Abstract:
Virtual learning environments are used in higher education around the world to
promote student learning. However, in many countries it has not yielded the expected
effect on student interaction and learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate
whether the use of certain pedagogical approaches would promote student interaction,
higher-order thinking and achievement. 102 undergraduate students taking an introductory
chemistry course at a Tanzanian university participated in the study, and were randomly
assigned to three groups. Each group first studied one topic using the control design (noninteractive
learning, NIL) to establish a baseline. Then each group studied three further
topics using different pedagogical approaches (NIL), discussion forums (medium interactive
learning) and podcasts (highly interactive learning). Data included interviews,
subject tests, and the content of online discussion forums. All qualitative data were coded,
and repeated-measures ANOVA was used to analyze within design and between design
effects; student interaction patterns were analyzed using social network analysis. Results
show that social interaction, academic achievement and thinking improved progressively
over the three topics (iterations) in each design. The changes in instructor pedagogical
strategies and the actions of students to bring what they had learned from podcasts to the
learning community contributed to the marked improvement. We conclude that effective
use of discussion forums in higher education in Tanzania can produce important learning
effects (interaction, thinking, and enhanced academic achievement) and is a low-bandwidth
strategy, but coupling podcasts with discussion forums may be a powerful way to
enhance the effects.
