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.24059/olj.v27i4.4046
V. Dennen, Dan He, Hui Shi, Dawn Adolfson
{"title":"College Students, Networked Knowledge Activities, and Digital Competence","authors":"V. Dennen, Dan He, Hui Shi, Dawn Adolfson","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.4046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.4046","url":null,"abstract":"Amid the landscape of digital literacies and frameworks is a common assumption that contemporary youth, frequently dubbed “digital natives,” intuitively understand and use online technologies. While their use of these technologies may be frequent and highly skilled in some respects (e.g., communicating with friends), their use and abilities in other areas, such as those valued in school settings and the workforce, may differ. This survey of 350 college students examines how they use an array of online platforms for everyday life information-seeking purposes, including the frequency with which they engage in different networked knowledge activities. Findings show that while students often use platforms associated with personal networking, such as Instagram, professional platforms like LinkedIn are less commonly used. Students are much more likely to engage in passive online activities than active ones. In particular, skills related to tagging, writing, and creation are infrequently used. Additionally, about half of these college students do not believe social media, which fosters these networked knowledge activities, is relevant to their careers. These findings show opportunities for better developing college students’ digital skill sets, with guidance for skills that might be targeted, taught together, and supported through learning activities in online spaces to prepare college students for digital information tasks in the workplace.","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":"35 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138627022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Online LearningPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.24059/olj.v27i4.4039
Zhuo Zhang, Qian Xu, Adrie A. Koehler, Timothy Newby
{"title":"Comparing Blended and Online Learners’ Self-Efficacy, Self-Regulation, and Actual Learning in the context of Educational Technology","authors":"Zhuo Zhang, Qian Xu, Adrie A. Koehler, Timothy Newby","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.4039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.4039","url":null,"abstract":"In this quantitative comparative study, we explored the differences in technology integration self-efficacy, use of self-regulated learning strategies, and actual learning between preservice teachers enrolled in blended sections (n = 275) and online sections (n = 50) of the same introductory educational technology course. The results revealed that preservice teachers enrolled in the online format of the course reported a significantly higher level of using time management strategies, but a significantly lower level of employing help-seeking strategies compared to preservice teachers enrolled in the blended format of the course. However, no significant differences in technology integration self-efficacy and actual learning existed. Results offer insight for designing educational technology courses that align with the needs of both online and blended learners and preparing preservice teachers that likely will be responsible for facilitating blended and online learning with their own students.","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":" 37","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138616349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Culturally- and Linguistically-Responsive Online Teacher Learning Professional Development","authors":"Faridah Pawan, Siying Li, Suliya Nijiati, Meika Dopwell, Alyse Harris, T. Iruoje","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.4003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.4003","url":null,"abstract":"This literature review explores the landscape of online teacher learning and professional development (PD) that is responsive to cultural and linguistic differences. The researchers, a diverse group of doctoral students, instructors, and teacher educators, are motivated by the need to address racial inequities and disparities exacerbated by the recent pandemic. The review aims to understand the theories and conceptual models used in responsive online teacher preparation and PD, the utilization of technology and its affordances, and the intentional targeting of specific groups for responsive teacher preparation and PD. The study followed a systematic approach, resulting in the selection of 27 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The findings highlighted the significance of socioculturally inspired theories, frameworks, and practical models in addressing inclusivity. They, in turn, influenced various tools used to reduce barriers, create online communities, enhance accessibility, and promote engagement. Accordingly, the review also revealed that to foster inclusivity, intentional efforts were required to involve teachers from minority, majority, and international communities. The implications emphasized the importance of teacher preparation and PD in establishing responsiveness, refuting deficit thinking, and capitalizing on cultural and linguistic assets. They also underscored the need for equity in the design of online teacher training and professional development. Finally, the review concluded with the various ways AI could be looped into the process.","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":"120 31","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138608953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Online LearningPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.24059/olj.v27i4.4033
S. Wortham, Katrina Borowiec, Deoksoon Kim
{"title":"Measuring Faculty Engagement in Online Formative or Whole-Person Education","authors":"S. Wortham, Katrina Borowiec, Deoksoon Kim","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.4033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.4033","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the importance of supporting students’ comprehensive well-being when teaching online. One promising approach is formative or whole-person education, which emphasizes wholeness, purpose, and community. We created a scale using a\u0000polytomous Item Response Theory modeling approach, measuring the extent to which postsecondary teachers engage in formative education online. To our knowledge, this is the first scale designed to measure this construct. The scale was developed within an exploratory sequential mixed methods study on formative education online that also included semi-structured interviews with 37 faculty members. Results from the qualitative analysis were used to develop initial items. This data-informed process increased the construct validity of the scale. We refined the original item pool through a pilot test using a sample of 308 instructors. This article presents psychometric results for the final, 10-item scale using a sample of 245 instructors. Evaluation of item fit statistics, item trace lines, and the total information curve indicate that the graded response model was appropriate for this scale. The Cronbach’s alpha and marginal reliability coefficients for the final scale were .90 and .91, indicating good reliability. Future research can explore how this scale might be adapted for in-person learning environments and other contexts.","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":" 78","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138611975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Online LearningPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.24059/olj.v27i4.4055
C. Gunawardena, Yan Chen, Flor Nick, Sanchez Damien
