Collaborative Learning in Small Groups in an Online Course – A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mildrid Haugland ◽  
Katrine Aasekjaer ◽  
Ivar Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Master's Level ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Working Processes ◽  
Flexible Organization

Abstract Background: The ability to learn collaboratively and work in teams is an essential competency in both educational and healthcare settings, and collaborative student activities are acknowledged as being an important part of the pedagogical approach in higher education and teaching. The course that was the focus of this research, a 15-ECTS-credit online course in the philosophy of science and methods, was offered online as part of 11 master’s-level health programmes at a university in Norway. Collaborative learning in combination with digital teaching tools, was the preferred pedagogical approach in the online course. The aim of the study was to explore, describe and discuss factors influencing small group learning in this online course.Methods: We performed a qualitative case study, collecting data through both individual and focus group interviews between February 2018 and May 2019 of master’s-level students who had participated in the online course. We performed six focus-group and 13 individual interviews, and a total of 30 master’s students participated in the study. Data were analysed using content analysis.Results: The results showed that three different processes were used to facilitate completion of students’ course assignments and learning outcomes. These three working processes were not dynamic, with different groups changing working processes throughout the course, but static and constant. The names of the different working processes reflect the main characteristics of each one: 1. joint responsibility – flexible organization; 2. individual responsibility – flexible organization; and 3. individual responsibility – unorganized.Conclusions: Planning online learning requires a focus on how students collaborate and learn online, so that they can gain in-depth knowledge and understanding. This study shows that even if contextual factors are the same (e.g., group size, relevant assignments, and student autonomy in terms of group organization), the way in which students collaborate and work together differs. Although the identified working processes promoted collaboration and learning, the first process (joint responsibility, with flexible organization) was the only working process found to promote in-depth learning. Future online teaching might require an even stronger focus on students’ internal motivation for learning and the importance of teacher presence and teachers’ ability to facilitate online learning.

scholarly journals Understanding Learner Behaviour in Online Courses through Learning Analytics

2021 ◽  
pp. 381-390
Author(s):  
D. Thammi Raju ◽  
G. R. K. Murthy ◽  
S. B. Khade ◽  
B. Padmaja ◽  
B. S. Yashavanth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Analytics ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Training Needs ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Quality Of Education ◽  
Time Data

Building an effective online course requires an understanding of learning analytics. The study assumes significance in the COVID 19 pandemic situation as there is a sudden surge in online courses. Analysis of the online course using the data generated from the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS), Google Forms and Google Analytics was carried out to understand the tenants of an effective online course. About 515 learners participated in the initial pre-training needs & expectations’ survey and 472 learners gave feedback at the end, apart from the real-time data generated from LMS and Google Analytics during the course period. This case study analysed online learning behaviour and the supporting learning environment and suggest critical factors to be at the centre stage in the design and development of online courses; leads to the improved online learning experience and thus the quality of education. User needs, quality of resources and effectiveness of online courses are equally important in taking further online courses.

Towards a Multilingual Preschool Policy

2022 ◽  
pp. 823-842
Author(s):  
Marie Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Actual Application

The effects of immersive strategies and the benefits of a multilingual language policy have been extensively explored in the literature; however, it is valuable to look at the actual application of a multilingual policy. Putting linguistic-educational research into practice by implementing a transformative pedagogical approach is characterized by a process of trial and error, which has remained understudied. This chapter aims to fill this gap by adopting a case study approach that focuses on the implementation of a multilingual/cultural policy at a preschool in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. More than half of the children attending the preschool come from a multilingual background. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, consisting of observations, participations, interviews, and focus group discussions with different stakeholders, this chapter analyzes the mechanisms behind the preschool's switch from negatively undergoing multilingualism to positively engaging with it.

Slack: Adopting Social-Networking Platforms for Active Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (01) ◽  
pp. 183-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerald Sabin ◽  
Andrea Olive
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Postsecondary Institutions ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Media Environments ◽  
Pedagogical Goals

ABSTRACT Online learning in postsecondary institutions has increased dramatically across the United States and Canada. Although research demonstrates the benefits of online learning for student success, instructors face challenges in facilitating communication, delivering course content, and navigating outdated and cumbersome technologies. The authors examine the use of a free third-party platform called Slack as a tool to facilitate better communication among students and faculty, enable the delivery of diverse and dynamic course content, and reach students in an online course that supports both independent and collaborative learning. The authors present a case study of Slack’s use in an online second-year environmental politics course taught at a large Canadian public university. There is a significant and growing literature on how to best engage students in online learning, including active and social learning models as promising approaches to digital teaching. The authors argue that using collaborative social technologies such as Slack—which both replicates and integrates the online and social-media environments that students already inhabit—can assist faculty in meeting their pedagogical goals online. The article documents the instructors’ experience in managing discussion and involving students in their online learning through active learning exercises. Best practices are examined.

scholarly journals Visualizing Student Behavior and Performance in an Online Course

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J Parker
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Online learning has been an area of tremendous growth in recent years [1], further accelerated by necessity during the coronavirus pandemic [2]. Without the feedback provided by synchronous sessions, however, instructors may lack ongoing insight into students’ progress and performance in fully asynchronous online offerings. Providing greater visibility into students’ online learning behavior has several potential benefits: 1) teachers who seek to provide live sessions that depend on knowledge from asynchronous resources will have a better gauge of students’ preparation; 2) enhanced understanding of the relationship between student pacing and performance can help teachers and researchers characterize the impact of timely engagement with online course material; 3) providing a means of monitoring the effect of changes in course structure or incentives may guide course designers/planners in continuous improvement; and 4) visualizations that illustrate the relationship between students’ course progress and performance have the promise of allowing teachers to take steps early to positively affect students’ outcomes. In this visual case study, visualizations are provided for exploration of the relationship between student progress and performance in an online medicine-related course.

