University lecturers' conceptions of online teaching in distance education courses in Vietnamese higher education.

This study aimed to characterise academics' conceptions of teaching in fully online undergraduate distance education courses with no on-campus component. The study aimed to fill a gap in the literature, as previous research had examined conceptions of teaching in face-to-face courses, with a few studies of blended teaching via the Internet in on-campus courses. Fourteen academics from five faculties in a Vietnamese regional university were interviewed, with the study taking place shortly after the outbreak of Covid-19. Grounded theory was used for data analysis. The results revealed four categories of conceptions of online teaching, namely online teaching (1) as transmitting structured knowledge and skills, (2) as guiding students to acquire knowledge and skills, (3) as facilitating students' understanding via interaction and (4) as developing students' understanding and capabilities. The four categories of conceptions were defined and distinguished by a set of six dimensions, which included e-Learning/LMS. The set of categories had some similarities to those found for face-to-face teaching, but also some distinctions which could be explained by the nature of online teaching and learning. The study, therefore, makes a major contribution by establishing a category scheme for conceptions of teaching in online distance education, with detailed characterisation of the four categories of conceptions. The descriptors of the conceptions showed cultural influences, particularly from a Confucian heritage, which is of significance as research into face-to-face conceptions had not found cultural variations.

Supporting engagement and retention of online and blended-learning students: A qualitative study from an Australian University.

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.

An outcomes-based approach to curriculum development in pharmacy.

OBJECTIVE: To implement an outcomes-based approach to pharmacy curriculum development. DESIGN: Desired learning outcomes were identified; course content, learning activities, and assessment instruments were designed; and evaluation was conducted and feedback obtained to refine the curriculum. ASSESSMENT: All professional skills, 4 generic capabilities, and the coherence of the curriculum scales showed significant improvement compared to graduates' performance under both the old and transitional curriculum. CONCLUSION: An outcomes-based approach to pharmacy curriculum development provided convincing evidence of enhancement to the curriculum. Such an approach should be considered when implementing or revising pharmacy curriculum.

Characterizing the motivational orientation of students in higher education: a naturalistic study in three Hong Kong universities.

BACKGROUND: Consideration of motivation in higher education has often been drawn upon theories and research that were based upon school or workplace studies. AIMS: This paper reports an open naturalistic study to better characterize the motivational orientation of students in higher education. METHOD: Open semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 36 students from three universities in Hong Kong. The analysis used an exploratory grounded theory approach. RESULTS: Motivation was characterized as a framework with six continua with positive and negative poles. On enrolment, students had positions on the six facets of motivation, which shifted as they progressed through their degree, according to perceptions of their teaching and learning environment. The positive poles of the six continua were given labels: compliance, individual goal setting, interest, career, sense of belonging and university lifestyle. CONCLUSION: The formulation of motivational orientation is consistent with contemporary social cognitive theories of motivation in that it has been characterized as a multifaceted phenomenon, with students expressing context-dependent multiple motives.

Examining the multidimensionality of approaches to learning through the development of a revised version of the Learning Process Questionnaire.

AIM: This study aimed to produce a revised two-factor version of the Learning Process Questionnaire (R-LPQ-2F) with deep and surface approach scales, measured by a reasonably small number of items, suitable for use by teachers in secondary schools to evaluate the learning approaches of their students. METHOD: A set of 41 items was derived, with modification, from the original version of the LPQ and from items used to develop the revised version of the SPQ. These items were tested using reliability procedures and confirmatory factor analysis and items were deleted until scales were of a suitable length and confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit to the intended two-factor structure. SAMPLE: The sample consisted of 841 students from 20 secondary schools in Hong Kong. RESULTS: The final two-factor version of the questionnaire had good Cronbach alpha values and reasonable goodness-of-fit values for the confirmatory analysis. There was a much better fit, though, to a hierarchical structure with motive and strategy subscales for each approach, each of which, in turn, had two subcomponents. CONCLUSION: Approaches to learning have a hierarchical dimensionality with motive and strategy elements. Each motive and strategy element is itself multidimensional. The results are used to question the conventional approach to the testing and acceptance of instruments, which place sole reliance upon reliability tests. The use of confirmatory factor analysis is recommended as a routine procedure in the development and testing of instruments.