Overcoming Barriers to Online Engagement through carefull design and delivery - Gabi Witthaus (University of Birmingham / UCL)
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Overcoming Barriers to Online Engagement through carefull design and delivery - Gabi Witthaus (University of Birmingham / UCL)
- 1. Gabi Witthaus EADTU Webinar, 5 December 2023 Overcoming Barriers to Online Engagement through Care-ful Learning Design & Delivery
- 2. Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash
- 3. Inclusivity at the margins Trauma: in one N. American study, 60-80% of online HE students had experienced trauma (S. Reinhardt, 2022) Digital poverty: 790 million people in developing countries have no access to electricity; 2.6 billion people do not have access to continuous electricity (Czerniewicz, 2022, citing figures from the World Bank) Heterogeneity: a key characteristic of the demographics of online learners in the general student population (Lee, 2017) --> A need for holistic support models that can serve all students (David, 2010; Streitwieser et al., 2018)
- 4. Social justice conceptual framework: capability approach Capabilities are the freedom to do and be what one has reason to value doing and being. (Sen, 1999) Amartya Sen. Image by Fronteiras do Pensamento, Wikipedia CC-BY-SA
- 5. Nussbaum’s ten core capabilities 1. Life 2. Bodily health 3. Bodily integrity 4. Senses, imagination, and thought 5. Emotions 6. Practical reason 7. Affiliation 8. Other species 9. Play 10.Control over one's environment Image by Robin Holland, Wikipedia CC-BY-SA (Nussbaum, 2003; 2011)
- 6. Human dignity Nussbaum: To enable people to live lives worthy of dignity, governments must provide "at least a threshold level" of the core capabilities. Photo of “Dignity of Earth & Sky” by Amy Meredith on Flickr, CC-BY-ND
- 7. Walker’s capabilities needed for HE 1. Practical reason 2. Educational resilience 3. Knowledge and imagination 4. Learning disposition 5. Social relations and social networks 6. Respect, dignity and recognition 7. Emotional integrity and emotions 8. Bodily integrity (Walker, 2006, based on Nussbaum, 2003) Image courtesy of Melanie Walker, used with permission
- 8. Capabilities include both… Skills and abilities that can be learned/ practised Photo by Mikolaj Felinski on Unsplash
- 9. Capabilities include both… Skills and abilities that can be learned/ practised Freedoms that are socially or environmentally shaped Photo by Mikolaj Felinski on Unsplash Image Credit: Arab News 2017 - Expat Woman and
- 10. Capabilities include both… Skills and abilities that can be learned/ practised Freedoms that are socially or environmentally shaped Photo by Mikolaj Felinski on Unsplash Image Credit: Arab News 2017 - Expat Woman and
- 11. What capabilities are needed for online engagement? BOTH… Personal skills and abilities that can be developed and practised AND… Freedoms that are socially, politically and economically enabled.
- 12. Does this student have the capability to engage in online learning? Image by “Julian” in Witthaus, 2023a
- 13. The 4D online engagement framework Emotional engagement Behavioural engagement Social and collaborative engagement Cognitive engagement Witthaus (2023a; 2023b), adapted from Redmond et al. (2018)
- 14. Emotional engagement - constraints Photo by George Pagan III on Unsplash
- 15. To foster emotional engagement… Be trauma aware.
- 16. Behavioural engagement - constraints Image by Daniel X. O’Neil on Flickr, CC-BY
- 17. To foster behavioural engagement… Provide flexibility.
- 18. Social and collaborative engagement - constraints Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
- 19. To foster social & collaborative engagement… Support students to think together respectfully.
- 20. Cognitive engagement - constraints Image by Camille Hislop on Flickr, CC-BY-NC-ND
- 21. To foster cognitive engagement… Provide safe spaces for active inquiry.
