ETR&D

Learner satisfaction is an important element in online learning because it impacts achievement motivation, success, and retention. It was the purpose of this study to develop an instrument that measures the satisfaction of learners in online learning environments. Data were collected from 335 students at higher education institutions. The Online Learner Satisfaction Instrument (OLSI) includes 46 Likert-type scale items and four subscales: (a) learner, (b) instructor, (c) course, (d) program and organization. It also has one item measuring overall learner satisfaction. Three models were evaluated and a modified bi-factor model was selected as a final model because it aligned with the factor structure of the OLSI. All items on the OLSI revealed means greater than 3.0 (on a scale ranging from 1-very dissatisfied to 4-very satisfied). General course satisfaction and the comfort level with online courses were a significant predictor of the latent constructs of the OLSI.

Augmented Reality (AR) has been continuously adopted in K-12 settings, showing its beneficial impact. Despite numerous studies highlighting the benefit of AR that can enhance students’ motivation, no meta-analysis providing an in-depth look into AR’s impact on students’ motivation has been conducted, particularly in K-12 settings. In this meta-analysis, we meta-analyzed 45 experimental studies using AR in K-12 settings from 2010 to 2022, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis procedure. We also conducted a moderator analysis considering diverse instructional considerations and study features, to offer a more focused and comprehensive understanding of AR’s effect on K-12 students’ motivation. The results showed a large effect of AR on enhancing K-12 students’ motivation (g = 0.803). Furthermore, we found that marker-based AR and collaborative learning significantly promoted K-12 students’ motivation, compared to location-based AR and non-collaborative learning experiences. The results indicated AR in K-12 settings needs to be carefully designed, considering how it is integrated within pedagogical practice. The implications and future research direction for researchers, educational practitioners, and AR developers are also discussed.

As COVID-19 has become a normalized seasonal infectious disease that may break out any time, online learning has also become an important and normalized learning mode during the post-epidemic period. Promoting students’ online learning engagements is the premise to ensure online learning effectiveness. Self-determination theory (SDT) can offer new insights on how to stimulate and maintain students’ online learning engagements. This study aimed to explore SDT’s contribution to students’ online learning engagements by examining the relationship among teacher support dimensions, students’ basic psychological needs, and online learning engagements. A theoretical model was established on the basis of existing research. The model was then tested with 1073 K–12 students who participated in online learning at home in western China during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2022 as sample data. Results found that (1) teacher autonomy support and involvement significantly predicted students’ perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness need satisfaction, whereas teacher structure significantly and negatively influenced students’ perceptions of the three basic psychological needs satisfaction; (2) Students’ perceived autonomy and competence need satisfaction significantly and positively influenced their online learning cognitive and behavioral engagements but had no significant positive influence on their online learning emotional engagement; (3) Students’ perceived relatedness need satisfaction significantly and positively influenced their online learning behavioral and emotional engagements but significantly and negatively influenced their online learning cognitive engagement. On the basis of the above findings, we put forward some future research directions and implications that can help improve the understanding of SDT’s contribution to students’ online learning engagements.

This quasi-experimental study examined the influences of an Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) adoption in the classroom and compared learning achievement, motivation, and perception between two versions of the learning approaches (IVR-based STREAM learning and Desktop Virtual Reality (DVR)-based STREAM learning). Twenty middle school students in the experimental group used a Head-Mounted Display, while twenty students in the comparison group used a DVR display to learn about tourism sites. The following data sources were used: (a) a multiple-choice questions pre-test and post-test measuring learning achievement (b) a validated questionnaire comprised of five-point Likert scale items measuring motivation and perceptions towards the utilization of IVR-based STREAM and DVR-based STREAM instructional approaches. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and the independent samples t-test were used to examine the data. The results showed that the experimental group had significantly higher leaning achievement and motivation to learn. While the difference in the students’ perception test scores between the two groups in this study was not statistically significant, the comparison group's mean was lower than that of the experimental group. Our findings support the use of IVR-based STREAM instructional approach in students’ learning performances. It also explains how to integrate and adopt an IVR-based STREAM instructional approach in the classroom.

