Understanding student engagement in online learning environments: the role of reflexivity

Abstract

It is important to develop understanding of what underpins the engagement of students in online learning environments. This article reports on a multiple case study that explored student engagement in a set of postgraduate degrees offered on a fully online basis. The study was based on a theorization of student engagement as the exercise of intentional human action, .or agency. It identified ways in which tasks and social relations in the online learning environments triggered reflexivity on the part of students, with 'reflexivity' understood to mean the ordinary mental capacity to consider oneself in relation to one's social setting. A different relationship between reflexivity and student engagement was in view than that identified by Margaret Archer with regard to reflexivity and social mobility. Rather than displaying one dominant mode of reflexivity, the students considered in the study were seen to draw on a range of modes. The engagement of these students in their learning was also seen to depend on the manner in which they engaged in reflexivity centred on the pursuit of shared goals, that is in collective reflexivity. Specific practices were seen to trigger constructive forms of collective reflexivity, while fractured and restricted forms of collective reflexivity were linked to student disengagement in relation to joint tasks. As well as adverting to the importance of collective reflexivity to learning, the study highlights scope for dissonance between the modes of reflexivity and practices favoured by an online learning environment and the reflexive profile of the student.

An Online Engagement Framework for Higher Education

“…These multiple conceptualisations of engagement have resulted in diverse views about what engagement is and about the place and interconnectedness of cognitive, socio-cultural, affective, behavioral, ecological and organizational factors and even the actions of students as a collective (Kahn, Everington, Kelm, Reid, & Watkins, 2017;Lawson & Lawson, 2013;Reeve & Tseng, 2011). The importance of these connections and the implications for practice are evidenced by their inclusion in the conceptual framework for engagement presented in this paper.…”

The Community of Inquiry framework as learning design model: a case study in postgraduate online education

“…This was very likely compounded by minimalist tutor engagement. Some research does support tutor restraint (Kahn et al 2017;Zydney, deNoyelles, and Kyeong-Ju Seo 2012), but there is also evidence to the contrary (Chen and perhaps the relatively intangible benefit of a better understanding of the course material through discussion and the reward of receiving feedback on drafts of an assignment that was not due for 5 months were not sufficient motivations for many participants.…”

The organisational impact of undertaking a professional doctorate: Forming critical leaders

“…This stands as a counterpart for staff to the collective reflexivity that Kahn et al . () identified as a key element in effective student learning.…”