Research on Online Engagement in the MOOC Context

Abstract

Online engagement had become the key measure of leaning performance and satisfaction(Gaojie 2016,). Jiao Jianli (2013).indicated that how to enhance effective online engagement was the key to improve the quality of online learning. Scholars have done lots of researches on the online engagement form the perspectives of teaching resources, technology, interaction and emotion, etc. However, how do learners regulate themselves and implement self regulated strategies to adapt to the online setting, is seldom explored. Do those self regulative strategies enhance the online engagement effectively? Which strategies are indeed helpful? The research explores the underlying mechanism how self regulated strategies impact online engagement based on the questionnaire of 387 college students. Online engagement, a second-order construct , composes of behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement and emotional engagement. Thorough SEM and hypotheses testing, the research finds that time management and peer learning exert the strongest influence on online engagement; rehearsal, organization and metacognitive strategies do produce a direct influence on online engagement, but they cannot enhance the learners’ self efficacy; elaboration, critical thinking and help strategies do not exert direct influence on online engagement. self efficacy fully mediates the relations among them. The research indicates that resource management strategies produce positive and direct influence on online engagement. Online learners shall pay great attention to time management and peer learning to enhance the online learning efficiency while focusing on the traditional cognitive strategies.

Keywords: online engagement, cognitive strategy, metacognitve strategy, resource management strategy, self efficacy

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-6-10