Student Engagement and Its Impact on Achievement in a Blended Learning Environment in Malaysia
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Abstract
Wawasan Open University (WOU) provides working Malaysians access to quality higher education via Open Distance Learning (ODL). As admission of students involves students from diverse backgrounds, including diversity of ability, age groups and educational backgrounds, WOU faces the real challenge of effectively engaging and supporting these students so that they are retained in the system and are successful in their studies. Krause (2005) explains that when students are not receiving targeted assistance, they may fail to engage, ultimately resulting in failure to persist and succeed. Engagement is closely aligned with student dissatisfaction and potential to withdraw from study. The purpose of this paper is to share the efforts made by Wawasan Open University to enhance the levels of student engagement in five factors in terms of participation in Tutorial classes, Learning Management System (LMS), WhatsApp Groups, and Communication with the tutor through mails and telephone, and motivation and Interest in learning activities. This intervention was carried out for a starter (enabler) course called Learning Skills for University Studies. About 600 students enrol in this course every semester. The tutors who are the first contact persons in Open Distance Learning were oriented about the student engagement process and the process of rating the students on a 10-point scale on the 5 factors stated above. The findings indicate that three factors (Students’ participation in tutorial classes, participation in the Learning Management System and motivation and Interest) out of the five factors had significant relationships with all the three components of assessment.
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