Fostering Postgraduate Student Engagement: Online Resources Supporting Self-Directed Learning in a Diverse Cohort

• Published in: Research in learning technology Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 29366 - 16
• Main Author: Mello, Luciane V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Jarfalla Co-Action Publishing 01.01.2016; Association for Learning Technology
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Action Research; Active learning; Bioinformatics; Blended Learning; Critical thinking; Digital broadcasting; Distance learning; Doctoral Programs; Educational Resources; Feedback; Focus Groups; Foreign Countries; Graduate Students; Higher education; Independent Study; Internet; Internet resources; Intervention; Knowledge; Learner Engagement; Learning Experience; Lifelong Learning; Likert Scales; Mann Whitney U Test; Masters Programs; Online instruction; online resources; Physiology; postgraduate teaching; prior knowledge; Questionnaires; Research Methodology; Science education; self-directed learning; Statistical Analysis; Student Attitudes; Student Diversity; Student Motivation; Student participation; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Thinking Skills; Tukeys Test; United Kingdom; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK; New York; United States > US
• DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v24.29366
• ISSN: 2156-7069

The research question for this study was: "Can the provision of online resources help to engage and motivate students to become self-directed learners?" This study presents the results of an action research project to answer this question for a postgraduate module at a research-intensive university in the United Kingdom. The analysis of results from the study was conducted dividing the students according to their programme degree--Masters or PhD--and according to their language skills. The study indicated that the online resources embedded in the module were consistently used, and that the measures put in place to support self-directed learning (SDL) were both perceived and valued by the students, irrespective of their programme or native language. Nevertheless, a difference was observed in how students viewed SDL: doctoral students seemed to prefer the approach and were more receptive to it than students pursuing their Masters degree. Some students reported that the SDL activity helped them to achieve more independence than did traditional approaches to teaching. Students who engaged with the online resources were rewarded with higher marks and claimed that they were all the more motivated within the module. Despite the different learning experiences of the diverse cohort, the study found that the blended nature of the course and its resources in support of SDL created a learning environment which positively affected student learning.