Instructional practices affecting learner engagement in blended learning environments

Abstract

Learners have to engage in academically purposeful instructional endeavors to be successful in school. Latest research indicates that the learners of today are not as interested in educational deeds as they need to be. Educational stakeholders should look for means to address this tendency to have a positive influence on educational results. This study explores the instructional practices that play a role in behavioral engagement (also known as involvement) of learners in schoolwork in the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) program – an information technology certificate program. Behavioral engagement in this context refers to learners’ active learning and collaboration with peers. A two-level hierarchical linear modeling was established to predict behavioral engagement from instructional practices while controlling for certain learner level (expectancy and value motivation, gender, and age) and teacher level (teaching and networking experience) variables. Learners who attended the CCNA program in the United States, totaling 773 high school and community college students, were matched specifically with 149 teachers who taught them. Student and instructor surveys were conducted online to gather data. The results show that the level of learner involvement in the program was poor, equivalent to the national student engagement survey of the period. However, if their teachers used collaborative and learner-centered practices, learners were more involved in schoolwork behaviorally. Learners were also very involved in the program if they placed a high value on the program. Female learners were not as active as male learners. In addition to the two instructional practices implied in this study, another major takeaway is that learners should be advised as early as possible about the detrimental impact of poor motivation in the program.