Shinyi Lin

Student Characteristics, Sense of Community, and Cognitive Achievement in Web-based and Lab-based Learning Environments

Abstract This study investigated differential effects of learning styles and learning orientation on sense of community and cognitive achievement in Web-based and lab-based university course formats. Students in the Web-based sections achieved higher scores at the “remember” and “understand” levels, but not at the “apply” or “analyze” levels. In terms of learning style, extrovert students outperformed introvert students in the lab-based sections, whereas introverts performed better in the Web-based sections. With regard to sense of community, students in the Web-based environment had higher scores on two of three scales. The final aspect examined was students’ variable orientation toward learning, with significant but weak results.

The Effect of Student Choice of Online Discussion Format on Tiered Achievement and Student Satisfaction.

Abstract This study investigated whether providing students with the choice of chat versus threaded discussion boards for online discourse is an effective instructional strategy in terms of student learning and satisfaction. The sample was teacher education students enrolled in face-to-face (FTF) and online sections of one undergraduate foundations course. Both sections required participation in online text-based discussion. Comparison groups included course format (FTF vs. online), discussion format (chat vs. discussion board) and discussion format option (choice vs. no choice). Results reveal that students’ choice of discussion format was influenced by the trait of academic introversion-extraversion but not by the instructional environment (FTF or online) in which they enrolled. In addition, providing the choice of discussion format to students enhanced course satisfaction and, while some differences were found in cognitive achievement, the results were weak.

Determinants of knowledge management with information technology support impact on firm performance

The relationship between knowledge management (KM) and firm performance has been the subject of discussion in management literature. However, certain studies have found a significant link between KM and firm performance, whereas others have not. Thus, to better understand the effect of KM on firm performance, this study focuses on the performance effects of KM with information technology support (KMIT). The model of this paper includes three organizational factors: structure, culture, and incentive. Surveys collected from 119 high tech firms were analyzed to test the model. The results confirmed the effect of organizational factors on overall KMIT, which was found to be critical for improving firm performance. Our study has implications for academics and practitioners by providing a better understanding of the importance of KM in explaining firm performance.

Revalidate Forms of Presence in Training Effectiveness Mediating Effect of Self-Efficacy

With the community of inquiry framework, this study seeks to explore the relationship among forms of presence, self-efficacy, and training effectiveness. A total of 210 working professionals participated to the study via online survey and email communication with a valid response rate of 29.53%. The technique of partial least square was used to estimate the measurement and the structural models. The results show that the teaching presence has positive prediction on social presence, self-efficacy, and cognitive presence. Self-efficacy is a full mediator between social presence and cognitive presence. Cognitive presence predicts training effectiveness in the context of Small and Medium Enterprise E-learning School. The practical implications of these findings for small and medium enterprise training in general are discussed.

Social Contingency and Advising Accountability

The issue of teaching and learning accountability has been discussed for years. This study focuses specifically on advising accountability of management education to explore how faculty advisors communicate with their student advisees using instant messaging (IM) to enhance advising presence primarily based on Tetlock’s social contingency model. The dependent relationships between advisor and advisee are considered a cohort, and their collaboration as a community of practice. Of the 254 graduate students in the college of management, the result reveals that their perception of advising accountability has been casually explained by the antecedents, that is, self-efficacy, advising presence, epistemic engagement, advisor credibility, and their flow experience toward using IM to communicate with their thesis advisors. The research finding validates intervening factors between students’ perception of IM self-efficacy and advising accountability of thesis advisors. The findings, regardless of the limited generalization, provide prescriptive implications that educational practitioners can use to evaluate related issues of advising accountability.

Incentive Styles, Asynchronous Online Discussion, and Vocational Training.

Vocational education and training (VET) is intended to prepare adult learners for careers that are based on practical activities. With the underlying constructivist andragogy, this study intended to examine the effects of computer-mediated group collaboration in vocational education, and how that affects the associated learning outcomes. For collaborative learning, use of asynchronous computer-mediated communication as one of the major media prevails not only in web-based formats but in face-to-face. Specifically, our intent was to explore effectiveness of asynchronous online discussion (AOD) and the learning outcome accordingly. The results provided evidence that the participants in the AOD performed substantially better than those with no use of AOD in the bi-weekly quizzes as well as the learning outcomes. As incentive styles come into play, we found that the introverts performed as well as the extroverts disregarding the AOD participation. The results concluded that use of group collaboration as andragogical strategy (use of AOD) inferred better learning outcomes in the context of VET.