Feedback Strategies And Learning Improvement In Sakai Learning Management System For The Distance Learning Programme At The University Of Ghana
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Date
2020-10
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University Of Ghana
Abstract
A critical support for distance education learners is feedback. Effective feedback provides nurturing and enables adult distance learners to engage with content in the learning environment and among their peers. The purpose of this thesis was to assess and analyse how and which feedback strategies are used to interact with distance education students in a blended learning model using the Sakai Learning Management Systems as the learning context. The first was to investigate students’ perception of formative and interactive feedback usage in the Sakai distance learning programme. Second, to find out the nature of feedback in the Sakai online learning environment. The third was to ascertain which demographic characteristics is more likely to influence learning improvement in the online distance learning programme. The fourth was to examine the effects of feedback strategies and embedded feedback syllabus on learning improvement. Using the social constructivists and transactional theories as a framework, the research posited that feedback strategies will predict learning improvement among distance education students in the Sakai learning environment. The philosophical underpinning of the research was pragmatism, through a mixed-methods approach and cross- sectional approach. The population for the study was made up of third year distance education students and their lecturers. For data collection methods, questionnaire, interviews and focused group discussions were adopted. The actual sample size for the survey data was 355 while that of the qualitative was 23 participants for interviews and focused group discussions. The quantitative data set was analysed using frequencies and percentages, logistic regression and multiple regressions. For the qualitative data set, thematic analyses were adopted and presented in narratives. These results were then integrated and the findings discussed. The first objective revealed that students' perception of formative feedback depicted that the level of appreciation of most of the DE students regarding formative feedback was high but interactive feedback was low. The second objective found that the nature of feedback provision is directional, corrective and suggestive more than the use of
dialogue and interaction. Feedback is not personalised as it is targeted at the group. Also, more written feedback is provided than oral and electronic feedback. The study's third objective findings revealed that among the demographic variables examined, age was the only variable that had a statistically significant relationship with learning improvement (p<0.05). The fourth objective showed that all the feedback strategies exhibited a significant positive correlation with students' overall learning improvement. However, embedded online syllabus, and feedback timing showed a relatively stronger correlation with learning improvement than feedback mode, target, quality and quantity. Furthermore, the regression analysis findings indicated that with exception of feedback target, feedback strategies such as timing, mode, quality and quantity related positively with students’ overall learning improvement. Other control variables such as Sakai LMS and embedded online syllabus also had positive statistically significant relationship with learning improvement (p<0.05). The regression analysis findings further showed that merging of feedback strategies with the embedded online syllabus in linear multiple regression models had higher predictive power on students’ overall learning improvement than the use of only feedback strategies in predicting students’ overall learning improvement. Overall, the study concludes that feedback strategies when it is well managed and applied by DE lecturers in Ghana would make a huge impact on DE students’ academic pursuit.
Keywords: Sakai learning management system, feedback, feedback strategies, embedded course syllabus, distance education students, learning improvement, higher education, Ghana
Description
PhD. Adult Education And Human Resource Studies
Keywords
Sakai learning management system, feedback, feedback strategies, embedded course syllabus, distance education students, learning improvement, higher education, Ghana