Learning interactions : a cross-institutional multi-disciplinary analysis of learner-learner and learner-teacher and learner-content interactions in online learning contexts

Final Report of externally funded research: dehub Report Series 2013 The project report findings are presented in the following chapters: Chapter 2: a literature review (a focused account of interactions and the use of learning analytics in online environments as well as an audit of scholarly peer reviewed outputs in the field of online learning in higher education); Chapter 3: an innovative research approach utilising mixed methods of data collection and analysis to construct cases within an action research process; Chapters 4 and 5: a data set from which a conceptual model and a set of evidence-based curriculum development and delivery guidelines are proposed. Based on the results of the research, a model has been constructed to explain the relationships among course design, interaction and learning in online courses and the patterns, processes and consequences of different types of interaction in online learning contexts. A set of guidelines has also been developed that identify curriculum design and delivery conditions conducive to interaction and effective learning in online courses. Further details of these outcomes are provided in Chapter 5 of this report. Summary of findings The pedagogical and curriculum design implications of this study are subtle, yet profound.1 The rate and nature of change in technology use in Australia’s tertiary sector will continue to be unrelenting with profound effects on the work of teachers, 2 Research in this area is dispersed among the disciplines and divisions of institutions; and is diversely different in its theoretical and methodological orientations. 3 Pedagogical design and practices that stimulate human interaction within virtual environments, corresponds with heightened student engagement with course content. 4 It is the focus on human interaction and less so on content that results in more rounded interactivity and engagement in the course itself.