Supporting learners in online environments

Day 2: Wednesday 16 June 2021, 13.35 – 14.25

  1. Implementing self-regulated learning strategies in online learning environments
  2. Supporting online learners in the Global south: models of facilitation
  3. Distance Learners establishing Social Presence on Twitter to build a Community of Inquiry

                                                                           

Scroll down for abstract

 

Implementing self-regulated learning strategies in online learning environments

Aybüke PabuÇcu AkiŞ and Canan Blake

Theories and models of self-regulated learning (SRL) describe the strategies successful learners use. According to Zimmerman (2002) self-regulated learners “are proactive in their efforts to learn because they are aware of their strengths and limitations and because they are guided by personally set goals and task-related strategies… These learners monitor their behaviour in terms of their goals and self-reflect on their increasing effectiveness. This enhances their self-satisfaction and motivation to continue to improve their methods of learning” (p. 65).

Many courses are presented online due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it is important to help students develop SRL strategies. This study explores what kind of SRL takes place online and in what ways it differs from SRL in f2f environments. Our main data sources are reflective journals, Self-regulated Online Learning Questionnaire (SOL-Q) and participant interviews. The participants (N=12) are the pre-service teachers in level-3 ‘Material Development in Chemistry Teaching’ course, in a Turkish university. The course introduces students to Web 2.0 tools that support chemistry teaching. Students select a tool and share their experience about the use and features of the tool with peers. Other activities in the course include weekly online reflective journals and a digital story developed to showcase the use of the tool as a final project. Participation in the research was entirely voluntary and students’ contributions were not related to course performance.

The analysis of data from the Turkish version of SOL-Q and students’ reflective journals are ongoing. Initial analyses indicate that for most students motivational factors (goal orientation and self-efficacy) play an important role in helping students to regulate their learning. Goal setting, planning and help seeking are observed in some students’ journal entries. However, it was also clear that students do not automatically start considering metacognition and become aware of how they learn. We will be interviewing students to further support the findings. Students’ enthusiasm and eagerness in using the self reflective journals indicate that SRL can be introduced to the online courses effectively.

Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 64-70.

Supporting online learners in the Global south: models of facilitation

Kris Stutchbury 

Research and evaluation evidence (Harley & Simiyu Barasa, 2012; Hodgkinson-Williams et al., 2017; Stutchbury & Woodward, 2016) suggests that OER need to be mediated for users. Since 2017, the Teacher Education in sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) strategy has been to achieve this through the provision of free online courses. The network has developed and presented four courses to support teachers and teacher educators in the co-construction of knowledge about teaching and learning, in their setting. To date we have reached around 9000 learners. As with face-to-face learning, providing support for learners is important in ensuring success. This presentation will describe and analyse three models for facilitation, all of which have contributed to the success of the courses. It will draw on survey and interview data to demonstrate the impact of facilitation on participants and on the facilitators themselves.
In the first, an NGO in South Africa, Ntatasise, adopted ‘TESSA Teaching Early Reading with African Storybook’ as part of their training programme for Early Years practitioners. Drawing on data from the evaluation report and blog contributions from participants, we will show how local facilitators provided support to groups of practitioners studying together, in the same institution or district.
In the second, a series of online webinars was linked to two free courses. Evidence from the evaluation suggests that not only did the webinars support learners in completing the programme, but they modelled online teaching. Participants reported that having taken part in the webinars, they were able to emulate the pedagogy in their own online teaching.
In the third, a team of online facilitators worked together to support learners on two courses to support inclusive education. They developed a set of strategies that will be shared in the presentation and used discussion forums to create meaningful user-generated content which enhanced the courses.
Key emerging themes will be identified and linked to what is known about the challenges surrounding the uptake of OER in the Global south.

Distance Learners establishing Social Presence on Twitter to build a Community of Inquiry

Olivia Kelly

Twitter is an online Social Networking Service that allows users to ‘tweet’ out messages. As all tweets are public, hashtags and the search facility allow users to find people with similar interests. Distance learners often have less of a student identity and network and Twitter may allow students to ‘meet’ and build their own support network. My research aims to investigate how distance learners use Twitter including the networks they create, how the communication they take part in fits within a Community of Inquiry (CoI) model and the impact this communication has on feelings of identity and motivation.

The poster outlines my 3 RQs (given below) as well as giving details on my methodology, data collection and analysis methods:
1. What are the structural characteristics of OU student networks on Twitter? Tweet data to be analysed used Social Network Analysis.
2. What is the role of students’ Social Presence in online community building on Twitter? Tweet data to be analysed using content analysis within the CoI framework.
3. How does this social presence impact on feelings of identity and motivation? Interview responses to be analysed using Voice Centred Relational Method (VCRM).
The benefits of this research include filling a gap in existing research into how distance learners use Twitter, the language used by students in tweets and the voluntary use of Twitter by students. The research is also beneficial due to the growing importance of Social Presence online and, in particular, as Covid restrictions lead to more distance learning and use of Social Media. HEIs need to know how students build support networks on Twitter and how best to interact and facilitate.