Student Perspectives on Distraction and Engagement in the Synchronous Remote Classroom

2022 ◽  
pp. 243-266
Author(s):  
Noah Q. Cowit ◽  
Lecia J. Barker
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Role Strain ◽  
Student Perspectives ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Remote Learning

Synchronous remote learning was adopted widely due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. To many educators and students, this was a new medium through which distraction could take place. The research described in this chapter investigates students' perceptions surrounding their engagement and distraction in the synchronous remote learning environment long after the chaos of the 2020 shutdown had eased. Drawing on 32 one-hour interviews conducted during the 2020-21 academic year of undergraduate students in remote classes, data were grouped into three major themes: social presence, cognitive load, and virtual and physical environments. These themes are described in depth in this chapter through discussion of interviewees' quotations. This study provides a nuanced view of students' experiences with synchronous remote learning and contributes to the theory of role strain.

scholarly journals Nutrition Tea Club; engaging students in reading scientific papers.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie Cameron ◽  
Rania Hamdi ◽  
Aisha Idowu ◽  
Hilda Mulrooney
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Formal Learning ◽  
Noisy Environment ◽  
Research Partnership ◽  
Core Skill ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Academic Year

Many students do not engage with reading the scientific literature, which is a core skill in undergraduate students. The learning environment has an important impact upon learning. It was postulated that taking reading out of the formal learning environment might impact upon students’ willingness to engage with the literature, and confidence in doing so. A staff-student research partnership initiative funded by Kingston University allowed this hypothesis to be tested. Three Tea Club sessions, informal drop-in reading sessions were offered in a student-owned space within the Students’ Union. Refreshments were supplied, aiming for a ‘coffee house’ feel. Although the numbers of students who engaged with the Tea Club were small, evaluations were positive. In particular students valued the opportunity for peer learning. However the chosen environment was too noisy. Future sessions will be offered within a different, less noisy environment with facilities for refreshments, and will be offered throughout the academic year to facilitate student engagement.Keywords: Learning environment, peer support, extracurricular, scientific reading

Lecturers’ Social Presence and Personality in the Online Environment

2013 ◽  
pp. 383-402
Author(s):  
Fredy-Roberto Valenzuela ◽  
Josie Fisher ◽  
Sue Whale
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Discussion Boards ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Chat Rooms ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Tone Of Voice

The first aim of this chapter is to present a literature review regarding two very important concepts for the online learning environment: social presence and personality. The second aim is to present the findings of an exploratory study that measured students’ perceptions regarding different aspects of their experience with the online learning environment including social presence and personality of lecturers in the online environment in particular. An online survey (developed using Qualtrix) was emailed to 474 off-campus postgraduate and 699 undergraduate students who are pursuing a coursework degree in management. To date, 62 responses from postgraduate and 41 from undergraduate students have been received, which indicates a response rate of 13 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively. Results show that social presence is not being successfully developed by lecturers, with discussion boards and chat rooms showing relatively low evaluations. In terms of lecturers’ personalities in the online environment, results show that some lecturers do not have a clear structure for their discussion boards and chat rooms and that the language used by lecturers in the online environment (especially discussion boards and chat rooms) differs from their language in face-to-face contexts. Other online learning tools, such as special podcasts and special vodcasts, show less difference in the personality of lecturers in the online and face-to-face contexts, especially in terms of language and tone of voice used by lecturers.

scholarly journals Improving students’ learning environment by DREEM: an educational experiment in an Iranian medical sciences university (2011–2016)

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Bakhshialiabad ◽  
Golnaz Bakhshi ◽  
Zahra Hashemi ◽  
Amirhosein Bakhshi ◽  
Faroukh Abazari
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Educational Environment ◽  
Male Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The One ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Academic Year

Abstract Background Students’ perception of the educational setting is an important source for improving and applying changes to the educational environment. In this study, we reassessed undergraduate students’ perception of the educational environment at two colleges of RUMS-Iran in the academic years of 2011 and 2016. Methods In the present prospective study, the DREEM inventory consisted of seven courses for undergraduate paramedical and nursing-midwifery students (n = 982). After the first stage, educational seminars and workshops were set up for academic members and faculty staff on deficiencies and the ideal climate for optimizing the educational environment. The results of students’ responses in 2011 were compared with those assessed in 2016. For the data analysis, the independent t-test and the one-way ANOVA were utilized. Results In the academic year of 2010–2011, the DREEM inventory scored 115.33/200 (57.66%); it also scored 123.47/200 (60.7%) in the academic year of 2015–2016 (p ≤ 0.01). There was an interesting feeling about the first-year education, and female students felt a more positively perceived learning environment during all courses than male students at both stages of the study. There were significant positive differences (2 to 7%) in all domains of the components of DREEM in all courses between the academic year of 2010–2011 and the academic year of 2015–2016, showing that the DREEM score had changed and increased (p < 0.05), in the latter case. Conclusions Positive differences were observed in DREEM scores between the two stages of the study. DREEM helped reduce the areas of deficiencies in students’ perception of many aspects of the educational environment. It also helped identify problematic areas in the improvement. In addition, DREEM could be used to optimize and make modifications to the educational environment.

