The Physical Learning Environment of Online Distance Learners in Higher Education - A Conceptual Model

Impact of thermal comfort on online learning performance

Online learning has drawn much more attention since the outbreak of COVID-19. Most related studies have focused on online platform design and instructional design. However, the physical environment where online learning is conducted (e.g., students' homes) is rarely studied. To understand the thermal conditions in students' online learning environment and its impact on students' thermal comfort and their performance during online learning, an experiment, including both objective measurement and subjective assessment, was conducted in a student's apartment. Thirty university students participated in this experiment, and they were randomly assigned into six groups (three thermal conditions (i.e., control, cold, and hot) × two-course durations). Both environmental parameters (i.e., air temperature, radiant temperature, air velocity, etc.) and physiological parameters (i.e. skin temperatures) were measured at the same time. Besides, students' thermal sensation, acceptance, and learning performance were self-evaluated and collected through questionnaires. Results showed that participants' thermal sensation was positively correlated with their mean skin temperature (MST) and the operative temperature (T_o) in the apartment (MST: ρ = 0.94, p < 0.001; T_o: ρ = 0.91, p < 0.001), yet no significant relation with their personal characteristics was observed in the current study, which might be caused by the small sample size. Moreover, inverted U-shape relationships were identified between participants' perceived performance and their thermal sensation/MST/T_o. When students felt slightly cool (TSV = -0.3), they thought they could reach their best performance. This study revealed the impacts of the thermal environment on students' online learning performance, more performance tasks could be conducted in the future to examine the impacts in more detail.

Self-determined motivation and associated factors among health professions students in distance learning: a cross-sectional study in Morocco

PURPOSE

Learning motivation is an important factor in the teaching learning process in a digital environment. This study aims to examine self-determined motivation levels and associated factors among health professions students in distance learning activities.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, analytical, quantitative, multicenter study was conducted among health professions students from February 15, 2022, to July 31, 2022. Students' self-determined motivation was assessed using a self-administered instrument. It consisted of 16 items categorized into four dimensions: intrinsic motivation, external regulation, identified regulation, and amotivation. It was based on 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Student engagement was examined using 15 items classified into the following subscales: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. A correlation between student motivation and engagement was performed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with students' self-determined motivation in distance learning activities.

RESULTS

Of 1,121 students invited to the study, 1,061 valid questionnaires were received, giving a response rate of 94.6%; 595 participants (56.1%) were self-determined in distance pedagogical activities. Multiple regression analysis showed that ethnicity (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.08-0.73; p=0.012), educational level (aOR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.16-2.34; p=0.005), distance learning environment (aOR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.19-2.29; p=0.003), and student engagement: (aOR, 2.9; 95% CI, 2.21-3.80; p<0.001) were the significant factors associated with students' self-determined motivation in distance learning.

CONCLUSION

This study predicted some factors influencing students' self-determined motivation. Health professions teachers need to be encouraged to adopt effective pedagogical practices in order to maintain and develop student motivation.

University students' experience of online space while engaging in synchronous learning via videoconferencing amidst the pandemic

Background

The high infectivity and fatality of COVID-19 has changed the mode of higher education from onsite to online. Although many studies investigated the effectiveness and satisfaction of online education, little is known regarding university students' lived experience of online space during synchronous learning via videoconferencing.

Objective

The present study explored how university students experienced online space when engaging in synchronous learning via videoconferencing platforms during the outbreak of the pandemic.

Method

The phenomenological approach was chosen to primarily explore students' experience of online space as well as their experience of embodiment and relations to self and others. Interviews were conducted with nine university students who voluntarily participated to share their experience of online space.

Results

Three core themes were generated from the descriptions of experiences provided by the participants. For each core theme, two sub-themes were emerged and described. The analysis of the themes demonstrated that online space was experienced as being separate from home but also inseparable because it was an extension of the comforts of home. This inseparableness is also reflected in the virtual classroom where the rectangular screen presented on the monitor is always shared with everyone in the class. Moreover, online space was perceived as having no transitional space in which spontaneity and new encounters occur. Finally, the presence of self and others was experienced differently in online space due to the participants' choices of being seen or heard using their microphones and cameras. This led to a different sense of togetherness in online space. The insights gained from the study were discussed in relation to considerations for online learning in the post-pandemic era.

Conclusion

Based on the emerged themes from the results, the current study concluded that the online space created by technologies cannot be a complete substitute for traditional face-to-face classrooms and suggested possible implications for designing and using online space in university education.

Exploring the role of learner characteristics in learners' learning environment preferences

Purpose

This study intends to examine whether the reasons learners like or dislike a learning environment can help explain the differences in the characteristics of the learner and whether learner characteristics can influence a learner's preference for a learning environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design. The study first conducted focus groups with university students to uncover their learner characteristics by examining the reasons they liked or disliked a learning environment. This was followed by a questionnaire survey to explore how these learner characteristics influenced learner inclination for a learning environment. The survey data were analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (partial least squares structural equation modelling).

