- Introduction
Online learning is reshaping the entire area of study as it is removing all traditional boundaries on knowledge and making it increasingly accessible by all. In early 2014, MIT, one of the most reputed academic institutions in the world today, started providing free online course materials, accessible by the public. Online education has transformed the communication between teachers and students, enabled those in need to seek help at any time and from anywhere. Yet the open and enhanced accessibility does not mean that each student perceives and responses to the same matter in the same way. Subjectivity, especially the personality of the student goes a long way in determining the effects online learning will have on a student.
Aim of the study
It is the objective of this paper to examine the effects of personality traits and characteristics of a student on her/his academic achievement in online learning. In the process the paper will also seek to find out if self-directed learning and behaviour are exhibited by students of online learning and if such a trait does exist, does it have any bearing on their online academic performance. Another issue which will be touched upon is whether the difference in e-learning software has any parallel impact on the said educational achievement of students subscribing to this mode of learning.
Scope and Limitations
The current study shall be restricted to the online students that are enrolled for the various online courses at the university. The study shall focus on limited factors that may affect student performance in the online courses that include online learning tools and faculty interaction. The study shall not consider the personal circumstances of the students enrolled in online courses that may also have a substantial impact on their academic performance.
Research Objectives
- What are the different personality traits which have a significant impact on student achievement in online learning?
- Is there a relationship between various personality traits of students and their academic achievement?
- Does self-directed learning exist among students enrolled in online learning?
- Is self-directed learning associated with significant differences in academic achievements for final grades of students enrolled in online learning?
- Does the use of e-learning software/technology has a significant impact on academic achievements?
Research Design
Exploratory research design shall be used to find out the solutions to the research problems in the current study. Both primary and secondary research shall be conducted to collect the data. The secondary research shall be conducted using online journals, books, articles and websites on the research topics and the literature review shall be studies for content analysis of the data. Secondary data analysis has several advantages over primary data collection as it makes the research study less time consuming and involves less cost than primary research. There are some disadvantages of using secondary data such as the reliability and the validity of the data for the research purpose. These shall be addressed by taking data only from reliable sources.
Primary research shall involve the collection of data by conducting a survey among 100 students of the university from different courses in order to understand and investigate the answers to the research questions. The data shall be analysed using statistical techniques in order to establish the relationship between the different variables. The results shall then be analysed with the expected results based on the literature review and discussed with the conclusion and recommendations.
Format of Research Structure
Abstract: The abstract shall be a concise overview of the research study and the observations and the conclusion of the research study.
Chapter 1 Introduction: The first chapter shall provide an overview of the research including the introduction to online learning and the necessity of the research including its scope and limitations. The chapter also highlights the likely structure to be followed in the present dissertation.
Chapter 2 Literature Review: The second chapter on the literature review provides details about the various theories of online learning that will help in understanding the background of the study and also get an idea about the research work done in the past on the same subject.
Chapter 3 Research Methodology: The third chapter on the research methodology provides details about the research techniques that shall be used in the current study and the reasons for choosing a particular research methodology.
Chapter 4 Observations, Analysis and Discussion: The fourth chapter on analysis and discussions of the observations made in the current study.
Chapter 5 Conclusion: The last chapter on conclusion shall provide the detailed conclusion of the current study and the future recommendations.
References: The list of references shall include the academic material referred for the current study.
Appendix: The appendix shall provide details about the research instruments such as survey questionnaires and student responses.
- Literature Review
Online learning is defined as the use of the web to access learning materials; to interact with the content, online tutor, and other fellow learners; and to obtain the necessary support during the learning process; in order to gain knowledge, to construct personal meaning and grow with the learning experience (Anderson 2008).
Personality is a set of important characteristics which determine how people interact with others (Ghazi, Shahzada and Ullah 2013). The five essential components of personality include physical, social, intellectual, value system and emotional (Ghazi, Shahzada and Ullah 2013).Hans Eysenck developed a model made up of three personality traits - 1) Introversion/Extraversion which involves directing attention towards inner experiences or focusing attention outwards towards other people; 2) Neuroticism/Emotional stability, which relates to moodiness vs even-temperedness; and 3) Psychoticism that relates to individuals that are suffering from mental illness (Ghazi, Shahzada and Ullah 2013).
Personality and learning styles are quite likely to play a significant role in influencing academic achievement (Komarraju, et al. 2011). The quality of student’s thoughts is critical to academic learning and could potentially determine their academic achievement (Komarraju, et al. 2011). The college students essentially differ in how they process, encode, recall, organize and apply the information they learn (Komarraju, et al. 2011). Some college students are thoughtful learners, while others may be superficial learners (Komarraju, et al. 2011).
