Session Information
22 SES 07 A, Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Higher Education
Paper Session
Contribution
Autonomy in online learning
Online learning has undergone a massive expansion in higher education in the last decade and it is expected that online enrolments will keep on growing faster than traditional face-to-face enrolments in the next years (Holder, 2007). This form of learning is very different from traditional models because the learner is fully in charge of his or her learning process (Deimann & Bastiaens, 2010) and is challenged by multiple goals that may jeopardize his or her intention to learn. Successful online learners must not only be skilled in the use of learning technologies, but must also acquire self-regulated skills such as time management, keeping on track by avoiding distractions, or retaining their motivation and sense of self-efficacy. There is therefore a growing interest in students’ academic motivation and self-regulated learning (SRL) in the context of online courses (Artino & Stephens, 2009). SRL has been defined as an active process whereby students set goals, which they strive to attain by harnessing their motivation, cognition and affect (Pintrich, 2000, Zimmerman, 1989). Promoting self-regulation in online learning environments is a key issue in helping students become successful learners (Dabbagh and Kitsantas, 2010).
Note-taking
Notes are condensations of a source material that are generated by being written down as one listens, studies or observes (Piolat, Olive & Kellog, 2005). Note-taking serves two main functions: encoding - which it is viewed as a cognitive activity that helps learners understand and recall the material – and external storage, which focuses on note-taking as an aid to reviewing or revising material (Kauffmann, Zhao & Yang, 2011; Ramsay & Sperling, 2011 ; Van der Meer, 2012). Students take notes during lectures or whilst studying online materials. However, note-taking demands more autonomy in an online course than in a traditional course for two reasons. First, in a face-to-face context note-taking occurs during a scheduled class, so decisions about the timing of it are taken out of the learner’s hands, whereas in an online learning context the learner exercises control and choice over such matters. Second, the learner has to synthesize a great deal of information from multiple resources or websites identified by teachers. Both circumstances are potentially supportive or inhibitive of learning, depending on the learners’ characteristics. Some learners may develop new self-regulated skills borne of the autonomous nature of the learning environment; others may fail. The potential for failure raises questions about the kind of support teachers could provide to foster the development of self-regulated skills.
Research aim
This paper reports the first exploratory step of a research project focused on learners’ development of self-regulatory skills whilst taking note in an online learning context. The goal was to increase understanding about learners’ approaches to note-taking. The research questions were: what are the specific features of note-taking in an online learning context compared to face-to-face learning? What are the self-regulatory skills learners think they acquired when taking-note in an online course? What difficulties do they experience?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Artino, A., & Stephens, J. (2009). Academic motivation and self-regulation: a comparative analysis of undergraduate and graduate students learning online. Internet and Higher Education, 12, 146-151. Dabbagh, N., & Kitsantas, A. (2010). Exploring how experienced online instructors report using integrative technologies to support self-regulated learning. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 5(2), 154-168. Deimann, M., & Bastiaens, T. (2010). The role of volition in distance education : an exploration of its capacities. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 11(1), 1-16. Holder, B. (2007). An investigation of hopes, academics, environment and motivation as predictors of persistence in higher education online programs. Internet and Higher Education, 10, 245-260. Igo, L. & Kiewra, K. (2007). How do high-achieving students approach web-based, copy and paste note taking ? Journal of Advanced Academics, 18(4), 512-529. Kauffmann, D., Zhao, R., & Yang, Y. S. (2011). Effects of online note taking formats and self-monitoring prompts on learning from online texts using technology to enhance self-regulated learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36, 313-322. Pintrich, P. (2000). Pintrich, P. (2000). The role of goal orientation in self-regulated learning. In M. Boekaerts, P. Pintrich & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (451-502). San Diego, CA : Academic Press. Piolat, A., Olive, T., & Kellogg, R. (2005). Cognitive effort during note-taking. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 19(3), 291-312. Ramsay, C., & Sperling, R. (2011). Exploring main idea generation via electronic note-taking. Journal of Technology and Literacy, 12(1), 26-64. Van der Meer, J. (2012). Students’ note-taking challenges in the twenty-first century: considerations for teachers and academic staff developers. Teaching in Higher Education, 17(1), 13-23. Zimmerman, B. (1989). A social-cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(3), 329-339.
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