Community Conversations: Library Resources

Faulconer, E. K., Griffith, J., Wood, B., Acharyya, S., & Roberts, D. (2018). A comparison of online, video synchronous, and traditional learning modes for an introductory undergraduate physics course. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 27(5), 404-411.

This article is unique because, unlike most articles comparing online to traditional classes, this one looks at the whole-class level, rather than just a single assignment or lab. In this article, researchers compare failure rate, grade distribution, and withdrawal rates for the same introductory physics course, offered in three different modes. While the authors conclude that more research is needed to figure out the reasons behind their results, the trends that they do find between class modes is interesting.

Rickards, W. H., & Stitt-Bergh, M. (2016). Higher Education Evaluation, Assessment, and Faculty Engagement. New Directions for Evaluation, 2016(151), 11–20.

The big-picture assessment of the success of higher education institutions is discussed in this article. The authors discuss the manner in which instruction, curriculum, and organizational processes interact and are used to evaluate the programming in higher education. They conclude with a look at the recent shift to using student outcomes as an evaluative tool for these programs.

Knapp, N. F. (2018). Increasing Interaction in a Flipped Online Classroom through Video Conferencing. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 62(6), 618–624.

This article delves into six structures for online student interactions and offers the advantages and disadvantages of each one. The topics explored are: whole group discussions, break-out groups, show-and-tell, small groups, online conferences, and virtual poster sessions. If you are looking to incorporate more student interactions into your class activities, this will be a very helpful article!

Johnson, C. M. (2016). Rethinking online discourse: Improving learning through discussions in the online classroom. Education and Information Technologies, 21(6), 1483-1507.

This article details a study which analyzed the student-to-student and the student-to-teacher communication on an online class discussion board. They found that students who posted insightful comments that referenced previous posts and class materials have generally learned the material on a deeper level. The article concludes with recommendations for how educators can better guide student discussions and encourage discourse between students.

Stockleben, B., Thayne, M., Jäminki, S., Haukijärvi, I., Mavengere, N. B., Demirbilek, M., & Ruohonen, M. (2017). Towards a framework for creative online collaboration: A research on challenges and context. Education and Information Technologies, 22(2), 575-597.

Ten universities initiated the OnCreate project-- a study of the contextual factors which contribute to online collaboration between students. The project ultimately sought to discover the factors created in physical classrooms which support ideation and creativity, and recreate those in an online environment. Rather than simply offering a list of activities or teaching frameworks, the study takes a look at the social factors necessary to foster this type of creative collaboration virtually.