Learning from home: synthesising ... .au



Learning from home: synthesising the research The current COVID-19 epidemic and social distancing policies are requiring educators to explore technology options and pedagogical approaches for fully online learning that can occur at home. Doing so can be especially challenging for K-12 schools, where face-to-face learning has been the default mode of delivery. Given that distance learning has a long history in many universities and select schools throughout the world, what can be learned from the research?This report summarises meta-analysis of research findings over five hundred studies relating to learning from home — often referred to as distance learning. It explores the following questions:What makes a home learner successful? What are the most important themes from the research that educators should consider when transitioning to learning from home? What supports and what constrains schools in supporting learning from home? Best practices in learning from homeResearch concludes that across large samples, there are no significant differences between students’ academic achievement when learning at a distance compared with learning face-to-face ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"xZ3B7kHS","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Simonson et al., 2011)","plainCitation":"(Simonson et al., 2011)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2070,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2070,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Distance education is defined, the various approaches for effective research are summarized, and the results of major research reviews of the field are explained in this article. Additionally, two major areas of research are included--research on barriers to the adoption of distance education and research summaries that explain and support best practices in the field. This paper concludes with the summary statement that \"it is not different education, it is distance education\"; what is known about effectiveness in education is most often also applicable to distance education.","container-title":"Journal of Computing in Higher Education","DOI":"","ISSN":"1042-1726","issue":"2-3","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 19","page":"124-142","source":"ProQuest","title":"Distance Education Research: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Distance Education Research","volume":"23","author":[{"family":"Simonson","given":"Michael"},{"family":"Schlosser","given":"Charles"},{"family":"Orellana","given":"Anymir"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011",12]]}}}],"schema":""} (Simonson et al., 2011). Moreover, many good face-to-face strategies can and should be adapted for fully online learners, including: clear and explicit instruction, including guidelines for interaction, appropriate deadlines, and clear structure and guidance in all tasks, and communication of high expectationspurposefully integrating discussion, collaboration, cooperation, and interdependencyencouraging diverse opinions and viewpoints on relevant, real-world topics and creative, divergent thinkinggiving students ample opportunities to present their ideas to othersproviding both written and verbal feedback that acknowledges students’ efforts and helps them improve through multiple communication channelsensuring that all tasks are challenging and meaningfulallowing students to choose topics wherever possible making frequent links between the topic studied and real-life incorporating activities for students to develop psychological connections to one anotherprovide opportunities for open-ended, learner-led inquiry ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"F3giF3KE","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Adapted from Hung et al., 2015; Simonson et al., 2011)","plainCitation":"(Adapted from Hung et al., 2015; Simonson et al., 2011)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2073,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2073,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"An effective learning community helps foster positive student learning experiences and outcomes. However, in distance learning environments, the communication barriers inevitably hinder the interaction among the students because of the lower levels of social presence. These barriers present challenges in building learning communities in an online environment. In the past 20 years, distance education researchers and educators have studied and experimented with various instructional strategies and tools to reduce these barriers in order to facilitate students to form effective online learning communities. This systematic literature review examines the instructional strategies and tools that have been used to achieve the goal. The review results will be reported in terms of the essential elements of OLC building, types of instructional strategies and tools, and the instructional implications.","container-title":"Journal of Interactive Learning Research","ISSN":"1093-023X","issue":"3","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 24","page":"229-252","source":"ProQuest","title":"A Review of the Instructional Practices for Promoting Online Learning Communities","volume":"26","author":[{"family":"Hung","given":"Woei"},{"family":"Flom","given":"Elicia"},{"family":"Manu","given":"Jacob"},{"family":"Mahmoud","given":"Enaz"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}},"prefix":"Adapted from "},{"id":2070,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2070,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Distance education is defined, the various approaches for effective research are summarized, and the results of major research reviews of the field are explained in this article. Additionally, two