Applying Social Cognitive Theory to Online Learning Sloan

Applying Social Cognitive Theory to Online Learning Sloan Conference November 8, 2007 Glenda Gunter, Ph. D. Victoria Rath, M. A.

Introductions Faculty n Administrators n Online Instructors n Instructional Designers n Public / Private Trainers n

Student Success in Online Learning Lower retention; higher withdrawal rates (42%) n How do we mitigate this: n Social integration n Sense of community n

Student Success in Online Learning n How do we mitigate this: n Immediacy behaviors n. Teacher – Student n. Student – Content n. Student - Technology

Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) Learning through observation n Self-Efficacy n Belief in ability n Can be reinforced by others n Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation n Outcome expectations n

Traditional Teacher Immediacy n “Teaching behaviors that enhance closeness to and nonverbal interaction with another, ” (Andersen, 1979; Mehrabian, 1981; La. Rose & Whitten, 2000).

Traditional Teacher Immediacy (cont’d) Enthusiasm n Eye contact n Nodding n Smiling n Calling students by name n

Online Teacher-Student Immediacy Emoticons n Addressing students by name n Relating to students n Positive, specific feedback n Responding to comments n IM n

Online Student-Student Immediacy Initial introductions n Group projects / teamwork n Free online collaboration tools n Yahoo! Messenger with IP telephony n Google Docs n Slideshare n

Online Student-Student Immediacy (cont’d) Discussion boards n Chat n Peer review groups n IM n

Online Student-Content Immediacy Relevance (ARCS) n Immediate application of learning n Outcome expectancies / positive expectation (Bandura) n

Online Student-Content Immediacy (cont’d) n Self-regulation n Autonomy n Choices in direction n Discovery learning n Rubrics

Online Student. Technology Immediacy n Multimedia / digital media n Videos n Camtasia (screen capture) n Tutorials / Resources n Provide direction to technical support

Teachers Discovering Computers (TDC) Online 14 -week graduate level course n Inservice teachers n Instructor led n Text-based n Video-enhancements n

TDC (cont’d) Wealth of Web resources n Curriculum specific n Immediately applicable n Digital students need digital teachers n

TDC (cont’d) n 43 inservice teachers began the course n 20 elementary school teachers n 12 middle school teachers n 9 high school teachers n 2 homebound / hospital; alternative education site

TDC (cont’d) 37 completed – 86% completion rate n 24 completed the pretest / posttest n 65% questionnaire return rate n

TDC Pretest-Posttest Data n 35 questions matched to the NETS-T using a 5 -Likert scale n Computer attitude and anxiety n Computer confidence n Computer usefulness (integration) n Relevance

TDC Pretest-Posttest Data (cont’d) n 5 Qualitative open-ended questions n Confidence n Usefulness n Integration skills n Relevance

Overall Results Table 1: Paired Samples Statistics Pair 1 Std Deviation Std. Error Mean N 129. 92 24 21. 088 4. 304 Posttest 150. 63 24 14. 237 2. 906 Pretest

Overall Results (cont’d) Table 2: Paired Samples Test Paired Differences 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Mean Pair 1: Pretest. Posttest -20. 71 Std. Dev. Std. Error Mean 15. 87 3. 24 Lower -27. 41 Upper -14. 0 t -6. 4 df 23 Sig. (2 tailed) . 000

Overall Results (cont’d) n Greatest overall mean changes: n Lowered computer anxiety (. 84) n Increased computer confidence (. 72)

Overall Results (cont’d) n Questions with the greatest mean change: n 30: I can identify and locate technology and digital media resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability. (1. 17)

Overall Results (cont’d) n Questions with the greatest mean change: n 14: I possess the skills, knowledge, and understanding of the concepts related to the national technology standards for PK-12 students. (1. 08)

Overall Results (cont’d) n Questions with the greatest mean change: n 23: I know how to apply technology and digital media to develop students’ higher-order skills and creativity. (1. 04)