Given the complexity of teaching, continuing teacher professional development (CPD) is essential for maintaining and enhancing teaching effectiveness, and bridging the gap between ever-evolving theory and practice. Technological advancements have opened new opportunities for digital tools to support CPD. However, the successful integration of such digital tools into practice poses challenges. It requires adherence to CPD prerequisites and acknowledgment of the complexity of the professional development process. This study explored the applicability of the developed digital PE teacher professional development TARGET-tool in a secondary school PE context. We examined the perceived usability of this tool and gained insights into the process of teachers’ professional development as a result of using the tool. Ten PE teachers from different schools implemented the TARGET-tool within their PE context for a period of 4 to 6 weeks. Individual semi-structured interviews and the System Usability Scale provided insights into the perceived usability and the process of teacher professional development. The TARGET-tool demonstrated its potential as an effective tool for supporting teachers’ professional development. Future tool improvements were identified to further optimize the perceived usability, such as simplifying complex features, providing additional support and resources, and improving (data) presentations. Using the Interconnected Model of Professional Growth as a theoretical basis, it was demonstrated how the use of the TARGET-tool engages teachers as active and reflective participants in their professional development and induces changes within the external domain, the domain of practice, the domain of consequences, and the personal domain.

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has gained widespread recognition as a theoretical model for understanding student learning in online environments. Despite its prevalence, CoI has been critiqued for its limited emphasis on learners’ proactive roles in self-regulating their own learning. To address this, researchers have suggested integrating self-regulated learning (SRL) into the CoI framework. This integration calls for empirical research to explore the relationship between SRL and the three established CoI presences: teaching, social, and cognitive. Using a person-centered approach, this study examines how varying SRL skills among 750 undergraduate students in an online introductory mathematics course are related to the three CoI components. Latent profile analyses identified five distinct SRL profiles: minimal regulators, low regulators with limited social skills, low regulators, moderate regulators, and competent regulators. We found that students in higher SRL profiles demonstrated higher perception of CoI, whereas those in relatively lower SRL profiles showed lower levels of perceived CoI. Our findings underscore the importance of incorporating self-regulation in the CoI framework for a more comprehensive understanding of online learning.

This study explores the digital self-regulatory practices of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers via mobile applications in the post-pandemic era. The research is motivated by the need to address the absence of literature on the self-regulatory learning behaviours of EFL pre-service teachers in the aftermath of the pandemic-induced shift to online learning. The study participants were Polish and Turkish EFL students aged between 19 and 23, enrolled at state universities in Poland and Turkey. A validated online survey tool was developed and utilised for data collection based on the piloting phase of the study. The survey employed a combination of multiple-choice and 5-point Likert scale questions to examine participants’ interaction with different types of self-regulated applications after the pandemic. The findings revealed that Duolingo was the most widely used application. This underscored the importance of listening as the most frequently used language skill. The study also revealed a shift in learning patterns among participants following the pandemic as evidenced by the technologies available. Overall, the main findings of this study may serve as significant impetus for further research on pandemic-related changes in digital self-regulated learning practices among EFL learners globally. The results of the study might find broad implications for example for development of a new generation of MOOCs responding various needs of learners as well as incorporating elements of self-regulation into the traditional EFL class to increase its efficiency.

Teaching and learning methods that are related to student-generated content (SGC) seem a promising strategy for including sustainable development goals (SDGs) in education (established as a fundamental cornerstone in the achievement of these goals by the United Nations). This paper describes the inclusion of SDGs through the implementation of website learning projects, whose products are SGC where materials developed by students can be made available to other students (from the same or different courses) in Project Management subjects of the Degree in Computer Science. The method has trialled at two different universities working in a coordinated way. A total of 301 students developed these projects with which they completed the content of the subject, in addition to achieving learning with respect to the SDGs, increasing their understanding of the impact of information and communication technologies on the SDGs, and their awareness of the related problems. We also found that more learning is perceived with information search and content generation activities than with those that focus on the use of materials produced by peers. Finally, it is observed that the method has similar results in different contexts and with different groups of students.