{"title":"Deep Learning Models for Analyzing Social Construction of Knowledge Online","authors":"C. Gunawardena, Yan Chen, Flor Nick, Sanchez Damien","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.4055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.4055","url":null,"abstract":"Gunawardena et al.’s (1997) Interaction Analysis Model (IAM) is one of the most frequently employed frameworks to guide the qualitative analysis of social construction of knowledge online. However, qualitative analysis is time consuming, and precludes immediate feedback to revise online courses while being delivered. To expedite analysis with a large dataset, this study explores how two neural network architectures—a feed-forward network (Doc2Vec) and a large language model transformer (BERT)—could automatically predict phases of knowledge construction using IAM. The methods interrogated the extent to which the artificial neural networks’ predictions of IAM Phases approximated a human coder’s qualitative analysis. Key results indicate an accuracy of 21.55% for Doc2Vec phases I-V, 43% for fine-tuning a pre-trained large language model (LLM), and 52.79% for prompt-engineering an LLM. Future studies for improving accuracy should consider either training the models with larger datasets or focusing on the design of prompts to improve classification accuracy. Grounded on social constructivism and IAM, this study has implications for designing and supporting online collaborative learning where the goal is social construction of knowledge. Moreover, it has teaching implications for guiding the design of AI tools that provide beneficial feedback for both students and course designers.","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":" 20","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138618611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Online LearningPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.24059/olj.v27i4.3688
Mary Newsome, Mohammad Mollazehi, Mounia Zidani, Randa Sheik, Jumana Amiry
{"title":"“But They’re Grad Students, They Should Know This”: Preliminary Findings from a Writing Center’s Hybrid Approach to Supporting Postgraduates in Qatar","authors":"Mary Newsome, Mohammad Mollazehi, Mounia Zidani, Randa Sheik, Jumana Amiry","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.3688","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.3688","url":null,"abstract":"Postgraduate research plays an important role in the knowledge economy, yet attrition rates among postgraduates remain a global concern. Numerous studies have cited anxiety around academic writing as a primary cause for declining completion rates, particularly among L2 students. Further exacerbating the problem is the acceleration of academic life where students are often expected to publish multiple papers prior to graduation. Despite assumptions that L2 postgraduates matriculate with requisite English academic writing skills, countless studies suggest otherwise. Such students face significant challenges developing these skills and accessing relevant institutional support, which calls for innovative solutions. This mixed-method comparative study analyzes historical data to understand the impact of a writing center’s hybrid approach to supporting the development of English academic writing skills among L2 postgraduates. Findings reveal that postgraduate students require flexibility in accessing academic writing support and prefer online and distance options over traditional, in-person support. Additionally, findings indicate that program faculty are willing to collaborate with writing centers to support students’ academic writing through a hybrid approach. Study findings also suggest that participants from the hybrid approach are more likely to publish prior to graduation compared to those from the traditional approach. These findings offer important insight for higher education administrators, writing centers, faculty, and postgraduate students as the “onlining” of higher education accelerates in the post-COVID era. ","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":" 24","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138614559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Building Open Pedagogy in Community Colleges","authors":"Staci Gilpin, Stephanie Rollag Yoon, Julie Lazzara","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.4031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.4031","url":null,"abstract":"This qualitative study examines open pedagogy as a critical instructional strategy in online community college settings to increase opportunities for authentic interactions that support student persistence. Discourse analysis was used to understand how community college students (n=78) perceive and connect with different aspects of open pedagogy activities. The study's findings underscore the students' awareness of their audience in online settings, their value of collaborative efforts to design digital materials, and the significance of acknowledging the digital learning context. Despite many students choosing to share their work publicly, challenges related to sharing work publicly were illuminated across reflective questionnaire responses. To address these issues, the study recommends enhancing media literacy, providing group collaboration options, and emphasizing institutional support. Further research should explore the influence of social media experiences and AI tools on the public sharing of open pedagogy activities. Ultimately, by embracing open pedagogy in online learning contexts while considering individual student identities and perceptions, community college settings can enhance online interactions, engagement, and student persistence.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":" 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138615667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Online LearningPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.24059/olj.v27i4.4018
Rhonda Bondie
{"title":"Personalized Learning and Open Education Resources in Multilingual Learner Teacher Preparation","authors":"Rhonda Bondie","doi":"10.24059/olj.v27i4.4018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i4.4018","url":null,"abstract":"Preparation to serve multilingual learners is often required for P-12 teacher certification. Teachers come to this preparation with varied experiences and urgent needs to better serve their students. When teacher preparation courses use a one-size-fits-all approach to satisfy certification requirements, teachers may not find learning meaningful to their current context. Further, without common mechanisms for sharing resources produced through teacher preparation, each novice teacher starts assignments from the beginning rather than learning from, and building upon, previous assignments of peers. Reusable teacher preparation assignments through open education pedagogy (OEP) may address the challenges of providing collaborative, relevant, and optimally challenging state-mandated teacher preparation. However, personalized learning may not be aligned with university course evaluations. Thus, faculty members may be concerned about the impact of personalization on student course evaluations. This exploratory study examined personalization and OEP in a required, graduate-level teacher preparation course by analyzing assignment completion data to explore teacher personalized learning paths and comparing standard university course evaluation items from four course runs pre- and post-personalization (N=230). Descriptive analyses illustrate negative changes in teacher evaluation of course organization, feedback timeliness, and time spent outside of class. Teacher satisfaction increased in the areas of diversity, use of technology, access, and online discussions. Results from examining personalized paths and course satisfaction provide recommendations for designing personalized teacher preparation.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":54195,"journal":{"name":"Online Learning","volume":" 26","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138618607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}