The present research studies the factors that have impacted the affective engagement of university students in an educational online course. It examines how the type of interaction (learner-learner, learner-instructor, and learner-content) and the type of engagement (behavioural, cognitive and affective) have influenced the affective engagement of the students in the online course. Nineteen university students majoring in teaching mathematics, who were enrolled in the course Mathematics Teaching Methods, participated in the present research. Two data collection tools were used: semi-structured interviews and reflections. To analyse the texts resulting from the interviews and reflections, inductive and deductive qualitative content analysis was used. The research results indicated that university students have experienced more positive than negative affective engagement in the three communicational channels used in this course to facilitate online learning, which were: synchronous lectures, forums and assignments. The results also indicated that these three types of interaction have positively influenced students’ affective engagement in the three channels, with that influence being different from one channel to the other based on the interaction type taking place. We suggest that specific types of engagement need to be attended to for positive affect to occur. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01296 Full Text: PDF

Virtual and blended learning are suggested as means to support students’ learning of the subject matter. The present study sought to examine how one educational tool for the classroom; specifically Google Classroom, was used by a teacher of automation and programming course in the secondary school. One secondary school teacher and her two students participated in the re-search. The data collection tools were interviews of two types: asking the participants semi-structured questions, and requesting the teacher to show how she used the Google Classroom options to engage her students in online learning. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis depending on the model of Information Systems Success by DeLone and McLean. The research results indicated that Google Classroom contributed to the quality of the learning of the students, which affected positively the teach-er’s and students’ satisfaction and intention to use this educational tool in the automation and programming class. The participants pointed at the benefits of using Google Classroom, which once again influenced positively the par-ticipants’ satisfaction and intention to use it for teaching and learning. The present study showed how a virtual classroom could be utilized in technolo-gy courses. The described phenomenon could give insights, not only to tech-nology teachers but to the teachers of other disciplines, how to utilize virtual and information systems in their teaching in order to enrich students’ learn-ing.

Project-based learning is suggested for independent and collaborative learning that could positively impact students’ learning. This study aimed to identify the role of project-based language learning in developing life skills of students through studying a case of a language class that included 80 students in two grade 6 classes in a private school. The study attempted to answer the following question: What is the role of project-based learning in developing students’ life skills in an Arabic language class? To answer this question, we adopted a theoretical framework that included the following categories of life skills: personal and collaborative skills, self-orientation skills, and collective responsibility. The following three data collecting tools were used during the study: observation, semi-structured interviews, and the teacher and students’ documents. Data collection lasted for two months from late September 2019 to December 2019. Data analysis followed the thematic analyses framework, by categorizing data into themes. The research results indicated that project-based learning helps to improve language students’ personal and cooperative skills through developing their communication skills between themselves or with their teacher. In addition, project-based learning developed language students’ mutual respect, their confidence, and their self-regulation of learning the Arabic language.

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