major areas of research are included--research on barriers to the adoption of distance education and research summaries that explain and support best practices in the field. This paper concludes with the summary statement that \"it is not different education, it is distance education\"; what is known about effectiveness in education is most often also applicable to distance education.","container-title":"Journal of Computing in Higher Education","DOI":"","ISSN":"1042-1726","issue":"2-3","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 19","page":"124-142","source":"ProQuest","title":"Distance Education Research: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Distance Education Research","volume":"23","author":[{"family":"Simonson","given":"Michael"},{"family":"Schlosser","given":"Charles"},{"family":"Orellana","given":"Anymir"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011",12]]}}}],"schema":""} (Adapted from Hung et al., 2015; Simonson et al., 2011).What makes a home learner successful?Research also reveals a set of conditions around what a home learner needs to be in order to learn successfully. Successful learners are more likely to have intrinsic motivation, be capable of learning independently, exercise good time management skills, have a high degree of self-efficacy and strong locus of control, practise a growth mindset, and be comfortable with online connections ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"6uWD1r8F","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Hart, 2012; Simonson et al., 2011)","plainCitation":"(Hart, 2012; Simonson et al., 2011)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2078,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2078,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"This integrated literature review examined factors associated with the ability of students to persist in an online course. Lack of persistence in online education and its' consequence of attrition, is an identified problem within the United States and internationally. Terminology has wavered between persistence and success, where each has been interchangeably used to characterize a student that completes a course and continues to program completion. Separate searchers were conducted in Academic Search Premier, CINAHL Plus, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) Education Full Text, Ovid, and the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT). Search terms included persistence, distance education, and online learning. Inclusion criteria included published after 1999, article from a peer-reviewed journal, and article addresses student factors leading to persistence. Exclusion criteria included article not related to factors of persistence, no original data, and article not written in English or not related to online courses. Factors associated with student persistence in an online program include satisfaction with online learning, a sense of belonging to the learning community, motivation, peer, and family support, time management skills, and increased communication with the instructor. Persistence carries the nuance of complexity beyond mere success. Factors unrelated to knowledge have the ability to provide support, thus allowing the student to overcome hardships in completing a course. If persistence factors are not present in sufficient quantity, the student may be at risk of withdrawing from an online course. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)","container-title":"Journal of Interactive Online Learning","ISSN":"1541-4914","issue":"1","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 24","page":"19-42","source":"ProQuest","title":"Factors Associated with Student Persistence in an Online Program of Study: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Factors Associated with Student Persistence in an Online Program of Study","volume":"11","author":[{"family":"Hart","given":"Carolyn"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]],"season":"Spring"}}},{"id":2070,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2070,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Distance education is defined, the various approaches for effective research are summarized, and the results of major research reviews of the field are explained in this article. Additionally, two major areas of research are included--research on barriers to the adoption of distance education and research summaries that explain and support best practices in the field. This paper concludes with the summary statement that \"it is not different education, it is distance education\"; what is known about effectiveness in education is most often also applicable to distance education.","container-title":"Journal of Computing in Higher Education","DOI":"","ISSN":"1042-1726","issue":"2-3","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 19","page":"124-142","source":"ProQuest","title":"Distance Education Research: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Distance Education Research","volume":"23","author":[{"family":"Simonson","given":"Michael"},{"family":"Schlosser","given":"Charles"},{"family":"Orellana","given":"Anymir"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011",12]]}}}],"schema":""} (Hart, 2012; Simonson et al., 2011). Wherever possible, students should be supported and encouraged to develop these skills and dispositions.What about the role that a student’s school plays in their success as distance learners? Research suggests that the following school-based factors are key to successful distance learning:committing the time and money needed to transition and deliver online lessonsworking strategically with colleagues who might be resistant to changehaving a shared vision for home learning across the school allocating support staff to