A STUDY OF SCAFFOLDING PRACTICES FOR ENHANCED LEARNING ENGAGEMENT IN COURSENETWORKING, AN ACADEMIC SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE

Abstract

With sociocultural theory and connectivism gaining acceptance and social networking sites (SNSs) being widely used in the past couple of decades, educators have been exploring using SNSs to support online learning, particularly, in higher education. Existing studies have demonstrated that SNSs can be effective in improving communication, collaboration, and community building. However, the impact of SNSs on learning engagement heavily relies on the involvement and support of instructors, with more guidance and support producing better engagement. This dissertation took a mixed-method approach to study higher education instructors’ scaffolding practices and learning engagement in an academic SNS called CourseNetworking (or CN). Usage data from 11,215 courses were analyzed to understand how unique features and instructor participation affected learning engagement. Additionally, the 12 most active courses were examined through course site observations, faculty interviews, Social Network Analysis (SNA), and artifact analysis to identify effective scaffolding strategies and challenges. This study found that although polls, Anar Seeds goals, hashtags, and badges were associated with higher engagement, these unique features were underutilized. A second finding is that the faculty participants implemented various scaffolding strategies (i.e., technical, metacognitive, strategic, conceptual, social) to engage their students in CN. Third, although instructors’ participation in CN discussion correlated with increased engagement, their participation levels varied greatly. Notably, only one faculty participant intentionally faded scaffolding by implementing intense support and guidance at the beginning. Forth, the biggest challenge reported by faculty participants was the low participation of some students. In addition, faculty hoped to receive regular email newsletters to learn how to better use the platform. Based on these findings, the study recommended that instructors increase their use of the unique features, such as setting up a course Anar Seeds goal, suggesting hashtags, and awarding badges as incentives. A TREAT model was proposed to guide instructors in planning, executing, and evaluating effective scaffolding strategies in CN, including how to arrange their own participation and develop student agency over time. The study also recommended that the CN team share effective scaffolding practices with instructors through email newsletters and Rumi Tips and leverage the power of the next-generation AI to deliver effective scaffolding.