On-campus or online: examining self-regulation and cognitive transfer skills in different learning settings

• Published in: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 1 - 18
• Main Authors: Barak, Miri, Hussein-Farraj, Rania, Dori, Yehudit Judy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.11.2016; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Cognitive transfer; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Distance education; Educational Technology; Higher Education; Humanities; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Law; Online learning; Research Article; Self-regulated learning; Statistics for Social Sciences; Distance education; Self-regulated learning; Cognitive transfer; Higher education; Online learning
• ISSN: 2365-9440; 2365-9440
• DOI: 10.1186/s41239-016-0035-9

This study was set to identify self-regulation skills required for online learning and to characterize cognitive transfer of on-campus and online students. The study included two groups of undergraduate students who studied the same course, but in different settings: online and on-campus. Data collected via an online survey and semi-structured interviews indicated that cognitive strategies and regulation of cognition are significant for successful online learning. Findings also indicated that the online students were more aware of mastery learning and information processing strategies than the on-campus peers. The online students specified the importance of planning, controlling, and evaluation skills for meaningful learning; whereas the on-campus students asserted lack of self-discipline and limited communication skills as barriers for distance learning. Near- and far-transfer components were identified, showing a significant positive correlation with self-regulation skills for both groups of learners.