Many studies have incorporated concept maps into digital games to enable learners to make connections between subject concepts in the game. However, most learners do not associate spontaneously with the thematic concepts in the game but need to be facilitated by effective scaffolding mechanisms to reconceptualize the learning process and content. Therefore, this study proposed a knowledge check-based concept map-guided gaming strategy for chemistry learning for secondary-level learners. Specifically, the knowledge check-based concept map-guided gaming strategy was employed as a learning strategy while playing digital games. The knowledge check mechanismwas developed based on the notation of two-tier testing. Moreover, the learning environment was a self-developed chemical classification-based digital game, in which learners learned through concept mapping guided gaming tasks with factual and conceptual questions to confirm that they can actually learn content and conceptual understanding in the game. To understand the effects of the proposed strategy, a quasi-experimental design was adopted to measure compare two groups’ learning achievement, problem-solving awareness, critical thinking tendency, and germane cognitive load of seventh-grade students using the knowledge check-based concept map-guided gaming strategy and the conventional concept map-guided gaming strategy. The results of the study showed that learners’ learning achievement, problem-solving awareness, critical thinking tendency, and germane cognitive load in chemistry learning were effectively improved by the knowledge check-based concept map-guided gaming strategy. Furthermore, this study implies that teachers can adjust their teaching scaffolds and provide strategies according to learners’ learning behaviors in digital game-based learning.

This study examines the potential of virtual reality (VR) technology in language learning, specifically for the Maltese language. Despite the popularity and advancement of VR, its use in teaching minor languages like Maltese has not been extensively explored. The concern is that the lack of technological resources may lead to the extinction of the Maltese language in the digital world. The study utilizes a primarily qualitative research methodology, with a minor quantitative component, to collect data from twenty-five teachers regarding the use of VR in Maltese language learning contexts. The findings reveal both the potential benefits and challenges of using VR in teaching Maltese as a second language (ML2). Although the participants have not used VR for teaching Maltese due to the absence of Maltese VR apps, they have experience with VR in English. They praise VR for its ability to create an immersive and engaging learning environment with entertaining features. However, the study also highlights several challenges associated with VR, including high costs, the bulkiness of headsets, and technical issues. It underscores the pressing need for additional research and development in this field to ensure the preservation of the Maltese language in the digital era.

Developing countries around the world are scaling up education interventions. New educational technologies offer opportunities to develop new models to deliver quality education at scale. However, the literature suggests that defining scale is complex, especially in heterogeneous contexts. This paper provides a conceptualization of scale as a dynamic process with three key dimensions: ‘quantity’, ‘diffusion,’ and ‘quality’ through the case of a multi-state, multi-stakeholder program called Connected Learning Initiative in India. It also describes the implementation processes that involve teacher professional development, student engagement, technological developments, and efforts to improve classroom processes in a multifactor environment of stakeholder needs, context, and variance in resources. In conclusion, robust and flexible design approaches for scale are discussed, with implications for further research.

Secondary science students still struggle to master scientific concepts and apply content-based knowledge. The instructional design behind the incorporation of innovative technology and the use of game-based learning (GBL) could be a key to increasing student acquisition of science knowledge. Using a mixed methods design, this study examined the effects of a scaffolded Game-based Learning (GBL) science unit using a virtual reality (VR) game component. The VR game focused on the scientific method, lab safety, and equipment, and purposefully embedded instructional scaffolds to support the needs of diverse learners. The quasi-experimental study (pre- and post-test design) investigated the acquisition of targeted science knowledge with student groups of differing motivation levels and under two different game modes (immersive and non-immersive). With a mixed methods embedded design, quantitative data (student pre- and post-tests) was analyzed first followed by qualitative data (classroom video observations and student focus groups). Statistical analysis revealed: (1) students demonstrate an overall improvement on the post-test of targeted science knowledge in a scaffolded GBL learning design, (2) students using the immersive VR mode showed greater improvement in targeted science knowledge than students using the non-immersive desktop game, and (3) students with low intrinsic motivation performed better in the immersive VR than the desktop version. Further examination of qualitative data uncovered the GBL curricular activities and scaffolds may have also contributed to students’ science learning gains through reflection and discussion after gameplay experiences. The repeated multimodal learning opportunities and the opportunities to learn through whole-body movements were also found to be the potential reasons why the immersive VR group outperformed the non-immersive group.

