Dynamic learner engagement in a wiki-enhanced writing course
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Dynamic learner engagement in a wiki‑enhanced writing course Min Kyu Kim1 · So Mi Kim1
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Despite the importance of preparing students to write successfully in their academic and professional careers, instructors often struggle to sustain student focus on the complex and demanding nature of the writing process. In response, we conducted a pilot project at a university located in urban Los Angeles using a wiki-enhanced and blended writing course designed to sustain appropriate learner engagement. This exploratory project (a) introduced the hybrid writing course, (b) tracked changes in student engagement levels (i.e., behavioral, affective, and cognitive) over the period of the wiki-enhanced writing course, and (c) measured the impact of engagement on writing performance. Multiple data sources (i.e., wiki log data, student surveys, and writing performance scores) collected from 56 students in three sections of the writing course were used to examine student experiences in the wiki-enhanced writing course. The findings showed that wiki-based online discussion improved behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement. The relationships between the learner engagement domains were reciprocal, temporal, and changeable. Based on the findings of this study and our review of the literature, we proposed a theoretical model to describe possible relationships between behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement and academic achievement. Keywords Learner engagement · Behavioral engagement · Learner interaction · Computer-supported collaborative learning · Writing education · Higher education The goal of a writing program is to prepare students to write successfully in their academic and professional careers. Academic writing builds on domain knowledge and critical thinking skills that enable students to frame and refine arguments for * Min Kyu Kim [email protected] So Mi Kim [email protected] 1
Learning Sciences, Georgia State University, College of Education and Human Development, Suite 750, 30 Pryor St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
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professional, public, and academic settings (Bailey 2014). Instructors often struggle to sustain student focus on the complex and demanding nature of the writing process (Ruecker et al. 2017). Previous findings show that students attend to learning at a variety of levels and tend to lose initial interest as they approach the middle of a course (Kim and Ayer 2019; Piezon and Donaldson 2005). This decline in engagement can jeopardize writing performance. We predicted that students would maintain their attention to writing assignments when encouraged to persist in a mutually supportive writing community. Specifically, we predicted that frequent participation in group conversation (i.e., behavioral engagement) would help students build positive beliefs about their writing ability and learning progression (i.e., motivational engagement), foster favorable feelings toward writing
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