Applying Cognitive Load Theory to Examine STEM Undergraduate Students’ Experiences in An Adaptive Learning Environment: A Mixed-Methods Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 556-560
Author(s):  
Dolly Bounajim ◽  
Arif Rachmatullah ◽  
Madeline Hinckle ◽  
Bradford Mott ◽  
James Lester ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Adaptive Learning ◽  
Cognitive Load Theory ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Stem Students

This study examined undergraduate STEM students’ experiences using an online introductory computer programming learning environment equipped with an automated hint generation system. Following a convergent parallel mixed methods design, this study utilized both quantitative and qualitative data from student experiential data. Analysis by level of prior knowledge demonstrated that elements of the learning environment did not cater to their learning needs and cognitive architecture. Cognitive Load Theory was used to contextualize system elements against both higher and lower prior experience learners, ultimately pointing to a need to design better scaffolds and hints to the needs of novice CS learners.

scholarly journals Perceptions of a Remote Learning Pathology Elective for Advanced Clinical Medical Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 237428952110068
Author(s):  
Kara S. Tanaka ◽  
Rageshree Ramachandran
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Asynchronous Learning ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Anatomic Pathology ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
Clinical Clerkships ◽  
Remote Learning

In mid-March 2020, our institution removed most medical students from in-person clinical clerkships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Pathology responded by transitioning a fourth-year clinical elective to an all-remote format composed of synchronous didactics, daily clinical sign-out utilizing digital microscopy, and asynchronous learning materials. Thirty-seven medical students completed 2- or 4-week anatomic pathology electives tailored to meet their career goals and allowing them to progress toward graduation. Institutional Review Board approval was granted to survey students’ perceptions of engagement in the remote learning environment. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a standardized school-wide end-of-rotation survey, an online survey developed by the authors, and students’ self-directed learning goals. End-of-rotation data showed the remote pathology course performed well (4.88 of possible 5) when compared to all advanced clinical clerkships (4.51, n = 156 courses), all elective rotations (4.41, n = 50 courses), and the traditional in-person pathology elective (4.73). Core strengths in the virtual environment included high educational value, flexibility of content and schedule, organization, tailoring to an individual’s learning goals, and a positive education environment. Deficits included the inability to gross surgical specimens, inadequate observation or feedback about students’ skills, and impaired social connections. Areas for improvement included requests for in-person experiences and development of themed tracks for career exploration. Many aspects of anatomic pathology appear well-suited to the remote learning environment. While the remote model may not be sufficient for students pursuing careers in pathology, it can be adapted to increase nonpathologists’ understanding of interdisciplinary clinical collaboration with pathologists.

scholarly journals Remote learning among students with and without reading difficulties during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Zawadka ◽  
Aneta Miękisz ◽  
Iwona Nowakowska ◽  
Joanna Plewko ◽  
Magdalena Kochańska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Reading Difficulties ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Demographic Information ◽  
Academic Achievements ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Additional Support ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Remote Learning

AbstractThis article presents the results of a survey on yet under-researched aspects of remote learning and learning difficulties in higher education during the initial stage (March – June 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 2182 students from University of Warsaw in Poland completed a two-part questionnaire regarding academic achievements in the academic year 2019/2020, living conditions and stress related to learning and pandemic, as well as basic demographic information, and Dyslexia Diagnosis Questionnaire (DDQ). The analyses were carried out in three sub-groups of students: who self-reported having a formal diagnosis of dyslexia (CDYS), self-reported reading difficulties, but had no formal diagnosis of dyslexia (SIDYS), and who reported no reading difficulties (CON). The results of the survey revealed that compared with the CON group, more students from CDYS and SIDYS groups did not pass at least one exam in the summer semester. CDYS and SIDYS groups experienced higher stress due to epidemiological restrictions, they had more difficulties than CON with the organisation of learning and obtaining credit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicate a need for special consideration of additional support for students experiencing reading difficulties (whether or not they have a formal diagnosis).

scholarly journals Experiencing the community of inquiry framework using asynchronous online role-playing in computer-aided instruction class

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kasiyah Junus ◽  
Harry Budi Santoso ◽  
Mubarik Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Community Of Inquiry ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Computer Aided Instruction ◽  
Online Discussion Forum ◽  
Computer Aided ◽  
Community Of Inquiry Framework ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis current study investigates the use of online role-playing, in an online discussion forum, in learning the community of inquiry framework – an area of learning covered in the Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) course, an elective course for Computer Science undergraduate students at Universitas Indonesia. The participants were divided into different roles. Each group was triggered to discuss the implementation of online collaborative learning. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to analyse the qualitative and quantitative data. The result of content analysis exhibited students implementing all the components of the CoI framework. Teaching presence was the rarest, as students were focused on delivering their ideas. Social presence appeared in almost all messages since it is the easiest, and students can feel the impact immediately. The discussion moved to the integration phase but did not proceed to resolution. This study suggested some recommendations and future research topics.

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