PhD project
Student engagement in blended learning in higher education
In what way can teachers support and enlarge student engagement in a blended learning context?
- Duration
- 2021 - 2025
- Contact
- Linyuan Wang
- Funding
- China Scholarship Council - Leiden University Joint Scholarship Programme
Researchers
- L. Wang - PhD candidate
- prof.dr. W.F. Admiraal - supervisor
- prof.dr. R.M. van der Rijst - supervisor
- dr. A.J. de Vetten - daily supervisor
In blended courses, students need to navigate between the online and on-campus learning environment, and the complexity of increasing student engagement deepens accordingly. Thus, the processes of broadening and sustaining student engagement are also more complex than other teaching approaches. The aim is to offer a comprehensive overview of the factors influencing student engagement in blended learning in higher education.
Social relevance
The project aims to provide essential results regarding how and to what extent teachers can facilitate student engagement and enhance students’ learning experience at Leiden University and other universities in the Netherlands. It can also contribute to achieving the vision of building a blended university at Leiden University and across the Netherlands.
Scientific relevance
This research project aims to get further insight into student engagement in blended learning. Specifically, it will provide a clearer picture of which factors affect student engagement in blended learning and how and to what extent these factors are related to student engagement.
Research questions
- Which factors affect student engagement in blended learning - literature review
- What is the relationship between learner control and student engagement – quantitative research
- 1. What is the relationship between pre-class preparation and in-class engagement? 2. Do consistent behavioral patterns in pre-class learning influence learning outcomes?
- Systematic Literature Review/Longitudinal Study/Learning Analytics/Regression Analysis/ qualitative analysis/ latent profile analysis
- Conclusions
- Student engagement in blended learning is influenced by individual, instructional, interactional and learning environment factors.
- In general, students’ perceived learner control is not associated with student engagement in an activity level in the context of blended learning
- Students’ pre-class learning does not contribute to students’ in-class engagement in addition to reading literature review
- Students’ pre-class behavioral engagement patterns don’t show an influence on in-class engagement or exam scores, while self-regulation skill are associated with students’ in-class engagement.