Impact of remote experimentation, interactivity and platform effectiveness on laboratory learning outcomes

Access and personalized instruction required for laboratory education can be highly compromised due to regulatory constraints in times such as COVID-19 pandemic or resource shortages at other times. This directly impacts the student engagement and immersion that are necessary for conceptual and procedural understanding for scientific experimentation. While online and remote laboratories have potential to address the aforementioned challenges, theoretical perspectives of laboratory learning outcomes are critical to enhance their impact and are sparsely examined in the literature. Using Transactional Distance Theory (TDT), this paper addresses the gap through a case study on Universal Testing Machine (UTM). By comparing physical (PL-UTM) and remotely triggerable (RT-UTM) laboratory platforms, the structure and interactions as per TDT are analysed. Characterization of interactivity between remote learners and instructors disclose indicative parameters that affect transactional distances and aid in conceptual understanding in remote laboratory learning environment. An extensive pedagogical study through development of two instruments towards assessing conceptual understanding and perception of platform effectiveness that was conducted both on physical laboratory and RT-UTM showed: (1) remote users conducted experiments 3 times more frequently (2) completed assignments in 30% less time and (3) had over 200% improvement in scores when RT-UTM platform was integrated into mainstream learning.

Applications of Mobile Learning and Transactional Distance Theory in the Context of Higher Education during COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT Mobile learning, which can be performed through numerous applications that run on smartphones, personal digital assistants, and other devices, has played a major role in education, especially during under the restrictive conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper is a review of literature of mobile learning efficiency in education. Some application of m-learning in education have shown extensive success. Mobile learning could meet with success in a suitable learning environment. The recently developed transactional distance theory focuses on three elements in the connection and involvement in the distance education environment, namely, the teacher, the student, and dialogue. The core of that theory is investigating the ways that the learner can progress to becoming a self-directed learner with the support of the teacher. Though there are advantages to m-learning, there are some disadvantages of m-learning such as technical, physical and health issues

Transactional Distance Theory and Compulsory Switching to Remote Teaching due to pandemic in Georgia

The study found that frequent communication with students, both synchronously and asynchronously, reduces the degree of student autonomy and forces them to engage in dialogue. This in itself is a guarantee of minimizing the transaction distance. One of the interesting strategies for this is to use informal language in written or oral feedback ("Gio, you wrote well, Kochagh!”,“Helen, why didn't you send me an assignment yesterday?”). Personal address to students is important in the asynchronous learning process. It is also important to understand that the student is somehow responsible for publishing his / her assignment in the classroom. Thus, the student becomes accustomed to dialogue with her classmates and feels accountable to them. It is advisable to contact the student's family frequently to find out if they have any problems accessing the Internet or if we can provide the student with a personal device. Sharing personal problems will also reduce the transaction distance and give the student the enthusiasm to engage in dialogue. Moderate use of humor and emotion, hope and encouragement, direct, sincere relationship, will somehow reduce the perception of physical distance, while minimizing the transactional distance.

Tutoring support as a predictor of student retention in distance learning: The case of a University in Ghana

The tutor’s role in enhancing student retention in distance learning is paramount. This study aims to predict retention and not actual retention by investigating how tutoring support predicts student retention in distance learning at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. Moore Transactional Distance Theory underpinned the theoretical framework of this study. The correlational research design was adopted for the study. The multistage sampling technique was used to sample 727 student participants from a sampling frame of 8731 out of which 625 was used for the analysis. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed that the respondents had a positive perception towards tutoring support offered at the University. However, at an alpha level of .05 tutoring support made a non-significant contribution to prediction (p = .11). The findings further, revealed that a unit increase in tutoring support will improve student retention by 1.42 times. Implications of the study were also discussed.

PROMOTING INTERACTIVITY IN ONLINE LEARNING – TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF HIGH-QUALITY ONLINE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Online learning is different from face-to-face contact learning. The former is technology-mediated and often accused of lacking the interaction the learners would have when learning together in contact sessions. However, the richness of online learning is flexibility, which allows learning to take place anytime from anywhere. Online learning through the utilisation of digital learning platforms may provide rich learning experiences. The Covid-19 pandemic prompted most institutions of higher learning to move to online learning due to restrictions on gathering. Some of the institutions were not prepared for this move and this resulted in challenges in implementing online learning effectively. When online learning is not implemented properly, students will be pedagogically distanced from the course instructor and the learning process. Moore’s (1989) transactional distance theory notes the importance of pedagogical distance to ensure effective distance learning. In this discussion, we unpack the transactional distance theory and suggest ways of promoting interactivity in online learning in different ways. Conclusions are drawn from the discussion and recommendations are made. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0720/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Development of a new model on utilizing online learning platforms to improve students’ academic achievements and satisfaction

This research aims to explore and investigate potential factors influencing students’ academic achievements and satisfaction with using online learning platforms. This study was constructed based on Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) and Bloom’s Taxonomy Theory (BTT). This study was conducted on 243 students using online learning platforms in higher education. This research utilized a quantitative research method. The model of this research illustrates eleven factors on using online learning platforms to improve students’ academic achievements and satisfaction. The findings showed that the students’ background, experience, collaborations, interactions, and autonomy positively affected students’ satisfaction. Moreover, effects of the students’ application, remembering, understanding, analyzing, and satisfaction was positively aligned with students’ academic achievements. Consequently, the empirical findings present a strong support to the integrative association between TDT and BTT theories in relation to using online learning platforms to improve students’ academic achievements and satisfaction, which could help decision makers in universities and higher education and colleges to plan, evaluate, and implement online learning platforms in their institutions.