Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Singapore
There is an increasing focus on online learning and its effectiveness in both K-12 and higher education. However, while there is a similar trend in the polytechnics, there is currently little published research on the effectiveness of online learning for polytechnic courses in Singapore.
Previous research has indicated that the effectiveness of online learning might vary according to the design of the online course, as well as how it is taught. With substantial online learning curriculum hours at the polytechnics, this research aims to identify the design and delivery strategies that are correlated with students’ engagement and perceived learning from the online lessons. These evidence-based strategies can inform the design and delivery of effective online lessons for polytechnic courses.
The participants consisted of 1,499 Year 1 to Year 3 students (Mage=18.8 years; SDage=3.2 years) from two polytechnics in Singapore. This purposive sample was recruited from 24 diverse modules with at least 25% of their lessons delivered online. Informed consent was obtained.
The participants completed an online survey measuring the design and delivery strategies, engagement and perceived learning in their online lessons. Factor analysis of the design and delivery strategy items derived three factors, namely communication, feedback and online tools, and interactions. Factor analysis of the engagement items produced three factors, namely affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement. The Cronbach alphas for these scales ranged from 0.90 to 0.96, indicating strong internal consistency.
Students rated the design and delivery strategies favourably, with means ranging from 3.74 to 4.04 and significantly above 3 (the mid-point on a 5-point Likert scale) based on a one-sample t-test. Similarly, the positive ratings for the engagement subscales and perceived learning with means ranging from 3.68 to 4.02 were also significantly above 3.
Pearson correlation analyses revealed significant moderate to strong positive correlations ranging from 0.56 to 0.86 between the design and delivery strategies and engagement and perceived learning. Specifically, favourable ratings on communications, feedback and online tools, and interactions in the online lessons were associated with stronger student engagement and perceived learning.
This large sample study involving participants from diverse disciplines contributes to the limited existing studies that have investigated the design and delivery of engaging and effective online lessons in the polytechnic context in Singapore. The findings can potentially strengthen the design of professional development programmes to support polytechnic lecturers in their design and delivery of online lessons.