Educational chatbots are gaining momentum due to their distinctive affordances of interactivity, immediacy, ease of use, and individualized experience. However, a fairly limited body of literature discusses how a chatbot can facilitate collaborative learning among peers in extensive reading contexts to encourage more vibrant interactions supporting further interest development. Therefore, this research aimed to analyze the affordances and limitations of a chatbot to facilitate human–human interactions by incorporating the refined Academically Productive Talk framework for nurturing a learning community, forming accurate knowledge, fostering rigorous thinking, and encouraging affective responses for elementary school learners. Specifically, the purpose of the research was to observe the situational interest of the learners, their interaction patterns, and their social learning behaviors. This research developed a chatbot stored with 64 children’s storybooks to initiate and facilitate peer dialogues. A group of 30 learners were paired up to conduct two chatbot-facilitated dialogic reading activities. A total of 30 discourse logs and students’ feedback on a survey of situational interest were analyzed. The discourse analysis of this research supports the affordances of the chatbot acting as an effective dialogue initiator and discussion facilitator to support both human-chatbot and human–human social learning. The chatbot encourages a diverse interactive dialogic climate, and four interaction patterns were identified. The situational interest of the initial encounter with the chatbot was boosted; however, their interest was unable to be sustained. The implications for the affordances and limitations of educational chatbots are discussed.

Recently, integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has gained sustained attention in K-12 settings, and engineering design-based pedagogy has become a key issue. Compared with rich research in higher education, relatively few studies are performed on engineering education in K-12 schools. In this study, we combined Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) model with the engineering design process (EDP), naming EDP-CDIO, aiming to promote high school students’ STEM competence and compare its effects with the conventional CDIO approach. A pretest–posttest nonequivalent group design was conducted among 64 eleventh-grade students with eleven lessons. Quantitative data were collected via a pretest and posttest, and qualitative data were collected via artifacts and semistructured interviews. The repeated-measures analysis of variance and epistemic network analysis revealed that, compared with the conventional CDIO approach, the EDP-CDIO model significantly improved students’ STEM knowledge, skills, and attitudes and developed more comprehensive epistemic networks in STEM competence. These findings provide a reference for K-12 STEM teachers, encouraging them to implement the EDP-CDIO model more frequently in the classroom, especially with the iterative design process.

We report findings from an eDelphi study that aimed to explore 16 expert panelists’ perspectives regarding the key attributes of learning experience design (LXD) as it relates to the following: design, disciplines, methods, and theory. Findings suggest consensus was reached regarding LXD’s focus on learner-centrism and incorporating human-centered design practices to design learning environments. LXD practitioners adapt methods and theories from fields such as human–computer interaction and user experience. Implications suggest a need to develop specific methods and theories within our own field.

Research on the educational value of play tends to focus on active players, especially when evaluating novel interaction technologies. However, a long history of scholarship underscores observing communal practice as a primary means of enculturation and learning. This paper demonstrates learning opportunities available within a range of participation forms—from spectator to player and some in between—that emerge around Geometris, a collaborative, body-scale geometry game, as installed in a children’s science museum. Considering learning as participation in communal practice, I present frequency analysis of roughly 350 participants followed by thick narrative descriptions of 3 focal groups to characterize the learning opportunities available within diverse forms of participation in this technologically enabled gameplay. I also identify particular design elements—namely the user-agnostic input mechanism and certain crowd control measures—that inadvertently enabled these participation forms. Theoretical implications include the pedagogically relevant range of action–perception possibilities available across participation forms. Additionally, proposed design heuristics could facilitate these diverse forms of participation in other educational designs.

