scholarly journals Online lecture recordings and lecture attendance: Investigating student preferences in a large first year psychology course

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Yeung ◽  
Sadhana Raju ◽  
Manjula D. Sharma

<p>While blended learning has been around for sometime, the interplay between lecture recordings, lecture attendance and grades needs further examination particularly for large cohorts of over 1000 students in 500 seat lecture theatres.  This paper reports on such an investigation with a cohort of 1450 first year psychology students’ who indicated whether they frequently attended lectures or not. The division helped ascertain differences and similarities in preferences for utilising online recordings.  Overall, non-frequent attendees were more likely not to use lecture recordings (48.1%) to make up a missed lecture than frequent attendees (34.3%). Surprisingly, in the last week of semester, 29% of students reported not yet accessing lecture recordings. Students had the intention to use lecture recordings as they envisaged these to be helpful for learning and commented that they would be adversely affected if recordings were not available. In fact, students are passionate about lecture recordings. Analytics show that after lecture 7, each lecture recording attracted 600 or less unique visits (hits) supporting the finding that most students make strategic use of learning resources available within the blended learning environment.</p>

2019 ◽  
pp. 276-290
Author(s):  
Bernice Beukes ◽  
Karin Barac ◽  
Lynette Nagel

Extant research shows that blended learning environments are widely accepted by students mainly because of the flexibility it offers. However, there is very little research that focuses on students’ preferences within a holistic blended learning environment and the contribution that a component makes to the learning of the subject matter, especially in large class settings. The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ perceptions of blended learning components in a holistic blended learning environment and whether these perceptions vary for students with different academic performance levels. A mixed method approach was used in this study performed at a residential university in South Africa and the results indicate that auditing students do have a clear preference for specific components within the environment and significant differences exist between the preferences of different academic performance levels. Such insights allow lecturers to adjust the resources and focus of the different components implemented in a blended learning environment.


2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-58
Author(s):  
Marielle Patronis

This case study aims to investigate the forces and barriers to learners’ motivation in a blended learning environment. This study uses an online forum as a vehicle for useful interaction among learners and as an extension of traditional classroom face-to-face meetings. 48 first-year students in a UAE university participated in this study. A series of data were obtained through questionnaires and feedback from the students, which were subsequently analyzed and compared to the existing literature. The results revealed that online interaction can enhance learners’ motivation and engagement in the learning process.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camillo Lento

ABSTRACT This study analyzes data from online learning platforms in introductory financial accounting, and highlights three key findings. First, online learning resources linked to course assessment are more negatively associated with cramming study habits and more positively associated with final exam performance than are resources made available for self-study. Second, dynamic online learning resources (i.e., utilization of auditory and visual channels for processing information) made available for self-study are more positively associated with final exam performance than are static resources (i.e., visual channel only). Third, in-class attendance displays a strong positive correlation with online time on task in a blended learning environment. Based on these findings, this study offers some pedagogical strategies that accounting educators can adopt to adjust their blended learning environment. JEL Classifications: A20; A22.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-83
Author(s):  
Vanessa Beanland ◽  
Erin I. Walsh ◽  
Kristen Pammer

It is a common, if controversial, practice to recruit undergraduate psychology students as research participants. There is substantial research concerning putative educational benefits for students, but as students increasingly have freedom to choose between studies to meet participation requirements, factors underlying student choice of participation activities have been understudied. This research was designed to gain insight into what influences students’ choice of research participation activities. Respondents were first-year psychology students at a research-intensive university. In Study 1, 43 students provided open-ended responses reflecting on their participation experience. A grounded theory approach was used to identify themes. In Study 2, 135 students completed a short questionnaire designed using the themes extracted in Study 1, with additional questions to probe self-reported and actual learning via questions about study contents and procedure. Across both studies, the dominant reasons for choosing a particular study were interest and convenience. However, 29% of respondents in Study 2 indicated that they had not learned anything during participation. This suggests that it is beneficial to offer a wide range of potential studies as students can tailor participation to match their interests, but improved debriefing strategies may be required to ensure students derive educational benefit and understand what they learned.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-85
Author(s):  
Nicholas Patterson ◽  
◽  
Madeleine Schultz ◽  
Guy Wood-Bradley ◽  
Elicia Lanham ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to investigate which of three types of video resources, and which additional resources, were preferred by Information Technology (IT) students for learning and exam preparation. We offered three types of video learning resources to support the delivery of a first year undergraduate IT course. We collated quantitative data on engagement with each video resource through the Learning Management System, drew further insights from an online survey of the students and combined this with data obtained from an institutional student evaluation survey. Whilst there has been much research conducted about the use of video lectures and other online resources, there has been little research conducted specifically with IT students to determine their preferences when selecting learning resources. We report the preferences of IT undergraduate students when provided with a selection of video learning materials, how the resources were used and their perceived learning value. This study not only offers a set of considerations and recommendations for the design of learning materials for IT students, but also for digital learning in higher-education more generally. Short premium videos were watched many more times than full lectures, and 85% of students agreed that short premium videos were more beneficial and effective than longer, lower quality lecture recordings for their learning. The students’ self-assessed video attention span varied greatly, with a mean of 10 minutes. Students perceived that short premium videos helped them to retain knowledge. However, the perceived most useful resource overall was the lecture slides.


