Khe Foon Hew

Asynchronous Online Discussion Thread Development: Examining Growth Patterns and Peer-Facilitation Techniques.

This study extends the research on asynchronous online discussion (AOD) by providing a perspective on: (1) the growth patterns of discussion threads and (2) the influence of peer- or student-facilitation techniques on thread development. Using the Pointing, Questioning, Resolving and Summarizing (PQRS) facilitation techniques framework, the threaded discussions of sevenAOD forums were carefully mapped out and each message in the postings was examined to determine the type of facilitation techniques applied. Results suggest that an online discussion thread grows either one of three patterns: a ‘short thread pattern’, an ‘extended thread pattern’ with an elongated structure or a ‘split thread pattern’ with a broad structure. Results also suggest that the use of Resolving and Summarizing facilitation techniques tends to foster early thread termination. Understanding how each PQRS studentfacilitation technique impacts thread development reinforces the need to combine the use of ‘questioning’ techniques with other facilitation techniques to enhance thread continuity. We end by discussing some possible implications and issues for future research.

Student Participation in Online Discussions: Challenges, Solutions, and Future Research

The increasingly prevalent use of online- or blended-learning in schools universities has resulted in asynchronous online discussion forum becoming an increasingly common means to facilitate dialogue between instructors and students, as well as students and students beyond the boundaries of their physical classrooms. This proposed academic book contributes to the literature on asynchronous online discussions in the following three main ways: First,it reviews previous research studies in order to identify the factors leading to limited student contribution. Limited student contribution is defined as students making few or no postings, students exhibiting surface-level thinking or students demonstrating low-level knowledge construction in online discussions.It then identifies the various empirically-based guidelines to address the factors. Second,three potential guideline dilemmas that educators may encounter: (a) use of grades, (b) use of number of posting guideline, and (c) instructor-facilitation are introduced. These are guidelines where previous empirical research shows mixed results when they are implemented. Acknowledging the dilemmas is essential for educators and researchers to make informed decisions about the discussion guidelines they are considering implementing. Third,nine exploratory case studies related to student-facilitation and audio-based discussionare reported on and examined. Using students as facilitators may be an alternative solution to educators who wish to avoid the instructor-facilitation guideline dilemma. Using audio discussion would be useful for participants with poor typing skills or those who prefer talking to typing. The proposed book is distinctive in comparison to current competitor titles because all the findings and guidelines are empirically-based. Furthermore,the nine expanded case studies provided specifically address the issue of student/peer facilitation and audio-based discussion. Student/peer facilitation and audio discussion are two areas that hitherto received comparatively lesser attention compared to instructor facilitation and text-based discussion.

A critical review of flipped classroom challenges in K-12 education: possible solutions and recommendations for future research

An increasing number of teachers are using flipped classroom approach in their teaching. This instructional approach combines video-based learning outside the classroom and interactive group learning activities inside the classroom. The purpose of the present review is to provide an overview of flipped classroom studies in K-12 education. Particularly, we put emphasis on revealing and addressing the potential challenges of flipped classroom approach. Fifteen journal publications of K-12 flipped classrooms were analyzed in terms of their flipped learning activities, student achievement, student attitude, and challenges encountered. The results suggested that a variety of pre-class (e.g., online exercises) and in-class (e.g., brief review, individual practices) activities were provided in addition to instructional videos and small-group activities respectively. The use of flipped classroom approach in K-12 education yielded a neutral or positive impact on student achievement when compared to traditional classroom. Mixed results of student attitude toward flipped classroom approach were discovered. Challenges of implementing flipped classrooms were identified and categorized into student-related challenges, faculty challenges, and operational challenges. Based on the suggestions of previous studies together with relevant empirical supports, we propose a rudimentary flipped classroom model and a set of 10 guidelines to address these challenges. Finally, several recommendations of future research are provided.

Past Research in Instructional Technology: Results of a Content Analysis of Empirical Studies Published in Three Prominent Instructional Technology Journals from the Year 2000 through 2004

This article reviews and categorizes empirical studies related to instructional technology that were published in three prominent journals: Educational Technology Research and Development, Instructional Science, and the Journal of Educational Computing Research from the year 2000 through 2004. Four questions guided this review: 1) What instructional technology research topics have been conducted? How do these topics fluctuate over the five years? 2) What types of research methods have been applied? How do these research methods fluctuate over the five years? 3) What data collection methods are prevalent in instructional technology research? How do these data collection methods fluctuate over the five years? and 4) In what settings have instructional technology research been conducted? How do these settings fluctuate over the five years? Based on these findings, we discuss current research trends and possible implications for which future research in instructional technology research can take.

The TICKIT to Teacher Learning: Designing Professional Development According to Situative Principles.