Multiple document comprehension and knowledge integration across domains are particularly important for pre-service teachers, as integrated professional knowledge forms the basis for teaching expertise and competence. This study examines the effects of instructional prompts and relevance prompts embedded in pre-service teachers’ learning processes on the quality their knowledge integration in multiple document comprehension across domains. 109 pre-service teachers participated in an experimental study. They read four texts on “competencies” from different knowledge domains and wrote a text on a given scenario. Experimental group 1 was aided with instructional and relevance prompts, while experimental group 2 received only relevance prompts. The control group received no prompting. Perceived relevance of knowledge integration was assessed in a pre-post-test. Pre-service teachers’ separative and integrative learning, epistemological beliefs, metacognition, study-specific self-concept, and post-experimental motivation were assessed as control variables. Participants’ texts were analyzed concerning knowledge integration by raters and with computer linguistic measures. A key finding is that combined complex prompting enhances pre-service teachers perceived relevance of knowledge integration. This study found effects of prompting types on the pre-service teachers’ semantic knowledge structures. Implications for transfer are discussed.

Gamification is gaining popularity in education because of its positive effects on learning motivation and engagement. However, several studies have doubted the long-term sustainable effects of gamification pedagogy, arguing that it provides only short-term benefits. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to explore the sustainability of gamification effects in learning. A crossover quasi-experiment was designed to trace the change of the impact of a gamified reading tool on children’s reading over time. The results show that active participants’ reading habits, motivation, and interests increased sharply during the use of the gamification application and then decreased slightly after they ceased using the application but remained higher than before the intervention. A discussion of how to create the persistence and sustainability of the effects of gamification for learning is presented.

Blended synchronous learning has diffused widely owing to its flexibility and accessibility. One of the special forms—blended synchronous classroom program (BSCP) for equitable education has fruited in some countries and areas. An in-depth understanding of the adoption and diffusion of an innovation is beneficial to a wider range of innovation. However, there might be a barrier for the diffusion of BSCP’s successful experience to other area due to differences in sociocultural orientation. In addition, there is basically little evidence on how BSCP is adopted and spread in a certain area. According to the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory, a principal is generally the main innovation initiator in the school. Therefore, this study explores how BSCP had been adopted and diffused in an area in Southeastern China from the perspective of principals in primary and junior middle schools using Rogers’s DOI theory as the theoretical lens. The data was mainly collected from in-depth one-on-one interviews with nine (9) experienced principals. The results showed that multi-aspect factors provided preconditions for innovation of BSCP. Even though with a certain degree of complexity, perceived positive characteristics of BSCP helped the principals make the decision to adopt BSCP. In addition, practical strategies and creative man-made mechanisms ensured BSCP’s success and sustainability. Finally, the highlights for the BSCP’s adoption and diffusion in Yongkang are discussed from sociocultural orientation. The study will contribute to the wider diffusion study empirically and theoretically.

The systematic literature review (1) investigates whether ‘serious games’ provide a viable solution to the limitations posed by traditional high-stakes performance assessments and (2) aims to synthesize game design principles for the game-based performance assessment of professional competencies. In total, 56 publications were included in the final review, targeting knowledge, motor skills and cognitive skills and further narrowed down to teaching, training or assessing professional competencies. Our review demonstrates that serious games are able to provide an environment and task authentic to the target competency. Collected in-game behaviors indicate that serious games are able to elicit behavior that is related to a candidates’ ability level. Progress feedback and freedom of gameplay in serious games can be implemented to provide an engaging and enjoyable environment for candidates. Few studies examined adaptivity and some examined serious games without an authentic environment or task. Overall, the review gives an overview of game design principles for game-based performance assessment. It highlights two research gaps regarding authenticity and adaptivity and concludes with three implications for practice.