The Descriptive Features and Quantitative Aspects of Students' Observed Online Learning: How Are They Related to Self-Reported Perceptions and Learning Outcomes?

Abstract

This article uses digital traces to help identify students’ online learning strategies by making a clear distinction between the descriptive features (the proportional distribution of students’ different online learning actions) and quantitative aspects (the total number of the online learning sessions), a distinction that has not been properly addressed in extant research. It also examines the extent to which the descriptive features and quantitative aspects of students’ observed online learning behaviors are related to students’ self-reported perceptions of the blended learning environment and the academic learning outcomes. A cohort of 317 Australian undergraduates enrolled in a compulsory engineering course participated in the study. A hierarchical cluster analysis, based on the different proportions of the types of online learning activities in which students were involved, identified two qualitatively different online learning strategies: content and practice oriented. The content-oriented learners not only had significantly more online learning sessions but also performed significantly better on both the formative and summative assessments, than their practice-oriented counterparts. Moreover, a higher proportion of students reporting more negative perceptions were observed to adopt practice-oriented strategies, whereas a higher proportion of students reporting better perceptions were observed to adopt content-oriented strategies. The study results serve as triangulated evidence for the previous self-reported research on the relations between students’ perceptions and strategies. The results of the study also offer a number of ideas for teaching and curriculum design in blended courses in order to improve the quality of students’ blended learning experiences.