ITEC 860, Student Engagement in Online Learning
Timeline: 3 weeks
Model: Dick & Carey Systems Approach Model
Responsibilities: Instructional Design, Facilitation, Evaluation
Tools: Moodle
Student Engagement in Synchronous Online Learning is a session in the HyFlex course, Distance Education, at SFSU for ITEC graduate students. The design, development, facilitation, and evaluation of this session were required by the course and are the culmination of my learning about distance learning. In collaboration with other three teammates, I conducted research to identify the learning goal which I analyzed into terminal and subordinate objectives, developed the assessment plan, designed the instructional experience, and developed the learning materials for synchronous and asynchronous online learning. Then, I facilitated instruction to cover the learning objectives and interacted with the online asynchronous learners on the forum to support learning. Lastly, I collected and analyzed data to assess learning and debriefed the students to evaluate the effectiveness of the design.
ANALYSIS
INSTRUCTIONAL ANALYSIS
To identify the learning goal (what the graduate students must know and be able to do in the real-world context) we identified what the graduate students must know about student engagement in synchronous online learning and identified the learners' learning pains related to student engagement in their classes. More specifically, we
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Reviewed the course syllabus to get informed about the target learning goal and outcomes.
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Reviewed the literature on engagement in synchronous online learning to identify the verbal information goals and intellectual skills goals.
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Reviewed the graduate students' posts on previous discussion forums and isolated their frustrations about this aspect in online learning.
Limitations: The team recognized that there were some limitations because of the limited data. We would have preferred to conduct observations and interviews with the students to increase the validity of our inferences, yet the situation did not permit it.
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We identified the following learning goal: The graduate students of the ITEC 860, Distance Education course will be able to:
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Explain how engagement relates to the teaching, cognitive, and social presences.
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Describe the challenges of learner engagement in the online setting.
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Identify useful tools and effective strategies for engagement based on the learning theories
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Then, we analyzed the learning goal into the big ideas, and the important information and skills following the Understanding by Design framework. Lastly, we converted the identified required knowledge and skills into the verbal information skills objectives and intellectual skills objectives for the session.
AGGREGATED EMPATHY MAP & PERSONAS
To learn about the learners, we reviewed the course roster and their written posts to introduce themselves to their classmates. We gathered data about demographics, education and professional background, and entry skills. We identified three learner personas based on their learning needs (see the image above).
CONTEXT ANALYSIS
Lastly, we analyzed the characteristics of the performance and learning context. Some considerations included
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Aids for the pre-instructional preparation
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Solutions to possible problems with internet connectivity during the synchronous instruction
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Solutions to a possible low student attendance and/or participation
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Strategies to engage the synchronous and asynchronous learners equally.
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As a solution, we
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Posted the learning objectives and instructions for preparation before the class.
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Posted the live session agenda.
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Shared the PPT.
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Conducted the live discussion in the main "room" on Zoom, instead of in "break-out rooms" so that the asynchronous learners could review it.
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Gave access to the educational tools we demonstrated in the session for the students to explore.
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Posted printable and downloadable sources in text and audio format.
DESIGN
After the learner, context, and instructional analysis, we developed the formative and summative assessments. To assess the graduate students' understanding during the synchronous instruction, we created questions and a scenario-based activity. To assess learning at the end of the session, we asked them to write a reflection post and answer a question on the forum. With their answers and responses to their classmates, we aimed to assess their ability to recognize the challenges in online learning and their knowledge of the strategies and tools to foster student engagement.
Then, we developed the instructional techniques and methods to support instruction and learning before, during, and after the live session. The techniques were independent study, direct instruction, and interactive instruction. Among the methods were a lecture, demonstrations of tools, live discussions, and interactive participation in the demonstration of various techniques. Lastly, we planned on the formative and summative evaluation of the session. To learn more about the design, please refer to the design document.
DEVELOPMENT
In the development phase, we
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Wrote a short description of the session
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Created the study guide: a list of readings, audio sources, and questions
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Created the agenda for the live session
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Developed the PowerPoint presentation incorporating media to present the content effectively
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Wrote the asynchronous discussion prompts
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Developed the survey questionnaire for the evaluation of the instructional design
IMPLEMENTATION & EVALUATION
The week before the synchronous instruction, we posted the instructional materials on the LMS. Then, we facilitated live instruction following the direct and interactive instruction approaches, such as lectures, live discussions, and interactive activities. Additionally, we monitored and contributed to the asynchronous online discussion after the live session.
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Evaluation of the design was implemented in various phases. First, we used the QM Higher Education Rubric (Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, Sixth Edition) to create a rubric for the course session. During the instruction, we asked questions to check students’ understanding. After the session, we conducted a survey to solicit the students' input about the design. Lastly, we debriefed students in the following live session.