help with course development and deliveryhaving incentives for teachers and learners to succeed with learning from homesupporting teachers to keep up with technological changeshaving adequate technology infrastructure ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"DFMMSHhk","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Adapted from Hung et al., 2015; Simonson et al., 2011; Valai et al., 2019)","plainCitation":"(Adapted from Hung et al., 2015; Simonson et al., 2011; Valai et al., 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2073,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2073,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"An effective learning community helps foster positive student learning experiences and outcomes. However, in distance learning environments, the communication barriers inevitably hinder the interaction among the students because of the lower levels of social presence. These barriers present challenges in building learning communities in an online environment. In the past 20 years, distance education researchers and educators have studied and experimented with various instructional strategies and tools to reduce these barriers in order to facilitate students to form effective online learning communities. This systematic literature review examines the instructional strategies and tools that have been used to achieve the goal. The review results will be reported in terms of the essential elements of OLC building, types of instructional strategies and tools, and the instructional implications.","container-title":"Journal of Interactive Learning Research","ISSN":"1093-023X","issue":"3","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 24","page":"229-252","source":"ProQuest","title":"A Review of the Instructional Practices for Promoting Online Learning Communities","volume":"26","author":[{"family":"Hung","given":"Woei"},{"family":"Flom","given":"Elicia"},{"family":"Manu","given":"Jacob"},{"family":"Mahmoud","given":"Enaz"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}},"prefix":"Adapted from"},{"id":2070,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2070,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Distance education is defined, the various approaches for effective research are summarized, and the results of major research reviews of the field are explained in this article. Additionally, two major areas of research are included--research on barriers to the adoption of distance education and research summaries that explain and support best practices in the field. This paper concludes with the summary statement that \"it is not different education, it is distance education\"; what is known about effectiveness in education is most often also applicable to distance education.","container-title":"Journal of Computing in Higher Education","DOI":"","ISSN":"1042-1726","issue":"2-3","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 19","page":"124-142","source":"ProQuest","title":"Distance Education Research: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Distance Education Research","volume":"23","author":[{"family":"Simonson","given":"Michael"},{"family":"Schlosser","given":"Charles"},{"family":"Orellana","given":"Anymir"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011",12]]}}},{"id":2075,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2075,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"This article identifies the quality themes of distance learning that arose from the learners' perspective as reflected in the literature. The paper reviews literature through the four themes of 1) Course design, 2) Interaction, 3) Learner support and 4) Technology Use. Key quality indicators in distance learning that appear repeatedly in research on students' point of view are also examined. It is argued that distance learning quality standards must first be focused on the students' perspective in order to develop comprehensive and efficient standards for evaluating distance learning. This review serves as a starting point for distance learning providers specifically and accreditation organizations generally to better inform current quality practices regarding distance learning environments in higher education.","container-title":"International Journal on E-Learning","ISSN":"1537-2456","issue":"1","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 22","page":"103-124","source":"ProQuest","title":"Quality Indicators for Distance Learning: A Literature Review in Learners' Perceptions of Quality","title-short":"Quality Indicators for Distance Learning","volume":"18","author":[{"family":"Valai","given":"Asimoula"},{"family":"Schmidt-Crawford","given":"Denise A."},{"family":"Moore","given":"Kenneth J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",1]]}}}],"schema":""} (Adapted from Hung et al., 2015; Simonson et al., 2011; Valai et al., 2019)When learning from home is successful, findings show that students readily “report feeling more connected to the online experience, report higher levels of satisfaction, continue to be motivated to engage, and are more successful in group and individual work” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"AoyM7qcD","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Watts, 2016, p. 31)","plainCitation":"(Watts, 2016, p. 31)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2074,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2074,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Distance learning is commonplace in higher education, with increasing numbers of students enjoying the flexibility e-learning provides. Keeping students connected with peers and instructors has been a challenge with e-learning, but as technology has advanced, the methods by which educators keep students engaged, synchronously and