Research framework on learner engagement awarded Outstanding Publication by AECT
A research framework for examining learner engagement in blended and online student support structures — co-authored by Leanna Archambault of Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College — has been recognized with the Outstanding Publication award by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
The article, “Academic Communities of Engagement: an expansive lens for examining support structures in blended and online learning” was published in Educational Technology Research and Development, one of the field’s top journals. It builds on the research team’s previous work exploring affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement and student support communities to increase engagement and foster academic success. It is co-authored by Archambault; Jered Borup of George Mason University; as well as Charles R. Graham; Richard E. West; and Kristian J. Spring -- all three of Brigham Young University.
The Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework, which has become even more relevant as a result to the shift to online learning during the pandemic, emphasizes two primary communities that can support student engagement: the course community and the personal community.
“An area that the framework expands on is the impact of a student’s personal community in the context of online learning where the environment can be very fluid and flexible,” says Archambault. “The pandemic’s impact on student engagement revealed how essential it was that students in an online environment have learning support extend beyond the classroom through their personal community, such as families, friends, neighbors and community members.”
The other area the framework identifies is the course community, which is organized and facilitated by those associated with the course or program. One example included in the paper of course community support is how ASU has begun to integrate academic success coaches to work one-on-one with students, helping them navigate online courses and degree programs. Due to this systematic effort to improve and expand the course community by adding success coaches and peer mentors, the university’s freshman retention rate, a reliable indicator for future graduation. The updated framework also extends its applicability to online learning at the K-12 level.
The aim of this line of work is to offer researchers an expanded theoretical alternative and approach to advancing further studies in this area, building on the initial 2014 version of the ACE framework. Of note, the authors have also recently completed a series of interviews with teachers to explore ways they have changed or implemented new practices to offer student support more effectively. That research paper is currently under review.