Full Description
What makes online learning engaging to students? Engagement depends upon designing learning that is active and collaborative, authentic and experiential, constructive and transformative. While students and instructors can inadvertently act in several ways to decrease student engagement in online coursework, research indicates a range of options that have been proven to engage students in their online courses. This report explores the learning theories, pedagogies, and active learning options that encourage student engagement, push them to think more deeply, and teach them how to learn. It guides instructors on how to evaluate the effectiveness of technological and software tools, and to evaluate and assess the activities, learning, and retention occurring in their online classes. Finally, it will help instructors find inspiration for engagement from the face-to-face settings that can be translated into the online environment. This is the 6th issue of the 40th volume of the Jossey-Bass series ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education issue, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences.Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.
Contents
Executive Summary ix Foreword xiii Student Engagement in Online Learning: WhatWorks and Why 1 Overview 1 The Challenges 2 Definitions 5 The Basis for Student Engagement on Campus 6 Results From the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) 7 Importance of Online Learning 10 Relevance of Monograph 11 Organization of Monograph 12 Summary 14 Learning Theories and Student Engagement 15 Overview 15 Community of Inquiry 16 Constructivist Learning 26 Experiential Learning and Active Learning 28 Authentic Learning 28 Transformational Learning 29 Online Community 30 Cognitive Engagement 33 Transactional Distance Theory 34 Summary 35 Techniques for Student Engagement Online 37 Overview 37 Moore s Interaction/Engagement Strategies 38 Online Discussions 41 Active or Authentic Pedagogies 44 Instructor Activities 46 Student Preparation and Skills 49 Use of Instructional Design 52 Multiple Paths 57 Use of Technologies and a Caution 58 Gender, Ethnicity, and Other Differences 60 Guides to Engagement Online 62 Research Needed 64 Summary 65 Effects From Student Engagement Online 67 Overview 67 Engagement and Student Learning 68 Engagement and Other Outcomes 71 Research Needed 72 Summary 72 Limits to Student Engagement 75 Overview 75 Characteristics of Students 75 Characteristics of Instruction 79 Research Needed 85 Summary 86 Next Steps 89 Overview 89 Theories to Use 89 Instructor, Know Your Students 91 Learn How to Learn 92 Be Clear About Educational Objectives 93 Some Lessons About Engagement Strategies 94 Instructor, Know Yourself 95 Help for Administrators 96 Future Research 98 Helpful Directions for the Future 100 Summary 101 References 105 Name Index 119 Subject Index 125 About the Author 129