Findings

The findings showed that two types of learner characteristics, i.e. online learner characteristics and classroom learner characteristics, significantly affected learner inclination for a learning environment. Analyses also indicated that learner demographics had no major moderating effect between learner characteristics and learner inclination for a learning environment.

Practical implications

The findings can be useful for education institutions, learning designers and academics to design engaging learning activities to better support different learning needs.

Originality/value

This study makes a novel attempt to distinguish learner characteristics based on the reasons learners like or dislike a learning environment and establishes that individual learners' characteristics play a role in influencing their preference for a specific learning environment.

Narrowing down dimensions of e-learning readiness in continuing vocational education — perspectives from the adult learner

Although e-learning has become an important feature to promote learning experience, still little is known about the readiness of adult learners for e-learning in continuing vocational education. By exploring perceived challenges and benefits, it was our aim to identify dimensions that define e-learning readiness. Therefore, we conducted a study design with qualitative and quantitative components. It consisted of both, semi-structured interviews, as well as an online survey regarding biography, personality, learning behavior, and general attitudes toward e-learning. The continuing vocational education course that we were investigating comes from the field of project management. The learner group was heterogeneous regarding their biographical and occupational background. Our results suggest several dimensions of e-learning readiness which are namely: motivation, learning strategies/regulation, attitudes toward learning, and personality-associated aspects as well as digital literacy. These findings are in line with previous research to only some extent, but reveal the necessity to redefine single dimensions of e-learning readiness to develop an inventory that is generalizable for different adult learner groups. Based on these assumptions a new measure for e-learning readiness needs to be proposed in future research as a next step.

Effect of Online Case-Based Teaching Method on Professional Development of Nursing Students

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of online case-based education, as part of distance education, on nursing students’ professional values, professional behavior, problem-solving, critical-thinking skills, and self-directed learning skills. Methods: The study was conducted using a single-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. A total of 58 3rd grade nursing students participated in this study The data before the study were collected electronically with the Google forms application using the personal information forms and scales (Self-Directed Learning Skills Scale, Problem Solving Inventory, California Critical Thinking Disposition Scale, Nurses Professional Values Scale, Nursing Students Professional Behaviors Scale). Results: After online case-based nursing process teaching, the difference in the total mean score of the students in all scales was found to be statistically significant (p< 0.01). It was found that, after the training had been provided through case-based education, the score average of students’ professional values, professional behaviors, problem-solving, critical thinking skills and self-directed learning increased. Conclusion: Use of online case-based teaching is useful for increasing nursing students’ nursing skills in distance education.

Student Evaluation of Distance Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Medical, Dental, and Healthcare Students at Sapienza University of Rome

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a deep impact on university education, necessitating an abrupt shift from face-to-face learning to distance learning (DL). This has created new challenges, especially for those courses in which practical activities and internships are integral parts of the education program. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of DL on the study progress of a population of pregraduate students of medicine, dentistry, and healthcare professions. The survey was administered through an anonymous questionnaire by sharing a Google Forms link. Demographic data and educational background information were collected to obtain a profile of the participants. Different aspects of DL were investigated, including availability of digital devices, quality of connection, and environmental conditions; other questions focused on the effects of DL on students' progress and professional maturation. Measures of association were also calculated using the chi-squared test, Cramer V, and Somers D. Among the 372 who participated, the results showed that students had a positive attitude toward online classroom and that DL did not substantially affect their progress. Most of the associations were statistically significant, also highlighting the effect of the degree course on the responses. Some critical issues clearly emerged, however, including the lack of adequate devices and environmental conditions due to economic disparity, poor relationships, suspension of internship programs, and clinical training. The results suggest that DL cannot be considered as a substitute for classroom-based medical education outside an emergency context.

Perspectives of Hybrid Performing Arts Education in the Post-Pandemic Era: An Empirical Study in Hong Kong

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been raging across the continents, performing arts educators have unlearned and adjusted their pedagogies in course delivery to surmount the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Subject to the COVID-19 pandemic situation easing in Hong Kong and around the world, the whole education sector seems to be bouncing back to normal gradually. Meanwhile, there are effective lessons and insights to be learned from the hybrid pedagogy during the pandemic, which could further benefit the new normal period (post-pandemic) of performing arts education. To examine the current practice of digital learning among students and faculty (attitudes towards hybrid, online, and face-to-face learning and preferences about learning mode for professional development/training workshops), this empirical study looks at 408 students and 17 faculty members at a leading performing arts institute in Hong Kong. This study locates the key issues for performing arts educators regarding online/hybrid teaching and learning. It presents lessons and insights for quality insurance and improvement. Findings can inform the future development of digital teaching and learning for the performing arts as well as for other practice-based subjects.