Authors

R. Lindgren;R. McDaniel

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Educ. Technol. Soc.

Keywords

Online learning; Narrative; Agency; Undergraduate education; Emerging; media; SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY; COMPREHENSION; SELF; ENVIRONMENTS; SCIENCE; DESIGN; MODELS; Education & Educational Research

Abstract

Efforts to improve online learning have focused primarily on the technology platform for delivering educational content and supporting student discourse. In this paper we describe an alternative approach that invokes two powerful forces behind human learning: narrative and agency. Each of these constructs and their potential impacts on learning is reviewed, and the design of a large-enrollment online undergraduate course that leverages these elements is described. A study of student learning and engagement was conducted using surveys and an analysis of student projects on 96 students enrolled in the new course. Surveys were also administered to 129 students taking a traditional online course in other departments to provide a comparison data set. Results of this study indicated significant benefits of employing narrative and increasing student choice on interest and perceived relevance of the course material, critical thinking, and the acquisition of design skills. We conclude by discussing the implications of these results on the design of online instructional environments generally, and call for the increased adoption of interactive storytelling elements into web-based learning platforms.

Journal Title

Educational Technology & Society

Volume

15

Issue/Number

4

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

344

Last Page

355

WOS Identifier

WOS:000310697900029

ISSN

1436-4522

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