Big Five
The big five framework of personality traits has emerged as a robust model to understand the relationship between personality and various academic behaviours (Komarraju, et al. 2011). Conscientiousness is defined as being disciplined, organized and achievement oriented (Komarraju, et al. 2011). Neuroticism refers to the degree of emotional stability, impulse control and anxiety (Komarraju, et al. 2011). Extraversion is displayed through a higher degree of sociability, assertiveness and talkativeness (Komarraju, et al. 2011). Openness is reflected in a strong intellectual curiosity and a preference for novelty and variety (Komarraju, et al. 2011). Agreeableness refers to being helpful, cooperative and sympathetic towards others (Komarraju, et al. 2011). There are research evidences of existence of a possible intimate relationship between motivation and individual differences in learning styles (Komarraju, et al. 2011).
Personality traits have been found to have a significant impact on achievement in academic learning (Komarraju, et al. 2011). For example, conscientiousness has consistently emerged as a stable predictor of exam performance and GPA (Komarraju, et al. 2011). Conscientiousness and openness predict course performance, and agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness predict an overall academic performance (Komarraju, et al. 2011). Extraversion, openness and conscientiousness have also been found to predict GPA when students apply the previously acquired knowledge to real life situations (Komarraju, et al. 2011). Neuroticism or emotional instability is found to negatively impact academic achievement (Komarraju, et al. 2011).
In addition to the Big Five, perseverance trait is also predictive of academic performance (Komarraju, et al. 2011).
Academic literature supports the existence of a relationship between self-directed student learning and academic achievement (Carson 2012). As online learning has gained a lot of momentum at secondary level, there is a growing interest to understand the characteristics of good and successful learners (Carson 2012). Since government agencies are encouraging students to enrol in online learning programs, there is a critical need to understand the circumstances which may lead to student success in online classrooms (Carson 2012). According to Dabbagh, successful online learners are those students that exhibit self-directed learning skills (Carson 2012). Studies have suggested that students who are not self-directed learners have a greater risk of failure when placed in the rich and complex environment of online learning (Carson 2012). Self-directed learning has been studied as a personality trait which has been closely related to the Big Five Personality Traits (Carson 2012). Successful online learners were found to be those who exhibited self-directed learning skills (Carson 2012).
Theories of Learning
Piaget Stage Theory of Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget devised four developmental stages of cognitive development in children to show how the mind processes information (Piagets Stage Theory of Cognitive Development n.d.). According to this theory, the cognitive development in children occurs in four stages sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete and formal (Piagets Stage Theory of Cognitive Development n.d.).
Ausubel's learning theory
David Ausubel focused on the learning of school subjects and placed considerable interest in what the student already knows as being the primary determinant of whether what student shall learn next (David Ausubel Theory n.d.). Ausubel viewed learning as an active process and not a simple response to one’s environment (David Ausubel Theory n.d.). The key concept of this learning theory was a cognitive structure (David Ausubel Theory n.d.).
Gagne learning theory
Gagane advocated that different variables influence the learning of the different types of tasks (Gagne Learning Theory n.d.). Gagne identified five variables of learning outcomes which included information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills and attitudes (Gagne Learning Theory n.d.). According to this theory, intellectual skills are placed in an increasing order of complexity (Gagne Learning Theory n.d.).
Bruner's theory
According to this theory, the outcome of cognitive development is thinking (McLeod 2008). An intelligent mind creates from experience generic coding systems that permit an individual to go beyond the data to make fruitful future predictions (McLeod 2008). As children grow, they must acquire a way to represent the recurrent regularities in their environment (McLeod 2008). According to Bruner, the important outcomes of learning include not only the concepts, categories and problem solving procedures, but also the ability to invent these things for oneself (McLeod 2008). The cognitive growth involves an interaction between basic human capabilities and culturally invented technologies (McLeod 2008). Bruner proposed three methods of representation which include Enactive or action based representation; Iconic or image based representation and Symbolic or language based representation (McLeod 2008). Bruner views the symbolic representation as crucial to cognitive development and considers language as a crucial element in determining cognitive development (McLeod 2008).
Social Cognitive Theory
According to Social Cognitive Theory, people can practice enactive or observational learning where learning takes place through observation within a social environment (Carson 2012). When people learn through observation, they use internal mental processing, but they may not necessarily change their behaviour as a result of what they have learnt (Carson 2012). The student actions during the learning process reflects their beliefs about their own abilities and their expectation of success (Carson 2012). Social cognitive theory distinguishes aiming three modes of agency-direct personal agency, proxy agency which relies on others to act on one’s behalf to secure desired outcomes and collective agency that is exercised through socially coordinated and interdependent effort (Carson 2012).
Self-regulated Learning
Self-regulated learning is an active construction process where learners set goals for their learning and then attempt to monitor, regulate and control their cognition, motivation and behaviour that is guided and constrained by their natural environments (Carson 2012). Zimmerman and Campillo conceptualized the process of self-regulation as a reciprocal cycle composed of forethought, performance and self-reflection (Carson 2012).