- 22. Engagement fuels engagement Emotional engagement Behavioural engagement Social and collaborative engagement Cognitive engagement Witthaus (2023a; 2023b), adapted from Redmond et al. (2018)
- 23. A care-ful approach to design & delivery of online HE For emotional engagement: be trauma aware. For behavioural engagement: provide flexibility. For social and collaborative engagement: support students to think together respectfully. For cognitive engagement: provide safe spaces for active inquiry. Witthaus (2023): See ArtofElearning.org
- 24. References Baker, S., Ramsay, G., Irwin, E., & Miles, L. (2018). ‘Hot’, ‘Cold’ and ‘Warm’ supports: towards theorising where refugee students go for assistance at university. Teaching in Higher Education, 23(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2017.1332028 Bond, M., Buntins, K., Bedenlier, S., Zawacki-Richter, O., & Kerres, M. (2020). Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in higher education: A systematic evidence map. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 17(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0176-8 Halkic, B., & Arnold, P. (2019). Refugees and online education: Student perspectives on need and support in the context of (online) higher education. Learning, Media and Technology, 44(3), 345–364. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2019.1640739 Nussbaum, M. (2003). Capabilities as Fundamental Entitlements: Sen and Social Justice. Feminist Economics, 9(2–3), 33–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/1354570022000077926 Nussbaum, M.C. (2011). Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Palanac, A., Hunt, S., Rogerson-Revell, P., Cajkler, W., & Witthaus, G. (2023). Beyond resilience: Facilitating learning and wellbeing in the refugee language classroom. British Council. Available at: doi.org/10.57884/6SN8-AF69 Redmond, P., Heffernan, A., Abawi, L., Brown, A., & Henderson, R. (2018). An Online Engagement Framework for Higher Education. Online Learning, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v22i1.1175 Robeyns, I. (2017). Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice: The Capability Approach Re-Examined. Open Book Publishers. https://www.openbookpublishers.com/product?xProd=682¤cy=4 [CC-BY] Sen, A. (1979). Equality of What? Oxford: Oxford Policy & Human Development Initiative. http://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Sen- 1979_Equality-of-What.pdf Sen, A. (1992). Inequality Reexamined. New York: Harvard University Press. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Walker, M. (2006). Higher Education Pedagogies: A Capabilities Approach. McGraw Hill Education. Witthaus, G. (2018). Findings from a case study of refugees using MOOCs to (re)enter higher education. OpenPraxis, 10(4), 343–357. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.10.4.910 Witthaus, G. (2023a). Refugees’ Online Learning Engagement in Higher Education:A Capabilitarian Analysis [Phd, Lancaster University]. https://doi.org/10.17635/lancaster/thesis/2010 Witthaus, G. (2023b). Refugees and Online Engagement in Higher Education: A Capabilitarian Model. Online Learning, 27(2). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v27i2.3762
- 25. Contact: Dr Gabi Witthaus g.witthaus@ucl.ac.uk Blog: ArtofElearning.org Twitter: @GabiWitthaus
- 26. Copyright and licence Fostering learning engagement among refugees and asylum seekers in online Higher Education (23 November 2023), by Gabi Witthaus, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://artofelearning.org/. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://artofelearning.org/.
Editor's Notes
- It’s based on a study I did over the last few years for my PhD thesis, which focused on refugee students who were distance learners on a UK-based Master’s programme in Politics and International Relations.
- “Female cyclists are only allowed in parks or on beaches and only with the presence of their guardian. Women aren’t allowed to use their bicycles as a means of transport.”
- According to Nussbaum, the capabilities in their untrained form are basic. Once trained, they become internal capabilities. To fully exercise these internal capabilities, in Nussbaum’s view, people require sufficient material resources and favourable material, social and political circumstances. Then, the internal capabilities become combined capabilities.
- In everyday language, the concept of a capability is a personal skill or ability that can be learned and developed. In the capabilities approach, the notion of capabilities goes beyond that to include freedoms that are socially, politically and economically enabled. In my study, I found that the barriers related to these latter freedoms had the greatest impact on the students’ capability to remain engaged in their online learning. I argue that it is these barriers that we need to mitigate if we want to keep marginalised students engaging online.