asynchronously, also have improved. This literature review presents support for both types of interaction; however, findings indicate educators must consider time constraints, technological ability, and motivation for students to interact in the online setting. Recommendations for implementing both synchronous and asynchronous interactions are made, including technological considerations. Finally, suggestions for research in distance learning are presented for consideration.","container-title":"Quarterly Review of Distance Education","ISSN":"1528-3518","issue":"1","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 10","page":"23-32","source":"ProQuest","title":"Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Distance Learning: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Distance Learning","volume":"17","author":[{"family":"Watts","given":"Lynette"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}},"locator":"31"}],"schema":""} (Watts, 2016, p. 31). What are the most important themes from the research that educators should consider when transitioning to learning from home? Several themes from the research reveal important considerations with regards to provisions and practices that can be implemented to improve learning outcomes and the learner experience. Theme 1: social presenceAcross a huge body of research, research has shown that strong social presence is one of the best predictors of high-quality distance learning ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"1USLjSbH","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Chen et al., 2015; Hung et al., 2015; Valai et al., 2019; Watts, 2016)","plainCitation":"(Chen et al., 2015; Hung et al., 2015; Valai et al., 2019; Watts, 2016)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2077,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2077,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the evolution of social presence research in the field of distance education and identified problems in investigating this construct. The researchers took an integrative review on existing social presence studies to answer three questions: (a) How definitions of social presence evolved since its establishment (b) How research focus shifted (c) What problems exist in social presence measurement. A total of 189 empirical studies in the area of distance education from 1976 to 2013 were selected and reviewed. The results of the study suggested that social presence was still illusive and difficult to define. Moreover, because of its ambiguity, many doubts and problems were identified in measuring social presence. Lastly, this review specified the limitations of similar studies, and provided guidance for future investigations.","container-title":"Educational Research and Reviews","issue":"13","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 12","page":"1796-1806","source":"ProQuest","title":"Integrative Review of Social Presence in Distance Education: Issues and Challenges","title-short":"Integrative Review of Social Presence in Distance Education","volume":"10","author":[{"family":"Chen","given":"Xin"},{"family":"Fang","given":"Youjia"},{"family":"Lockee","given":"Barbara"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015",7]]}}},{"id":2073,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2073,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"An effective learning community helps foster positive student learning experiences and outcomes. However, in distance learning environments, the communication barriers inevitably hinder the interaction among the students because of the lower levels of social presence. These barriers present challenges in building learning communities in an online environment. In the past 20 years, distance education researchers and educators have studied and experimented with various instructional strategies and tools to reduce these barriers in order to facilitate students to form effective online learning communities. This systematic literature review examines the instructional strategies and tools that have been used to achieve the goal. The review results will be reported in terms of the essential elements of OLC building, types of instructional strategies and tools, and the instructional implications.","container-title":"Journal of Interactive Learning Research","ISSN":"1093-023X","issue":"3","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 24","page":"229-252","source":"ProQuest","title":"A Review of the Instructional Practices for Promoting Online Learning Communities","volume":"26","author":[{"family":"Hung","given":"Woei"},{"family":"Flom","given":"Elicia"},{"family":"Manu","given":"Jacob"},{"family":"Mahmoud","given":"Enaz"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}},{"id":2075,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2075,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"This article identifies the quality themes of distance learning that arose from the learners' perspective as reflected in the literature. The paper reviews literature through the four themes of 1) Course design, 2) Interaction, 3) Learner support and 4) Technology Use. Key quality indicators in distance learning that appear repeatedly in research on students' point of view are also examined. It is argued that distance learning quality standards must first be focused on the students' perspective in order to develop comprehensive and efficient standards for evaluating distance learning. This review serves as a starting point for distance learning providers specifically and accreditation organizations generally to better inform current quality practices regarding distance learning environments in higher education.","container-title":"International Journal on E-Learning","ISSN":"1537-2456","issue":"1","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 22","page":"103-124","source":"ProQuest","title":"Quality Indicators for Distance Learning: A Literature Review in Learners' Perceptions of Quality","title-short":"Quality Indicators for Distance Learning","volume":"18","author":[{"family":"Valai","given":"Asimoula"},{"family":"Schmidt-Crawford","given":"Denise A."