Advantages and Challenges of Fostering Cognitive Integration Through Virtual Collaborative Learning: a Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanette Ignacio ◽  
Hui-Chen Chen ◽  
Tanushri Roy
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cognitive Integration ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Learning Session ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Face To Face

Abstract BackgroundThe drastic shift from face-to-face classes to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic has enabled educators to ensure the continuity of learning for health professions students in higher education. Collaborative learning, a pedagogy used to facilitate knowledge integration by helping students translate theory from basic sciences to clinical application and practice, has thus been transformed from a face-to-face to a virtual strategy to achieve the learning objectives of a multi-disciplinary and integrated module.ObjectivesThis study aimed to describe and evaluate, through focus group discussions, a virtual collaborative learning activity implemented to assist first year undergraduate nursing students to develop cognitive integration in a module consisting of pathophysiology, pharmacology and nursing practice.MethodsFourteen first year undergraduate students and four faculty involved in facilitating the virtual collaboration participated in the study. Focus group discussions were conducted to elicit the perceptions of students and staff on the virtual collaborative learning session conducted at the end of the semester.ResultsThree themes were generated from the thematic analysis of the students’ focus group scripts. These were: (1) achieving engagement and interaction, (2) supporting the collaborative process, and (3) considering practical nuances. The three themes were further subdivided into subthemes to highlight noteworthy elements captured during focus group discussions. Three themes also emerged from the focus group discussion scripts of faculty participants: (1) learning to effectively manage, (2) facing engagement constraints, and (3) achieving integration. These themes were further sectioned into salient subthemes.ConclusionThe virtual collaborative learning pedagogy is valuable in fostering cognitive integration. However, meticulous planning considering various variables prior to implementation is needed. With better planning directed at addressing the learners’ needs and the faculty’s capabilities and readiness for online learning pedagogies, and with a strong institutional support to help mitigate the identified constraints of virtual collaborative learning, students and faculty will benefit.

Merging MOOC and mLearning for Increased Learner Interactions

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge de Waard ◽  
Apostolos Koutropoulos ◽  
Rebecca J. Hogue ◽  
Sean C. Abajian ◽  
Nilgün Özdamar Keskin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Mobile Learning ◽  
Knowledge Construction ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Learner Interactions

In this paper, the authors suggest the merger of the Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) format and mobile learning (mLearning) based on mutual affordances of both contemporary learning/teaching formats to investigate learner interactions and dialogues in an open online course. The paper presents a case study of how MobiMOOC, a course created using the MOOC format, demonstrates the synergistic characteristics between the MOOC format and mLearning, making a combination of both fields ideal for contemporary, digital, collaborative learning, and knowledge construction based on learner interactions and dialogue. MobiMOOC was a six-week online course focusing on mLearning that ran in April and May 2011. An end-of-course survey provides insight that supports the synergies between MOOCs and mLearning: collaboration, informal and lifelong learning, and dialogue.

Towards a Multilingual Preschool Policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Marie Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Actual Application

The effects of immersive strategies and the benefits of a multilingual language policy have been extensively explored in the literature; however, it is valuable to look at the actual application of a multilingual policy. Putting linguistic-educational research into practice by implementing a transformative pedagogical approach is characterized by a process of trial and error, which has remained understudied. This chapter aims to fill this gap by adopting a case study approach that focuses on the implementation of a multilingual/cultural policy at a preschool in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. More than half of the children attending the preschool come from a multilingual background. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, consisting of observations, participations, interviews, and focus group discussions with different stakeholders, this chapter analyzes the mechanisms behind the preschool's switch from negatively undergoing multilingualism to positively engaging with it.

Facilitating Active Learning and Collaboration in Online Mathematics Content Courses for Secondary Teachers

2018 ◽  
pp. 139-155
Author(s):  
Michelle Homp
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Mathematics Content Courses ◽  
Online Mathematics

This chapter reviews teachers' perceptions of the collaborative learning experiences when enrolled in an online course to determine strategies for engaging teachers in active learning and meaningful collaboration in an online learning environment. A survey was designed to solicit feedback from mathematics teachers of Grades 6-12 who have completed online mathematics content courses at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) for professional development or for graduate credit. The survey specifically addresses the teachers' perceptions of the collaborative learning experiences during their online course. Combined with feedback from numerous course evaluations and the experiences of several online mathematics instructors from UNL's Department of Mathematics, results of the survey are utilized to determine strategies for engaging teachers in active learning and meaningful collaboration in an online learning environment.

Creating Student Interaction Profiles for Adaptive Collaboration Gamification Design

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Knutas ◽  
Jouni Ikonen ◽  
Dario Maggiorini ◽  
Laura Ripamonti ◽  
Jari Porras
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Student Interaction ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Educational Settings ◽  
Online Learning Environments ◽  
Game Elements

Benefits of collaborative learning are established and gamification methods have been used to motivate students towards achieving course goals in educational settings. However, different users prefer different game elements and rewarding approaches and static gamification approaches can be inefficient. The authors present an evidence-based method and a case study where interaction analysis and k-means clustering are used to create gamification preference profiles. These profiles can be used to create adaptive gamification approaches for online learning or collaborative learning environments, improving on static gamification designs. Furthermore, the authors discuss possibilities for using our approach in collaborative online learning environments.

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