Fan Si, Trimble Allison, Kember David, Muir Tracey, Douglas Tracy, Wang Yanjun, Masters Jennifer, Mainsbridge Casey
School of Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia.
School of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia.
Aust Educ Res. 2023 Jan 11:1-19. doi: 10.1007/s13384-022-00605-5.
Enrolment numbers in online higher education courses have continued to increase over the last decade. The challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have further accelerated the growth in online and blended course offerings. The development of institutional support services, however, does not reflect this growth. Many students are not equipped with the skills or given adequate support to engage and succeed in their courses, leading to student disengagement and attrition. This study investigated the perceptions of students in online and blended subjects, regarding both the academic and institutional support they were provided. The research team collected interview data from 41 online and blended-learning students and then analysed these data using an iterative thematic analysis approach. This article introduces the key findings with two models: one presenting support strategies at multiple levels within this university; the other presenting three key elements of subject-level teacher support, which were identified by the interviewees as the most significant, effective, and relevant support mechanism in this context. The findings will inform higher education institutions who aim to engage and support online and blended students better, through an improved understanding of how support is perceived by this student cohort. This study was conducted at one Australian university; however, the findings are relevant to higher education institutions in other countries that strive to bring about positive experiences and enhance retention rates for online and blended students.
在过去十年中，在线高等教育课程的注册人数持续增加。新冠疫情带来的挑战进一步加速了在线课程和混合式课程的增长。然而，机构支持服务的发展并未反映出这种增长。许多学生没有具备参与课程并取得成功所需的技能，也未得到足够的支持，这导致学生参与度下降和辍学。本研究调查了在线课程和混合式课程学生对所获得的学术支持和机构支持的看法。研究团队收集了41名在线学习和混合式学习学生的访谈数据，然后采用迭代主题分析方法对这些数据进行分析。本文通过两个模型介绍了主要研究结果：一个模型展示了该大学内部多个层面的支持策略；另一个模型展示了学科层面教师支持的三个关键要素，受访者认为这是在这种情况下最重要、最有效且最相关的支持机制。这些研究结果将为那些旨在通过更好地理解这一学生群体对支持的看法来更好地吸引和支持在线及混合式学习学生的高等教育机构提供参考。本研究是在一所澳大利亚大学进行的；然而，研究结果与其他国家努力为在线及混合式学习学生带来积极体验并提高留校率的高等教育机构相关。
