Journal of Computing in Higher Education

In the domain of learning analytics, which leverages data-driven approaches to support teaching, a valuable application emerges in the form of AI-based educational predictive models. Beyond performance, researchers increasingly emphasize the fairness of such models, with fairness being assessed based on demographic attributes. This paper first constructs an engagement detection model within an online learning community exhibiting gender imbalances, situated in a blended learning university environment psychology course. Drawing upon communication theory, the model’s features are designed, followed by an exploration of statistical disparities between male and female characteristics. Subsequently, through a comparative analysis of AI models that either exclude or include gender, considering performance changes and group fairness, coupled with explainable AI methodologies, the impact of gender on the models is examined. The results suggest that improvements in model performance are more likely to benefit from sensitive attributes with high feature importance. In scenarios where gender is excluded, latent biases inherent within the dataset may lead to group unfairness, exacerbated upon inclusion of gender. Based on these findings, we delineate circumstances under which modeling sensitive attributes is permissible, while discussing arguments supporting and opposing the inclusion of such attributes from both performance and fairness perspectives. The analytical methods and findings of this study offer novel insights for designing more equitable and effective educational predictive models within learning analytics.

In this manuscript, we explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and equitable learning in higher education, focusing on data science as a subset of AI and social justice as the core theme of equity. Our investigation sheds light on the nuanced tensions inherent in employing data science for social justice. Rooted in situated perspectives of learning and consequential learning, our study employs an instrumental case-study methodology and analysis techniques from interaction and conversation analysis. Collaborating with three undergraduate students and an urban farm, the students used data science practices to highlight inequities surrounding food justice and access to food. Our findings reveal three key tensions: (1) the undergraduates' discourse on simplicity versus complexity in utilizing data science for social justice, (2) the challenges of balancing data science with social justice imperatives, and (3) the successful application of data science by the students in their food justice project, culminating in a presentation of their findings to the farm's director. We conclude by discussing implications for research and the use of data science in social justice projects

In this study, the researchers surveyed 276 students from an undergraduate online course and analyzed 10,927 of traced behavior sessions in a learning management system. The study examined the relationship between students’ academic motivation (e.g., utility value, attainment value, intrinsic value, and self-efficacy) and their behavioral engagement in online learning. The researchers focused on both the quantity of behavioral engagement represented by the frequency of page views and the quality of behavioral engagement represented by the sequential patterns of page views. Markov Chain Model analyses revealed six unique sequential-action profiles of behavioral engagement, including Assignment-focused Profile, Dual-focused Profile on Assignment and Reading, Triangular-balanced Profile on Assignment, Reading, and Resource, Integrated Profile, Reading-focused Profile, and Assignment-focused with Planning Profile. Along with five single-action clusters (i.e., Assignment-only Profile, Reading-only Profile, Overview-only Profile, Resource-only Profile, and Overview-only Profile), the study included a total of eleven session clusters. The findings revealed nuanced relationships between motivation and various clusters of behavioral engagement in online learning.

Revealing the dynamics of collaborative engagement and its association with collaborative problem-solving (CPS) outcomes is beneficial for guiding teachers to provide adaptive support during CPS processes. Although existing research has indicated that the various dimensions of collaborative engagement influence each other over time, it remains unclear how the internal dynamics of collaborative engagement are associated with CPS outcomes. Additionally, previous studies have primarily employed manual coding to analyze collaborative engagement, which limits the exploration of the dynamic characteristics of collaborative engagement in large-scale datasets. This study aimed to investigate the internal dynamics of collaborative engagement, encompassing behavioral, cognitive, socio-emotional engagement, and their relationship with CPS outcomes. Specifically, a learning analytics method based on deep learning models was employed for the automatic detection of collaborative engagement. Subsequently, according to the results of automated detection, hidden Markov modeling was utilized to investigate the difference in the internal dynamics of collaborative engagement between high- and low-performing groups. These investigations were grounded in a dataset comprising 57,400 utterances collected from 20 groups participating in a CPS activity within a university setting. The findings showed that compared with high-performing groups, low-performing groups were more likely to become stuck in the states of "Limited Cognitive Engagement" and "Lone Neutral Participation" during CPS process. Furthermore, high-performing groups were found to transition away from the collaborative engagement state of "Cognitive Conflict with Confusion" by enhancing behavioral engagement and deepening cognitive engagement. While the low-performing groups remained trapped in the cycle between the states of "Cognitive Conflict with Confusion" and "Limited Cognitive Engagement." According to these findings, pedagogical insights and analytical implications were addressed.