},{"family":"Moore","given":"Kenneth J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",1]]}}},{"id":2074,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2074,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Distance learning is commonplace in higher education, with increasing numbers of students enjoying the flexibility e-learning provides. Keeping students connected with peers and instructors has been a challenge with e-learning, but as technology has advanced, the methods by which educators keep students engaged, synchronously and asynchronously, also have improved. This literature review presents support for both types of interaction; however, findings indicate educators must consider time constraints, technological ability, and motivation for students to interact in the online setting. Recommendations for implementing both synchronous and asynchronous interactions are made, including technological considerations. Finally, suggestions for research in distance learning are presented for consideration.","container-title":"Quarterly Review of Distance Education","ISSN":"1528-3518","issue":"1","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 10","page":"23-32","source":"ProQuest","title":"Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Distance Learning: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Distance Learning","volume":"17","author":[{"family":"Watts","given":"Lynette"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Chen et al., 2015; Hung et al., 2015; Valai et al., 2019; Watts, 2016). Chen, Fang, and Lockee ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"My35trlh","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(2015)","plainCitation":"(2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2077,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2077,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the evolution of social presence research in the field of distance education and identified problems in investigating this construct. The researchers took an integrative review on existing social presence studies to answer three questions: (a) How definitions of social presence evolved since its establishment (b) How research focus shifted (c) What problems exist in social presence measurement. A total of 189 empirical studies in the area of distance education from 1976 to 2013 were selected and reviewed. The results of the study suggested that social presence was still illusive and difficult to define. Moreover, because of its ambiguity, many doubts and problems were identified in measuring social presence. Lastly, this review specified the limitations of similar studies, and provided guidance for future investigations.","container-title":"Educational Research and Reviews","issue":"13","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 12","page":"1796-1806","source":"ProQuest","title":"Integrative Review of Social Presence in Distance Education: Issues and Challenges","title-short":"Integrative Review of Social Presence in Distance Education","volume":"10","author":[{"family":"Chen","given":"Xin"},{"family":"Fang","given":"Youjia"},{"family":"Lockee","given":"Barbara"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015",7]]}},"suppress-author":true}],"schema":""} (2015) identify three main areas of social presence that distance educators need to develop: (1) intimacy —the feeling of connection with others; (2) immediacy — psychological closeness in communication; and (3) interactivity — the dependency between the actions of individuals. As the authors explain, “at its lowest degree, social presence simply means being there, and at its highest degree, social presence represents mutual dependent behavioural interaction” (p. 1802). According to the research findings, the following practices support strong social presence in the distance learning classroom:communication with students through multiple real-time channels;embedding relationship-building activities;allowing for social interaction outside of class time;having teacher presence in several forms — for example, through announcements, emails, discussion comments, and video;actively and regularly engaging with students;providing clear structure while allowing for independent and creative thought;asking divergent questions; andmaking jokes. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"QJRZi3OA","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Adapted from Chen et al., 2015; Hung et al., 2015; Watts, 2016)","plainCitation":"(Adapted from Chen et al., 2015; Hung et al., 2015; Watts, 2016)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2077,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2077,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the evolution of social presence research in the field of distance education and identified problems in investigating this construct. The researchers took an integrative review on existing social presence studies to answer three questions: (a) How definitions of social presence evolved since its establishment (b) How research focus shifted (c) What problems exist in social presence measurement. A total of 189 empirical studies in the area of distance education from 1976 to 2013 were selected and reviewed. The results of the study suggested that social presence was still illusive and difficult to define. Moreover, because of its ambiguity, many doubts and problems were identified in measuring social presence. Lastly, this review specified the limitations