Professional development that leads to change in teacher practice is hard to find, especially professional development focused on technology integration. The Teacher Institute for Curriculum Knowledge about the Integration of Technology (TICKIT) successfully answers both challenges. This article reports on a study aimed at understanding the impact of one professional development program on self-reported levels of technology integration. We then frame the success of the design and the positive associations of the TICKIT experiences with increased levels of technology integration against the situated perspective on learning. The situated perspective and its instantiation in the teacher institute provide insight about why the program was effective. We propose that the active ingredient in the model is the intentional design of the program around the tenets of the situated perspective.

Students' Perceptions of the Usefulness of an E-Book with Annotative and Sharing Capabilities as a Tool for Learning: A Case Study

E-books offer a range of benefits to both educators and students, including ease of accessibility and searching capabilities. However, the majority of current e-books are repository-cum-delivery platforms of textual information. Hitherto, there is a lack of empirical research that examines e-books with annotative and sharing capabilities. This research study aims at exploring the usefulness of a next-generation e-book (NG-eBook), with annotative and sharing capabilities, with the focus on using the e-book to promote student learning through reflection and sharing of ideas. Thirty-six tertiary level students from three diploma modules participated in the study. Overall findings suggest that the NG-eBook promoted student learning experiences by enabling student engagement and interaction. Future research directions pertaining to the use of e-books in education contexts are suggested.

Student facilitators’ habits of mind and their influences on higher-level knowledge construction occurrences in online discussions: a case study

Previous research studies on factors influencing student higher-level knowledge construction in asynchronous online discussions have largely focused on the instructors’ role, student learning style, and the complexity of the discussion task. This study explores the issue from a different angle – that of student facilitators’ habits of mind. Participants of the study were education major students at an Asia-Pacific university. Results suggested significant differences in the frequency of four habits of mind displayed by student facilitators between the group that had the most number of phase II–V occurrences and the group that had fewer numbers of such occurrences. This implies that student facilitators who display these habits more frequently may promote knowledge construction in online discussions.

Using Blended Learning: Evidence-Based Practices

This book discusses evidence-based practices related to the use of blended learning in both K-12 and higher education settings. Specifically,this book features evidence-based practices in relation to the following five learning goals: (a) Fostering students attitude change toward country, (b) Helping students solve ill-structured design task problems, (c) Improving students critical thinking in assessing sources of information, (d) Improving students narrative and argumentative writing abilities and (e) Enhancing students knowledge retention and understanding. To achieve this aim,the authorsdraw upontheir own research studies as well as some other relevant studies to revealthe pedagogical approaches, the specific instructional/learning activities, the technologies utilizedand the overallframeworkfor developingblended learning experiences.

Towards a Model of Engaging Online Students: Lessons from MOOCs and Four Policy Documents

The paper describes a model of engaging students in fully online or blended learning environments. To do this, I first discuss the notion of student engagement and how it relates to the Self-Determination Theory of motivation. Next, I reviewed a number of online learning policy guidelines from four professional councils around the world in order to elicit specific guidelines related to the design of online learning courses, and student engagement. Following that, I analyzed two most highly-rated MOOCs. I analyzed the structural features of the two MOOCs and the comments of both participants who completed the courses, and who partially completed or dropped out. Altogether, comments from 839 participants were examined. Finally, using these empirical data and the policy guidelines from the four professional organizations, I outline a rudimentary model of engaging students in online learning courses, based on six major instructional design elements.

Flipped classroom improves student learning in health professions education: a meta-analysis.

BackgroundThe use of flipped classroom approach has become increasingly popular in health professions education. However, no meta-analysis has been published that specifically examines the effect of flipped classroom versus traditional classroom on student learning. This study examined the findings of comparative articles through a meta-analysis in order to summarize the overall effects of teaching with the flipped classroom approach. We focused specifically on a set of flipped classroom studies in which pre-recorded videos were provided before face-to-face class meetings. These comparative articles focused on health care professionals including medical students, residents, doctors, nurses, or learners in other health care professions and disciplines (e.g., dental, pharmacy, environmental or occupational health).MethodUsing predefined study eligibility criteria, seven electronic databases were searched in mid-April 2017 for relevant articles. Methodological quality was graded using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI). Effect sizes, heterogeneity estimates, analysis of possible moderators, and publication bias were computed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software.ResultsA meta-analysis of 28 eligible comparative studies (between-subject design) showed an overall significant effect in favor of flipped classrooms over traditional classrooms for health professions education (standardized mean difference, SMD = 0.33, 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.21–0.46, p < 0.001), with no evidence of publication bias. In addition, the flipped classroom approach was more effective when instructors used quizzes at the start of each in-class session. More respondents reported they preferred flipped to traditional classrooms.ConclusionsCurrent evidence suggests that the flipped classroom approach in health professions education yields a significant improvement in student learning compared with traditional teaching methods.