The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is profoundly reshaping teaching and learning practices in higher education. This shift challenges traditional pedagogical approaches and increasingly requires learners to develop autonomy, adaptability, and lifelong learning skills. As this trend accelerates, it becomes essential to understand how AI-driven tools and teaching approaches are being used to promote self-determined learning. However, the use of AI technologies to support the development of lifelong learning skills in self-determined learners is still in its early stages, underscoring the need for further investigation into existing learning environments. Therefore, this scoping review investigates AI-driven tools and approaches for the development of self-determined lifelong learning skills. This is the first scoping review to present and synthesize self-determined lifelong learning skills within the implementation of AI-driven learning environments. The results suggest that AI-driven technologies predominantly develop self-determined lifelong learning skills and competencies such as learner agency, self-efficacy and capability, metacognition and reflection, responsibility, digital competence, critical thinking, collaborative learning, problem-solving, employability, and self-regulated learning but do not sufficiently draw on non-linear learning and learning how to learn skills. In addition, computational thinking, with its scarcity among other skills and competencies, holds significant promise for future research on the development of self-determined lifelong skills. University instructors, instructional designers, and future employers can draw on these insights to collaborate and integrate AI-driven technologies to enhance the development of self-determined lifelong learners.

This study aims to validate the mediation effects of assessment engagement and its constructs on the relationship between online rating ability and critical thinking. This study involved graduate students from a university who enrolled in the “Research Methods” course and utilized an online peer assessment system to rate the project report of each other. This study, based on social cognitive theory and self-determination theory, proposes and validates a concurrent mediation model—“online rating ability◊assessment engagement/its constructs◊critical thinking.” The findings are summarized as follows: (1) Rating ability significantly and positively influences assessment engagement, and assessment engagement significantly and positively influences critical thinking. (2) Rating ability significantly and positively influences all four assessment engagement constructs, and assessment behavioral engagement and assessment cognitive engagement significantly and positively influence critical thinking. (3) Rating ability not only significantly and directly influences critical thinking, but also simultaneously exerts a significant indirect influence on critical thinking through assessment engagement (significant indirect effect and partial mediation). (4) Rating ability can exert a significant and indirect influence on critical thinking concurrently through both assessment behavioral engagement and assessment cognitive engagement (significant indirect effect and full mediation); however, at this point, rating ability no longer significantly and directly influences critical thinking, nor does it significantly and indirectly influence critical thinking through assessment emotional engagement and assessment agentic engagement. (5) Assessment engagement exhibits a significant and partially competitive mediation effect in the influence of rating ability on critical thinking, with a substantial mediation effect size. (6) In the concurrent mediation model, assessment behavioral engagement and assessment cognitive engagement both exhibit complete and concurrent mediation effects in the influence of rating ability on critical thinking. The research results provide significant implications for academic theory and educational practices.

Centers for Teaching Excellence (CTEs) have existed for decades in US universities and provide a unique set of services focused on the growth and professional development of faculty in their institution. The purpose of this in-depth, qualitative research study is to carefully examine the organizational structure, operations, services, and assessment and evaluation of CTEs according to the directors who lead these units. We present a conceptual framework and research questions that were used to guide the creation of a semi-structured interview protocol. We interviewed n = 12 CTE directors from varied institutions of higher education and examined these data using the Constant Comparative Method (CCM) (Glaser 1965). Our findings are organized into five large themes constituting organizational structures, resource allocation and infrastructure, programs and services, and assessment and evaluation of center operations. We carefully unpack the themes for readers and discuss them in light of our findings. Implications for future research and practice are also provided.

The study employed a researcher-designed digital tool tailored to enhance student engagement with their writing performance. Through this digital tool, the researchers delved into the relationships between learner traits, including mindset, feedback orientation, and self-regulated learning repertoire, and their impact on improved engagement and student writing outcomes. The data for this study is derived from 40 students and encompasses their performance in student engagement enhancement tool, their mindset, feedback orientation, and self-regulated learning repertoires, as well as writing scores. Student engagement in writing tasks underwent analysis through open coding and axial coding of Feedback Related Episodes (FREs) extracted from booklets and Google Docs logs. Additionally, students’ mindset status, feedback orientation, and self-regulated learning repertoires were evaluated using relevant questionnaires. Writing performances were assessed using a holistic approach. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between learner factors, student engagement and writing performance. Results show significant positive correlations between writing performance and behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, growth mindset, self-regulation, and feedback seeking. However, fixed mindset and feedback avoiding had non-significant correlations with writing performance. Regression analysis revealed emotional engagement as the most significant predictor of writing test performance, followed by growth mindset and cognitive engagement. These findings highlight the importance of student agentive engagement in enhancing writing skills and provide valuable insights into related factors.