of similar studies, and provided guidance for future investigations.","container-title":"Educational Research and Reviews","issue":"13","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 12","page":"1796-1806","source":"ProQuest","title":"Integrative Review of Social Presence in Distance Education: Issues and Challenges","title-short":"Integrative Review of Social Presence in Distance Education","volume":"10","author":[{"family":"Chen","given":"Xin"},{"family":"Fang","given":"Youjia"},{"family":"Lockee","given":"Barbara"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015",7]]}},"prefix":"Adapted from"},{"id":2073,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2073,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"An effective learning community helps foster positive student learning experiences and outcomes. However, in distance learning environments, the communication barriers inevitably hinder the interaction among the students because of the lower levels of social presence. These barriers present challenges in building learning communities in an online environment. In the past 20 years, distance education researchers and educators have studied and experimented with various instructional strategies and tools to reduce these barriers in order to facilitate students to form effective online learning communities. This systematic literature review examines the instructional strategies and tools that have been used to achieve the goal. The review results will be reported in terms of the essential elements of OLC building, types of instructional strategies and tools, and the instructional implications.","container-title":"Journal of Interactive Learning Research","ISSN":"1093-023X","issue":"3","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 24","page":"229-252","source":"ProQuest","title":"A Review of the Instructional Practices for Promoting Online Learning Communities","volume":"26","author":[{"family":"Hung","given":"Woei"},{"family":"Flom","given":"Elicia"},{"family":"Manu","given":"Jacob"},{"family":"Mahmoud","given":"Enaz"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}},{"id":2074,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2074,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Distance learning is commonplace in higher education, with increasing numbers of students enjoying the flexibility e-learning provides. Keeping students connected with peers and instructors has been a challenge with e-learning, but as technology has advanced, the methods by which educators keep students engaged, synchronously and asynchronously, also have improved. This literature review presents support for both types of interaction; however, findings indicate educators must consider time constraints, technological ability, and motivation for students to interact in the online setting. Recommendations for implementing both synchronous and asynchronous interactions are made, including technological considerations. Finally, suggestions for research in distance learning are presented for consideration.","container-title":"Quarterly Review of Distance Education","ISSN":"1528-3518","issue":"1","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 10","page":"23-32","source":"ProQuest","title":"Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Distance Learning: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Distance Learning","volume":"17","author":[{"family":"Watts","given":"Lynette"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":""} (Adapted from Chen et al., 2015; Hung et al., 2015; Watts, 2016).Theme 2: student persistencePersistence represents the learner’s capacity to maintain effort to the point where they complete and succeed with the intended learning. Across the literature, there are several well-documented key factors known to affect levels of student persistence when learning from home, including a sense of belonging to the learning community, motivation, peer and family support, time management skills, and increased communication with the instructor. To support learners to persist in distance learning settings, Hart ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"ZBsKktUe","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(2012)","plainCitation":"(2012)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2078,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2078,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"This integrated literature review examined factors associated with the ability of students to persist in an online course. Lack of persistence in online education and its' consequence of attrition, is an identified problem within the United States and internationally. Terminology has wavered between persistence and success, where each has been interchangeably used to characterize a student that completes a course and continues to program completion. Separate searchers were conducted in Academic Search Premier, CINAHL Plus, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) Education Full Text, Ovid, and the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT). Search terms included persistence, distance education, and online learning. Inclusion criteria included published after 1999, article from a peer-reviewed journal, and article addresses student factors leading to persistence. Exclusion criteria included article not related to factors of persistence, no original data, and article not written in English or not related to online courses. Factors associated with student persistence in an online program include satisfaction with online learning, a sense of belonging to the learning community, motivation, peer, and family support, time management skills, and increased communication with the instructor. Persistence carries the nuance of complexity beyond mere success. Factors unrelated to knowledge have the ability to provide support, thus allowing the student to overcome hardships in completing a course. If persistence factors are not present in sufficient quantity, the student may be at risk of withdrawing from an online course. