Factors and Recommendations to Support Students’ Enjoyment of Online Learning With Fun: A Mixed Method Study During COVID-19

Abstract

Understanding components that influence students’ enjoyment of distance higher education is increasingly important to enhance academic performance and retention. Although there is a growing body of research about students’ engagement with online learning, a research gap exists concerning whether fun affect students’ enjoyment. A contributing factor to this situation is that the meaning of fun in learning is unclear, and its possible role is controversial. This research is original in examining students’ views about fun and online learning, and influential components and connections. This study investigated the beliefs and attitudes of a sample of 551 distance education students including pre-services and in-service teachers, consultants and education professionals using a mixed-method approach. Quantitative and Qualitative data were generated through a self-reflective instrument during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings revealed that 88.77% of participants valued fun in online learning; linked to well-being, motivation and performance. However, 16.66% mentioned that fun within online learning could take the focus off their studies and result in distraction or loss of time. Principal component analysis revealed three groups of students who found (1) fun relevant in socio-constructivist learning (2) no fun in traditional transmissive learning and (3) disturbing fun in constructivist learning. This study also provides key recommendations extracted from participants’ views supported by consensual review for course teams, teaching staff and students to enhance online learning experiences with enjoyment and fun.

Investigation of students' motivation to learn science while studying from home during a pandemic

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Research on public emotional polarization and public opinion evolution of OTC and learning during the COVID-19 epidemic: taking the topic of OTC on Zhihu as an example

“…At present, scholars have conducted research on related content. Okada and Sheehy (2020) used a hybrid method to investigate the beliefs and attitudes of 551 distance education students, and the results showed that 88.77% of participants value the fun of online learning related to happiness, motivation and performance; 16.66% of people thought that the fun of online learning would distract them, cause distraction or waste time, etc. Bhagat et al .…”

Psychological Capital Relates With Teacher Enjoyment: The Mediating Role of Reappraisal

“…As the pandemic keeps coming back with different variants such as Delta and Omicron, it is still necessary under various circumstances for teachers worldwide, including those in China, to teach online. What is more important, as blended learning is becoming increasingly important in an extensive range of disciplines ( Holbeck and Hartman, 2018 ; Gonzalez and Knecht, 2020 ; Veerapen et al, 2020 ), it is necessary to switch our attention not only to learners ( Holbeck and Hartman, 2018 ; Gillis and Krull, 2020 ; Okada and Sheehy, 2020 ; Kohnke et al, 2021 ; Maheshwari, 2021 ; Wang and Jiang, 2022 ), but further to teachers, whose degree of enjoyment during online teaching has an impact on both their own well-being ( Anderson et al, 2021 ; Creely et al, 2021 ; Mahmood et al, 2021 ), and the emotion, well-being and learning enjoyment of students ( Badia et al, 2019 ; Eloff et al, 2021 ; Ergun and Dewaele, 2021 ; Goenner, 2021 ; Meishar-Tal and Levenberg, 2021 ; Naylor and Nyanjom, 2021 ).…”