The Research
1. Statement of the Problem
Research has shown that a low level of learner participation in online courses is a significant problem (Song et al., 2019). As academics in a School of Education, we have experienced a high percentage of non-attendance at synchronous tutorials when these sessions are not mandated, as may be the case in some countries. The problem identified here arises when students choose not to attend synchronous sessions nor access asynchronous materials. Instead the student attempts simply to undertake the assessment and pass the course with little to no interaction with learning resources or input from the teacher, perhaps making the teacher redundant and raising questions about why the student has chosen to study at a university when there are any number of options for learning through the Internet.
The researchers for this project had observed student behaviour over many years and looked to explore the response of students and themselves when asynchronous learning activities were purposefully designed and promoted to students. There was a sense that students were lacking human connections with their lecturer and peers by not attending synchronous sessions or participating in asynchronous experiences such as forums and discussions.
For example, a student reported that through text-based forums they “have not developed any further connections with students and those that I did interact with are not learning the same teaching areas that I am, or in the same geographical area”.
The main question driving the authors’ exploration was:
How will students’ respond when asynchronous learning experiences are purposefully designed to support active participation?
With sub-questions looking at:
- What level of participation in asynchronous experiences will be evident?
- To what extent will students feel engaged in the content and connected to their colleagues and the faculty?
