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Investigating students' experiences in a facilitated blended synchronous learning
Author
Foo, Suan Nam
Supervisor
Quek, Choon Lang
Abstract
Blended synchronous learning is an educational approach that enables onsite and remote students to jointly participate in real-time simultaneous learning using rich-media synchronous technologies such as video conferencing, web-conferencing, or virtual worlds. Increasingly, higher education institutions around the world are adopting blended synchronous learning to allow students to attend lessons while they are away from the campus. However, a review of the blended synchronous learning literature reveals a dearth of research investigating the facilitation strategies used that foster social, teaching, and cognitive presences, and their influence on students’ learning-related outcomes.
A qualitative case study research design was used in this study to investigate the instructor-led facilitation strategies experienced by seven adult learners in their courses conducted using blended synchronous learning. These students were also interviewed to determine if the facilitation strategies positively or negatively influenced their academic satisfaction.
The research study is based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model as the conceptual framework for examining social, teaching, and cognitive components of the facilitation strategies experienced, and the theoretical lens for analysing how these facilitation strategies influence students’ academic satisfaction, within a Singapore higher education context.
The results suggest the applicability of the facilitation strategies related to social, cognitive, and teaching presences found in the CoI literature. It also highlighted the influence of these facilitation strategies on their academic satisfaction. From the in-depth descriptions of the three cases, a proposed framework — the extended CoI framework for BSLE (X-BSLE) — is derived to inform researchers, educators, and practitioners of the facilitation strategies for successful blended synchronous learning including the CoI presences and technologies used to support and facilitate blended synchronous learning. Implications were drawn from these cases and recommendations made for the future practice of facilitating blended synchronous learning classrooms in higher education.
It is hoped that these findings relating to the facilitation strategies that students experienced in blended synchronous learning, and the influence of CoI presences and perceived technological affordance on their academic satisfaction, will spur interests in the field amongst researchers, educators, and practitioners.
A qualitative case study research design was used in this study to investigate the instructor-led facilitation strategies experienced by seven adult learners in their courses conducted using blended synchronous learning. These students were also interviewed to determine if the facilitation strategies positively or negatively influenced their academic satisfaction.
The research study is based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model as the conceptual framework for examining social, teaching, and cognitive components of the facilitation strategies experienced, and the theoretical lens for analysing how these facilitation strategies influence students’ academic satisfaction, within a Singapore higher education context.
The results suggest the applicability of the facilitation strategies related to social, cognitive, and teaching presences found in the CoI literature. It also highlighted the influence of these facilitation strategies on their academic satisfaction. From the in-depth descriptions of the three cases, a proposed framework — the extended CoI framework for BSLE (X-BSLE) — is derived to inform researchers, educators, and practitioners of the facilitation strategies for successful blended synchronous learning including the CoI presences and technologies used to support and facilitate blended synchronous learning. Implications were drawn from these cases and recommendations made for the future practice of facilitating blended synchronous learning classrooms in higher education.
It is hoped that these findings relating to the facilitation strategies that students experienced in blended synchronous learning, and the influence of CoI presences and perceived technological affordance on their academic satisfaction, will spur interests in the field amongst researchers, educators, and practitioners.
Date Issued
2022
Call Number
LB1028.5 Foo
Date Submitted
2022