The Effect of Student Learning Style and Lesson Structure on Student Outcomes in an Online Learning Environment

Author(s):  
Matthew R. Romoser
Author(s):  
Rachelle Dene Poth

Studies have focused on social presence and its meaning in both traditional face-to-face classroom settings as well as an online learning environment. Technology usage is increasing in classrooms, making opportunities for learning available to many more people than in prior years. The theme of social presence continues to be studied as an important element in fostering student learning and growth. In particular, the focus is on the meaning of social presence, how to develop it as an instructor or learner in the learning community, and how social presence can positively impact all members of the learning community. The main questions that this chapter addresses are: Why study social presence? What is the meaning of social presence? What is the research behind social presence? How does an individual cultivate and project social presence in a learning environment?


Author(s):  
Maria Orlando ◽  
Linda Howard

Online learning in higher education has become increasingly popular because of the convenience and flexibility that it provides. Self-regulated learning, which requires students to plan, monitor, and assess their own learning, has been recognized as a key predictor of academic achievement and motivation in student learning. Few students, however, naturally do this. In order to guide students to become self-regulated learners and for these experiences to be successful for both the students and the instructor, instructors should use pedagogical strategies that differ slightly from those they have used in traditional classrooms. The purpose of this chapter is two-fold: to identify some of the challenges presented to students in an online learning environment and to give an overview of some possible solutions that an instructor can implement in order to address those challenges and give students tools to help them to become self-regulated learners.


Author(s):  
Sheung On Choy ◽  
Kwok Chi Ng

<span>This paper reports on a study which investigates the implementation of a wiki system as an additional tool to support student learning in an IT related course offered by the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK). It focuses on a set of interview data related to the tutors' and students' views on and experience of their use or otherwise of the system in the course. The key results on the tutors' and students' participation in the wiki and factors which facilitated or hindered their use of the system are discussed. The findings indicate that the extent of training provision, the wiki pedagogy and participants' readiness for and awareness of their roles in a collaborative online learning environment are major factors affecting the effective use of the wiki. The add on nature of the wiki in this study also caused workload and motivation problems for the participants. Based on the results, strategies are suggested for implementing wiki based learning in both the OUHK and the wider academic context.</span>


Author(s):  
Susan J. Crim ◽  
Thomas G. Reio

Limited studies on social presence in online learning do not lend themselves to understanding its effects on student learning. Research indicates a heightened need for examining the relationship between social presence and perceived learning and satisfaction as well as retention in online courses. Incorporating social presence into online courses might promote better learning. Further research on learning in an online environment is necessary to guide educators in delivering the best educational environment.


Author(s):  
Peter Krátky ◽  
Jozef Tvarožek ◽  
Daniela Chudá

Online learning gives promise of effective learning for masses. Personalized learning experiences tailored for individual needs and preferences of each student are key ingredients in making online learning successful. Current approaches to adaptive and personalized online learning use student's personality profile and preferred learning style to adapt learning content and activities in order to provide the best possible experience to each individual student. Research has shown that effects on different types of learning activities in various settings may be different. This study analyses how personality affects student's performance in an online learning environment for programming exercises and how the student's personality can be estimated unobtrusively using a casual online game. The data used to evaluate were collected from an online learning environment used in university programming courses over the course of several years. The activity indicators show significant correlations with overall academic results of students and particularly with personality traits.


2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Terrell ◽  
Laurie Dringus

Ninety-eight information science students were tracked during an online masters degree program. At their initial orientation, each student completed a demographic data form and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. Because of their major, it was hypothesized that students would fall into Kolb's Converger and Assimilator categories and these learning styles would be predictive of success in the program. Results indicated that 79.6 percent ( n = 78) of all students graduated from the program. Seventy-three students (74.5%) fell into the predicted categories and maintained an 83.6 percent ( n = 61) graduation rate. Students not falling into the predicted categories maintained a 68 percent ( n = 17) graduation rate. The implications are clear. First, the majority of students can succeed in an online learning environment regardless of their learning style. Care has to be taken, however, since a trend existed in this study for students with learning styles different from predicted to drop out in higher numbers. Institutions offering online programs should be aware of this and be prepared to address learning style issues.


Author(s):  
Rachelle Dene Poth

Studies have focused on social presence and its meaning in both traditional face-to-face classroom settings as well as an online learning environment. Technology usage is increasing in classrooms, making opportunities for learning available to many more people than in prior years. The theme of social presence continues to be studied as an important element in fostering student learning and growth. In particular, the focus is on the meaning of social presence, how to develop it as an instructor or learner in the learning community, and how social presence can positively impact all members of the learning community. The main questions that this chapter addresses are: Why study social presence? What is the meaning of social presence? What is the research behind social presence? How does an individual cultivate and project social presence in a learning environment?


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