- In my study, I also used this four-dimensional online engagement framework, which outlines the areas of online student engagement typically discussed in the literature: emotional, behavioural, social and collaborative, and cognitive. My 4D framework is adapted from the Online Engagement Framework of Petrea Redmond et al (2018).I’ll now discuss my findings in relation to each of these dimensions.
- Emotional engagement involves having a positive attitude towards one’s studies and feeling motivated. The constraints that prevented the students in my study from engaging positively included: trauma, fear and anxiety, and worries about money, food and accommodation. Several had mental health problems, such as depression.
- And so, to foster emotional engagement, my key recommendation is to be trauma aware. This means: anticipating possible trauma triggers and not asking students direct questions about their experiences that could re-trigger trauma; giving them space to step back from their studies when things become overwhelming; fostering supportive peer interaction; and responding with warmth to students when they reach out for information or help, rather than simply saying, “You’ll find the answer in the course handbook.”
- Behavioural engagement means doing the work that is required on the course, such as participating in discussions and submitting assignments. For many online students, this can be like juggling with fire. All the students in my study struggled to manage their “lifeload”, which is the sum of a person’s pressures in life, such as family and work commitments, and where applicable, navigating the asylum system. One of my research participants experienced a period of homelessness, in Berlin, in the winter. He nevertheless graduated with a full Master’s degree.
- The key recommendation for mitigating the barriers to behavioural engagement is to provide flexibility. Many students will need extensions for assignments at some point in their learning journey. The processes for declaring mitigating circumstances and having extensions approved need to be simple and supportive. Beyond this, some students whose circumstances are particularly difficult may need time-out in between modules, and they would benefit from a programme structure comprising a suite of stackable micro-credentials, rather than a rigid, linear degree structure.
- Social and collaborative engagement is about students learning together with their peers and teachers. Some of my research participants had anxiety about not belonging, based on previous experiences, where they had encountered persecution and hostility due to intersectional characteristics such as ethnicity, religion, gender and sexual orientation. The students in my study longed for a feeling of mutual respect and recognition, but did not always experience it, and for some, this was a significant barrier to their participation in collaborative knowledge construction activities online.
- My recommendation for fostering social and collaborative engagement is to create accountable spaces for students to think together respectfully. This involves, for example, inviting students to collaboratively produce ground rules for discussion, and providing sensitive moderation of discussions by members of the learning community. It requires the creation of a warm, hospitable learning environment and the modelling of a kind, respectful approach to communication with and between students.
- Cognitive engagement is often seen as most important by teachers. We want students to think critically and reflectively, because that’s the whole point of them coming to university. The constraints here for refugee students, and indeed for many international students, include lack of familiarity with the nature of the critical and reflective thinking expected of them, and a fear of reprisal for articulating their lived experience, opinions and prior knowledge if these run counter to the narrative of the course. Some students in my study self-censored for this reason, and attempted to “play the game”, saying and writing what they thought was expected of them, which conflicted with their desire to genuinely engage with the intellectual challenges of their courses.
- The recommendation here is to provide safe spaces for active inquiry. This is similar to the accountable spaces I talked about earlier, but also involves focusing on the way teachers give feedback to students. Students need to feel safe in expressing their emerging understanding, and to be able to take risks by learning to think in new ways without fear of being penalised for expressing contrary views.
- Finally, a striking finding from my study was that when students engaged in any one of the four dimensions, this typically fuelled their engagement in other dimensions too. Therefore, it follows that, by supporting students to engage emotionally, we can increase the chances that they will engage more deeply along the social, cognitive and behavioural dimensions. The same goes for each dimension in relation to all of the others.
- In conclusion, here is a summary of my recommendations for being more inclusive in our efforts to increase students’ online engagement.
- © Gabi Witthaus OEB2023