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)","container-title":"Journal of Interactive Online Learning","ISSN":"1541-4914","issue":"1","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 24","page":"19-42","source":"ProQuest","title":"Factors Associated with Student Persistence in an Online Program of Study: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Factors Associated with Student Persistence in an Online Program of Study","volume":"11","author":[{"family":"Hart","given":"Carolyn"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]],"season":"Spring"}},"suppress-author":true}],"schema":""} (2012) recommends that online teachers practise flexibility, set realistic expectations about workload, establish goals, integrate asynchronous activities to support learners outside of formal class time, provide feedback that is constructive and adds meaningful input into learning, and engage in clear and unambiguous communication. Theme 3: The role of genderPerkowski’s ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"zRciitBq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(2013)","plainCitation":"(2013)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2079,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2079,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"This meta-analytic review was performed to determine the relationship between gender and two constructs measuring success in distance learning--academic performance and self-efficacy--with a particular interest in identifying whether females or males have an advantage in distance learning environments. Data from 15 studies resulted in 18 effect sizes for aggregation and comparison, with 9 of those effect sizes attributed to academic performance and 9 attributed to measures of self-efficacy. The aggregate effect sizes for both academic performance and self-efficacy were found to be significant (d = 0.36, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.25-0.46, p < 0.001; d = 0.22, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = -0.04-0.41, p < 0.05), and were small or small-to-medium, respectively. The effect sizes for academic performance were not significantly heterogeneous, but the effect sizes for self-efficacy were. Exploratory moderator analyses indicated that the combination mode of learning with both online contact and face-to-face interaction moderated the effect of gender on self-efficacy, and also indicated a significant relationship between self-efficacy and participants in Asia versus Europe and the United States. These significant relationships were only apparent in a fixed-effects model. The study discusses the implications of the results, as well as the limitations.","container-title":"Journal of Educational Technology Systems","DOI":"","ISSN":"0047-2395","issue":"3","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 12","page":"267-278","source":"ProQuest","title":"The Role of Gender in Distance Learning: A Meta-Analytic Review of Gender Differences in Academic Performance and Self-Efficacy in Distance Learning","title-short":"The Role of Gender in Distance Learning","volume":"41","author":[{"family":"Perkowski","given":"Justine"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013",3]]}},"suppress-author":true}],"schema":""} (2013) meta-analysis of 18 empirical studies suggests that gender is an often-overlooked factor. Paired with historical research that shows, on average, lower levels of female participation in the classroom, the author finds that female students tend to outperform male students in fully online learning settings, citing the relative anonymity of online discussions, additional time available to formulate responses, and the ability to consult other resources to make informed, intelligent responses. Given that gender has a significant effect on both online learner self-efficacy and academic performance, there is clearly a need for gender-based inclusivity and gender relevance in the design and delivery of distance learning lessons.Theme 4: the learner’s perspectiveThe profile of the distance learner has changed in recent years from being mostly adult, employed, goal oriented and intrinsically motivated to one that is younger, dynamic, and responsive to rapid technological innovations ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"P9U7AYCA","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Valai et al., 2019, p. 16)","plainCitation":"(Valai et al., 2019, p. 16)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2075,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2075,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"This article identifies the quality themes of distance learning that arose from the learners' perspective as reflected in the literature. The paper reviews literature through the four themes of 1) Course design, 2) Interaction, 3) Learner support and 4) Technology Use. Key quality indicators in distance learning that appear repeatedly in research on students' point of view are also examined. It is argued that distance learning quality standards must first be focused on the students' perspective in order to develop comprehensive and efficient standards for evaluating distance learning. This review serves as a starting point for distance learning providers specifically and accreditation organizations generally to better inform current quality practices regarding distance learning environments in higher education.","container-title":"International Journal on E-Learning","ISSN":"1537-2456","issue":"1","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 22","page":"103-124","source":"ProQuest","title":"Quality Indicators for Distance Learning: A Literature Review in Learners' Perceptions of Quality","title-short":"Quality Indicators for Distance Learning","volume":"18","author":[{"family":"Valai","given":"Asimoula"},{"family":"Schmidt-Crawford","given":"Denise A."