Abstract
The paper presents an exploratory study on the involvement of students within a blended university course that implements a series of collaborative activities aimed at developing both specific e-learning and transversal skills (social, cognitive, and metacognitive). The aim is twofold: (i) to observe the evolution of students’ involvement during an informal discussion, occurring in an online forum; (ii) to analyze the role played by the tutors who monitored the course. A data set consisting of 978 messages produced by 42 students and two tutors, produced during 9 weeks of the course, was analyzed. The messages have been coded through a purposely created category system. Furthermore, the data has been collapsed into three time periods, each lasting three weeks. The results highlight how the role of the tutor is very important at the outset of the course to sustain students’ involvement, whose commitment grows along the course. The high level of involvement explains students’ feeling of missing the online interaction in the periods when the platform is less used or when the conclusion of the course is approaching. Finally, also negative aspects related to an initial skepticism for the new approach or to the stress of the deadlines have been faced by the students with reciprocal encouragement.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Amenduni, F., Ligorio, M.B.: Becoming at the borders: the role of positioning in boundary-crossing between university and workplaces. Cult. Hist. Psychol. 13(1), 89–104 (2017)
Astin, A.: Achieving Educational Excellence: a Critical Assessment of Priorities and Practices in Higher Education. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco (1985)
Barab, S.A., Squire, K.D., Dueber, W.: A co-evolutionary model for supporting the emergence of authenticity. Educ. Technol. Res. Dev. 48(2), 37–62 (2000)
Goodsell, A.S., Maher, M., Tinto, V., Leigh, S.B., MacGregor, J.: Collaborative learning: a sourcebook for higher education. National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, University Park, PA (1992)
Herrington, J., Oliver, R., Reeves, T.C.: Patterns of engagement in authentic online learning environments. Australian Research Council and the Australian American Fulbright Commission (2002)
Krause, K.L.: Understanding and Promoting Student Engagement in University Learning Communities. University of Melbourne (2005)
Kuh, G., Vesper, N.: A comparison of student experiences with good practices in undergraduate education between 1990 and 1994. Rev. High. Educ. 21, 43–61 (1997)
Ligorio, M.B., Sansone, N.: Structure of a blended university course: applying constructivist principles to a blended course. In: Payne, C.R. (ed.) Information Technology and Constructivism in Higher Education: Progressive Learning Frameworks, pp. 216–230. IGI Global, London (2009)
Ligorio, M.B., Cucchiara, S.: Blended Collaborative Constructive Participation (BCCP): a Model for Teaching in Higher Education. eLearning Papers, 27th issue (2011). http://www.elearningeuropa.info/it/node/111469
Ligorio, M.B., Annese, S.: Blended activity design approach: a method to innovate e-learning for higher education. In: Blachnio, A., Przepiorka, A., Rowiński, T. (eds.) Psychology Research, pp. 165–188. CSWU Press, Warsaw (2010)
Pascarella, E.T., Terenzini, P.T.: How College Affects Students: a Third Decade of Research, vol. 2. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco (2005)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Di Maso, R., Ligorio, M.B. (2020). Engagement in a Blended University Course. In: Rehm, M., Saldien, J., Manca, S. (eds) Project and Design Literacy as Cornerstones of Smart Education. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 158. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9652-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9652-6_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-9651-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-9652-6
eBook Packages: Intelligent Technologies and RoboticsIntelligent Technologies and Robotics (R0)