Overall Results (cont’d) n Questions with the greatest mean change: n 11: I feel confused and frustrated when attempting to integrate technology and digital media in my curriculum. (1. 04)

Qualitative Data n Responses analyzed using constructs of the Loyd/Gressard Computer Attitude Scale (Loyd & Gressard, 1984, 1985) and Keller’s ARCS Model for Motivation (1987)

Qualitative Data (cont’d) n What words best describe your experience in this course? n Computer Confidence 4% n ARCS 91%

Qualitative Data (cont’d) n As a result of this course, how has your understanding of the digital generation changed? n Computer Confidence 30% n Computer Usefulness 26% n ARCS 30%

Qualitative Data (cont’d) n As a result of this course, how have your teaching strategies changed to address the needs of the digital generation? n Computer Confidence 33% n Computer Usefulness 62%

Qualitative Data (cont’d) n As a result of this course, how has your integration of technology into the curriculum changed? n Computer Confidence 27% n Computer Usefulness 64%

Qualitative Data (cont’d) n What is the most important thing you have learned in this class? n Computer Confidence 39% n Computer Usefulness 30% n ARCS 30%

Immediacy and Cognition n “Immediacy behaviors cause an association of positive affect with the subject matter that in turn transfers to student behaviors, such as the time spent on a task, that determine cognitive outcomes. ” Krathwohl, Bloom, & Masia, (1964)

Immediacy and Cognition (cont’d) n “The expectation of rewarding student-teacher interactions motivates student behavior and that enhances cognitive learning. ” n La. Rose & Whitten, 2000

Immediacy and Cognition (cont’d) Cognitive learning is impacted by affective learning n Students’ attitudes or beliefs about the subject n Facilitated by feelings of closeness and liking n

TDC and Instructional Immediacy n Teacher-student immediacy n Social incentives n Specific praise n Specific feedback on work n Smiling (emoticons)

TDC and Instructional Immediacy (cont’d) Addressing student by name n Relating to the students on a personal as well as professional level n

TDC and Instructional Immediacy (cont’d) n Student-student immediacy n Professional development model – school-based n Many students in the same school n Created their own blended communities

TDC and Instructional Immediacy (cont’d) Created their own social network n Could work as a team on the final project n

TDC and Instructional Immediacy (cont’d) n Student-content immediacy (outcome expectancy and ARCS) n Immediately applicable to learning n Positive consequences for completing the task

TDC and Instructional Immediacy (cont’d) Relevant n Motivating n Increased confidence n Autonomy n Self-regulated n

TDC and Instructional Immediacy (cont’d) n Student-technology immediacy (outcome expectancy and ARCS) n Support from instructor n Wealth of resources n Using new technologies n Creating ‘me. Stories’TM

Summary TDC was very successful n Utilized many instructional immediacy strategies n Instructional immediacy in an online course IS possible n Positively impacts motivation and learning n

Summary (cont’d) Designing content that is relevant n Many of the strategies used by good face to face instructors should also be used online n

References n Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. n Kember, D. (1989). A longitudinal-process model of drop-out from distance education. Journal of Higher Education, 60(3), 278 -301. n n n La. Rose, R. & Whitten, P. (2000). Re-thinking instructional immediacy for web courses: A social cognitive exploration. Communication Education, 49(4), 320 -338. Retrieved January 27, 2007 from EBSCOHost. Moskal, P. D. , & Dziuban, C. D. (2001). Present and future directions for assessing cybereducation: The changing research paradigm. In L. R. Vandervert, L. V. Shavinina, & R. A. Cornell (eds. ), Cybereducation: The future of long-distance learning (pp. 157 -184). New York: Mary Ann Liebert Stodel, E. J. , Thompson, T. L. , & Mac. Donald, C. J. (2006). Learners’ perspectives on what is missing from online learning: Interpretations through the community of inquiry framework. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 7(3), 1 -24.