While student privacy is frequently a topic of concern in studies about data-powered technologies in higher education, we still know little about handling student privacy in online proctoring systems (OPS). To better understand the challenges associated with student privacy in higher educational practice, we conducted an interview study examining various stakeholders’ understandings of privacy in OPS. We interviewed ten stakeholders–including teachers, students, and administration staff, such as the head of the department, the head of the IT department, and examination administrators–directly involved in the procurement and use of an online examination platform with proctoring features, in one of the largest universities in Scandinavia, to investigate stakeholders’ privacy perceptions, privacy concerns, privacy awareness, and perceived responsibility regarding the privacy practices of OPS. The findings show the participants perceive privacy in OPS as a seclusive and anonymous state of being, a way to control information, and an individual right. The results also point to stakeholders’ concerns regarding collecting sensitive information about the students, the possibility of information misuse, and improper access to students’ personal information. Furthermore, the study’s results identify trade-offs between the stakeholders’ concerns for privacy and the benefits of using OPS for examinations in higher education. This study underscores the need for higher education institutions to involve students and educators in procuring and deploying OPS and develop strategies for cultivating privacy awareness and responsible privacy practices. Finally, implications for developing responsible digital practices in higher education are discussed.

Indigenous community research partnerships face challenges when integrating technology into their infrastructure, and risk compromising the community’s cultural, technological, and rhetorical sovereignty. In this paper, we explore the practices that help mitigate this challenge, including making visible the technology itself and technology practices embedded in dominant research processes. We consider how technologies mediate community research partnerships and question how we overlook our understanding of and creation of technologies as designers. Drawing on empirical insights of community research across Indigenous communities, we provide guidance on technology use with values of transparency, accessibility, and relationality. From a lens of place and power, we unpack the question: How can we cultivate technology in our research practices with Indigenous communities to honor their sovereignties? By reflecting on technology in the context of community research partnerships, we acknowledge Indigenous people’s sovereignty and self-determination, heal from harmful systemic research practices through critical questioning and reflection, and rebuild relationships among multiple rich ways of knowing and being.

Digital literacy encompasses the skills needed to effectively navigate and use the digital tools and resources that are essential in today's educational landscape. Students with higher levels of digital literacy often demonstrate self-directed learning skills, enabling them to manage their study schedules and submit assignments in a timely and effective manner. Integrating digital literacy with preparation for self-directed learning is critical to fostering successful online learning experiences. Research into the impact of students' digital literacy and readiness for online learning on their self-directed learning is crucial to understanding the competencies and skills required for online education. Such competencies in learners may have unique effects, especially in specific online learning processes such as emergency remote teaching. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the potential impact of students' digital literacy on their self-directed online learning, with a particular focus on their online learning readiness. In line with the purpose of the study, a cross-sectional survey design was employed, using a structural equation modeling approach. The results showed that digital literacy has a direct and positive effect on online learning readiness. In addition, online learning readiness has a direct and positive influence on self-directed online learning. The results also highlighted that digital literacy indirectly and positively influences individuals' levels of self-directed online learning through their online learning readiness.

Educational Technologies (EdTech) and Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) are established fields of academic research with the potential to transform educational practices and outcomes. Yet, they are currently facing several problems that undermine their efficacy and relevance. In this discussion paper, we examine recurrent complaints of researchers in the field allowing us to identify four main root causes responsible for hindering the impact of the field (starting with the less serious to most serious): (4) Lack of formal methods to evaluate, give credit, share and mature prototypes, (3) The prioritization of publication and citation metrics over the acquisition of scientific knowledge that leads to the enhancement of education and learning, (2) Researchers and their lack of practical experience in the field, and (1) The absence of robust epistemological paradigms and frameworks. In this paper, we lay down the problems caused by these root causes, discuss solutions for these causes, and propose implementable steps towards these solutions.

Despite the benefits of collaborative learning, students often experience undesirable issues, especially in asynchronous online courses where place and time distribute group members. While the complex nature of social dynamics of asynchronous distributed learning groups warrants a comprehensive approach, there is a lack of empirical research on a holistic design to address issues related to online collaboration. This study employed design-based research and evaluated strategies and tools to address social loafing, the difficulty of regular communication, and incompatibility of group work in three iterations of design, enactment, and evaluation in graduate online courses. Cooperative game theory, social interdependence theory, and Piaget’s socio-cognitive conflict theory informed the development of design principles for collaborative learning: (1) fairness, (2) group processing, and (3) individual accountability. Achieving a perception of fairness could be more effective than individual accountability in reducing social loafing. Equal participation brought several desirable changes to group dynamics. This study provides practitioners with evidence-based strategies to facilitate productive group culture for asynchronous online collaborative learning.