Self-directed Learning (SDL)
Lindemann and Knowle have been credited with the coining of the term andragogy that is defined as the art and science of helping adults learn (Carson 2012). Adult learners have a self-concept which tends to be independent and self-directed (Carson 2012). Adult learners tend to be more internally motivated for learning (Carson 2012). SDL plays a critical role in the process of adult learning (Carson 2012).
Self-directed learning as a personality characteristic
According to Long, SDL consists of three dimensions that are pedagogical, the sociological and the psychological (Carson 2012). The critical component of SDL is the psychological component (Carson 2012). A self-directed learner is defined as a learner who has a high degree of self-efficacy, is intrinsically motivated, identifies personal learning needs, set goals, makes strategies to achieve those goals and self-evaluates goal achievement on the basis of internal evidence and external feedback (Carson 2012). The narrow traits that have been associated with the academic achievement are optimism, aggression, tough-mindedness, work-drive and self-directed learning (Carson 2012). SDL is a personality trait that cannot be observed directly, but the tendency to SDL is associated with academic achievement, high self-efficacy, conscientiousness, epistemological beliefs and beliefs about internal control (Carson 2012).
Academic Achievement
The academic achievement for online students can be quantified through the course completion rate and the final online course grade (Carson 2012). GPA can be considered as a traditional measure of academic achievement (Carson 2012). Students who take responsibility for their own learning and exhibit a narrow personality trait SDL seem to have greater academic achievement and perform well in the online learning environment (Carson 2012).
Impact of Online Learning on Students
The direct impact of online learning is seen on the learning achievement of students (Jennifer Olson, et al. 2011). Results of large, cross-national research studies show that the impact of learning is complex and is closely related to how technology is used as an online learning tool (Jennifer Olson, et al. 2011). Students who used computer tutorials in the subjects of mathematics, natural science, and social science scored higher than their peers who did not use computer tutorials (Jennifer Olson, et al. 2011). Students who used simulation software in science also scored higher (Jennifer Olson, et al. 2011). Primary school students who used tutorial software in reading scored higher marks in reading tests (Jennifer Olson, et al. 2011). Students that utilized computers for writing skill scored better marks in writing tests (Jennifer Olson, et al. 2011).
Impact of Culture on Online Learning
Flowerder and Miller proposed a cross-cultural interface composed of four elements or cultures: 1) Ethnic culture, 2) Local culture; 3) Academic culture; and 4) disciplinary culture (Milani 2008). Collis, Parisi and Ligorio have composed a list of barriers to effective online learning which may include cultural and environmental problem; teaching style differences; language and semantics problems; and technical problems (Milani 2008). To assess the potential impact of cultural differences on online education, education quality can be considered as a parameter (Milani 2008).
- Research Methodology
A sample size of 100 university students shall be chosen for the primary data collection through a survey questionnaire. The questionnaire shall have questions related to the academic performance of the student along with the e-learning tools used by the students. The primary data collection through survey methodology is an efficient method of data collection as the students can readily fill the data through online surveys. The identity of the students shall be kept confidential in all the survey questionnaires. The survey questionnaire shall involve no more than 10 questions for the students. The survey tool used for the current study shall be surveymonkey.com.
The test questionnaire shall be prepared that will be tested among 10 respondents and based on the feedback, the questions shall be modified or enhanced. Once the questionnaire is finalized, the same shall be used to conduct a survey among 100 university students that are enrolled for an online course at the university.
In order to prevent any bias, the identities of the students (student names) shall remain hidden and only their demographic profiles shall be used for the study. The variables that shall be considered will include student course, duration, academic performance (prior to course in regular course and in current course online), interests and e-learning tools used. The frequency if student interaction with faculty shall also be taken into account.
The sampling technique used for the selection of students shall be random sampling technique so as to avoid any bias for any course.
References
- Anderson, Terry. 2008. The Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Edmonton: Athabasca University Press.
- Carson, Elaine Hendricks. 2012. SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SECONDARY ONLINE STUDENTS. Dissertation, Chattanooga, Tennessee: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
- Ghazi, Dr. Safdar Rehman, Gulap Shahzada, and Saif Ullah . 2013. "Relationship between Students’ Personality Traits and their Academic Achievement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan." Journal of Educational and Social Research.
- Jennifer Olson, Joseph Codde, Kurt deMaagd, Eric Tarkleson, Julie Sinclair, Suengyun Yook, and Rhonda Egidio. 2011. An Analysis of e-Learning Impacts & Best Practices in Developing Countries. ICT4D program, Michigan: Michigan State University .
- Komarraju, Meera, Steven J. Karau, Ronald R. Schmeck, and Alen Avdic. 2011. "Personality and Individual Differences." Science Direct 472–477.
- McLeod, Saul. 2008. Bruner. Accessed July 6, 2014. http://www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html.
- Milani, Manuela. 2008. "Cultural Impact on Online Education Quality Perception." Electronic Journal e-Learning 149 - 160.
- 2008. "Sources of Collection of Data." In Research Methodology, by Dr. C. Rajendra Kumar, 53-112. New Delhi: APH publishing.