},{"family":"Moore","given":"Kenneth J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",1]]}},"locator":"16"}],"schema":""} (Valai et al., 2019, p. 16). At the same time, recent research has begun to explore the perspectives these learners hold in relation to distance learning. The research shows that learners perceive four main areas of the distance learning experience to be most important:Course design — how the course content connects with prior knowledge and the need to have strong teacher presence and involvement in the delivery of the course content.Interaction — necessary for creating strong interpersonal connections, with teacher-learner interactions the best predictor of a quality online learning experience.Support — both physical support (for example, access to library resources) and non-physical support (for example, high quality feedback) .Technology use — the need for technology tools to be pedagogically integrated and purposefully employed.Theme 5: The balance between synchronous and asynchronous interaction Across the research, there continues to be strong support for both synchronous (occurring in real time) and asynchronous (not occurring at the same time) forms of interaction. Watt’s ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"ijrBjxQr","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(2016)","plainCitation":"(2016)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":2074,"uris":[""],"uri":[""],"itemData":{"id":2074,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Distance learning is commonplace in higher education, with increasing numbers of students enjoying the flexibility e-learning provides. Keeping students connected with peers and instructors has been a challenge with e-learning, but as technology has advanced, the methods by which educators keep students engaged, synchronously and asynchronously, also have improved. This literature review presents support for both types of interaction; however, findings indicate educators must consider time constraints, technological ability, and motivation for students to interact in the online setting. Recommendations for implementing both synchronous and asynchronous interactions are made, including technological considerations. Finally, suggestions for research in distance learning are presented for consideration.","container-title":"Quarterly Review of Distance Education","ISSN":"1528-3518","issue":"1","language":"English","note":"number-of-pages: 10","page":"23-32","source":"ProQuest","title":"Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Distance Learning: A Review of the Literature","title-short":"Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Distance Learning","volume":"17","author":[{"family":"Watts","given":"Lynette"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}},"suppress-author":true}],"schema":""} (2016) review shows that asynchronous interactions “allow students to take time to consider their thoughts, engage with the content more deeply, feel a part of the learning community, and post more reflective comments in discussion boards” (p. 27). On the other hand, students rate synchronous interaction positively “because of instantaneous feedback, being able to see their classmates, and because they report feeling more engaged in the online experience” (p. 27) ConclusionThe research reported in this summary aims to help educators understand the key themes, factors, and contextual constraints that continue to them as they support their students learning at home. Although earlier thinking may have viewed such learning as an inferior, the findings reported here show that it is simply another form of learning that is not inherently better or worse than face-to-face learning. Issues related to the learner characteristics, institutional constraints, and organisational change can and do impact on successful outcomes. Educators can and should, therefore, learn from the successes and mistakes of the past while embracing the brave future of online learning with open arms.References ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Chen, X., Fang, Y., & Lockee, B. (2015). Integrative Review of Social Presence in Distance Education: Issues and Challenges. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(13), 1796–1806.Hart, C. (2012). Factors Associated with Student Persistence in an Online Program of Study: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 11(1), 19–42.Hung, W., Flom, E., Manu, J., & Mahmoud, E. (2015). A Review of the Instructional Practices for Promoting Online Learning Communities. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 26(3), 229–252.Perkowski, J. (2013). The Role of Gender in Distance Learning: A Meta-Analytic Review of Gender Differences in Academic Performance and Self-Efficacy in Distance Learning. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 41(3), 267–278. , M., Schlosser, C., & Orellana, A. (2011). Distance Education Research: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 23(2–3), 124–142. , A., Schmidt-Crawford, D. A., & Moore, K. J. (2019). Quality Indicators for Distance Learning: A Literature Review in Learners’ Perceptions of Quality. International Journal on E-Learning, 18(1), 103–124.Watts, L. (2016). Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Distance Learning: A Review of the Literature. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 17(1), 23–32. ................
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