1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-29
Author(s):  
Cynthia Fan ◽  
Bernadette Hood

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) secondary psychology course in preparing students for studying psychology at a tertiary level. First semester results of 228 first year psychology students at Victoria University of Technology were analysed. Of these students 60 had completed VCE Psychology in 1992. No significant differences were observed in overall semester one psychology performance between students who had completed VCE Psychology and those who had not. Regression analysis suggested that VCE aggregate score was a better predictor than the VCE Psychology score of overall performance in the first year psychology course. Subsequent correlation analyses demonstrated that VCE Psychology scores correlated significantly with tertiary psychology examination results but not with coursework requirements. VCE aggregate scores correlated with both examination and coursework requirements. These results suggest that completion of VCE Psychology does not advantage students entering tertiary psychology courses and educators need to analyse both the content and process of both secondary and tertiary psychology courses to facilitate more effective articulations for students.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne Cohen ◽  
Paul Chang ◽  
Julie Ann Pooley ◽  
Lisbeth Pike

The impetus for the Enhancing Quality and Learning (EQUAL) programme evolved out of concerns held by the staff in the School of Psychology at Edith Cowan University (ECU) regarding the difficulties encountered by first year psychology students and the subsequent low retention rate of these students in the psychology course. The EQUAL programme focused on easing the transition of high school students into university studies by enhancing the social support networks of commencing students. The programme was designed to be an holistic approach to enhancing a sense of belonging to the School of Psychology and comprised seven components. These are peer mentoring, the formation of learning communities, curriculum reforms, tutor training, orientation, the development of student portfolios and school liaison. EQUAL is now an integral part of the learning experience for all psychology students at ECU. Evaluations of the EQUAL programme indicate greater student satisfaction with the psychology course and increased retention rates.


Literator ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jako Olivier

Increasingly blended learning, as a combination of face-to-face and online instruction is applied in university classrooms. In this study the use of an interactive learning environment (ILE), within a Sakai-based learning management system, as well as face-to-face teaching and learning in a first-year Afrikaans language class is explored. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was employed by means of a survey and the Structure Equation Model was used to explore factors relevant to this first-year class. In addition, qualitative research was conducted through an open questionnaire in order to determine the perceptions regarding the blended learning context and the ILE. It was found that students are generally able to function within the ILE and they are quite positive towards the use of the learning environment for learning and teaching. However, it is clear that some students still prefer printed study material. Despite the fact that students indicated that they use the ILE daily, actual usage statistics did not always correspond. Finally, this paper makes suggestions with regard to adapting teaching in terms of students’ behaviour based on their computer anxiety and Internet self-efficacy as well as the perceived usefulness and ease of use of the ILE.


Author(s):  
Angelique Kritzinger ◽  
Juanclaude Lemmens ◽  
Marietjie Potgieter

Improving the quality of learning in a blended learning environment for first-year biology   Abstract Increased class sizes and rapid advancement of information technology has prompted institutions to move toward blended learning. The effectiveness of the instructional design of the blended learning courses has not been studied extensively in large classes. This study aims to interrogate the effectiveness of the instructional design of a large first year biology class with the aim of providing the most effective blend for all students but focusing on the at-risk and murky middle students. This was done by firstly investigating which of the different learning opportunities contributed most to the success of the students and secondly by investigating student engagement with the learning opportunities provided to them. The results show that small, face-to-face tutorial classes and online formative assessments contributed the most to student success. The results also show that at-risk and murky middle students tend to make use of learning opportunities less after the first summative assessment, possibly putting them at risk of failing.


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