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Abstract MOOCs as a learning approach are gaining popularity, and helping learners and instructors understand how learning engagement is constructed in a MOOC context is of increasing importance. Although previous research has undoubtedly enriched our knowledge of MOOCs, our understanding of student engagement in the MOOC context is still limited. This study adopts a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to examine student engagement in MOOCs from the self-determination theory (SDT) perspective. A total of 693 valid responses to a MOOC Engagement-Motivation scale were collected and 82 MOOC participants were interviewed. The results showed significant differences between the MOOC completers and non-completers with respect to the rank of motivators for enrolment and the rank of learning activities for participation. The association between perceived competence and emotional engagement was significantly higher in the MOOC completion group. The results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that the SDT model can significantly predict student engagement. Perceived competence registered the largest positive impact, and perceived relatedness had a slight negative impact on engagement. The three components of engagement can also predict learners’ perceived learning. Emotional engagement showed the largest positive impact. However, logistic regression analysis indicated that these components of engagement poorly predicted MOOC learners’ completion. Qualitative analyses of student interview data revealed three main factors that can promote learners’ SDT needs: active learning, course resources, and instructor accessibility. Implications of the findings can help MOOC designers and educators to better engage their participants.

Abstract According to previous studies, traditional laboratory safety courses are delivered in a classroom setting where the instructor teaches and the students listen and read the course materials passively. The course content is also uninspiring and dull. Additionally, the teaching period is spread out, which adds to the instructor's workload. As a result, students become less motivated to learn. In contrast, artificially intelligent educational robots (AIERs), help students learn while lessening the workload on instructors by enhancing teaching strategies, using robots to substitute for teachers, giving students access to a variety of instructional content, and improving interaction with students through the use of intelligent voice interactions and Q&A systems to promote student engagement in learning. If the robot is used for a long time for learning, it may lead to a decrease in students' interest in learning. Therefore, this study introduces the GAFCC model (the theory-driven gamification goal, access, feedback, challenge, collaboration design model) as an instructional design model to guide the development of a gamified AIER system, aiming to improve students' motivation and learning effectiveness for laboratory safety courses. To test the effectiveness of the system, this study conducted an experimental study at a university in China in the summer of 2022. 53 participants participated in the research, with a random sample taken from each group. Each participant was able to choose the time of their free time to engage in the experiment. There were 18, 19, and 16 participants in experimental group 1, experimental group 2, and the traditional group, respectively. Students in experimental group 1 learned using the gamified AIER system, students in experimental group 2 learned on a general anthropomorphic robot system and the control group received traditional classroom learning. The experimental results showed that compared to the other two groups, the gamified AIER system guided by the GAFCC model significantly improved students' learning achievement and enhanced their learning motivation, flow experience, and problem-solving tendency. In addition, students who adopted this approach exhibited more positive behaviors and reduced cognitive load in the learning process.

The rapid evolution of e-learning platforms, propelled by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), presents a transformative potential in education. This dynamic landscape necessitates an exploration of AI/ML integration in adaptive learning systems to enhance educational outcomes. This study aims to map the current utilization of AI/ML in e-learning for adaptive learning, elucidating the benefits and challenges of such integration and assessing its impact on student engagement, retention, and performance. A comprehensive literature review was conducted, focusing on articles published from 2010 onwards, to document the integration of AI/ML in e-learning. The review analyzed 63 articles, employing a systematic approach to evaluate the deployment of adaptive learning algorithms and their educational implications. Findings reveal that AI/ML algorithms are instrumental in personalizing learning experiences. These technologies have been shown to optimize learning paths, enhance engagement, and improve academic performance, with some studies reporting increased test scores. The integration of AI/ML in e-learning platforms significantly contributes to the personalization and effectiveness of the educational process. Despite challenges like data privacy and the complexity of AI/ML systems, the results underscore the potential of adaptive learning to revolutionize education by catering to individual learner needs.

Abstract Background Instructor scaffolding is proved to be an effective means to improve collaborative learning quality, but empirical research indicates discrepancies about the effect of instructor scaffoldings on collaborative programming. Few studies have used multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) to comprehensively analyze the collaborative programming processes from a process-oriented perspective. This research conducts a MMLA research to examine the immediate and delayed effects of instructor scaffoldings on small groups’ collaborative programming in K-12 education context with an aim to provide research, analytics, and pedagogical implications. Results The results indicated that the instructor provided five types of scaffoldings from the social, cognitive, and metacognitive dimensions, and groups had seven types of responses (i.e., immediate uptake and delayed use) to five instructor scaffoldings, ranging from the low-to-medium and high level of cognitive engagement. After the scaffolding was faded, groups used the content from the high-control cognitive scaffolding frequently to solve problems in a delayed way, but groups did not use the instructor’s scaffolding content from the social and low-control cognitive scaffoldings from the pedagogical perspective, instructors should consider scaffolding types, group states and characteristics, as well as the timing of scaffolding to better design and facilitate collaborative programming. From an analytical perspective, MMLA was proved to be conducive to understand collaborative learning from social, cognitive, behavioral, and micro-level dimensions, such that instructors can better understand and reflect on the process of collaborative learning, and use scaffoldings more skillfully to support collaborative learning. Conclusions Collaborative programming is encouraged to be integrated in STEM education to transform education from the instructor-directed lecturing to the learner-centered learning. Using MMLA methods, this research provided a deep understanding of the immediate and delayed effects of instructor scaffoldings on small groups’ collaborative programming in K-12 STEM education from a process-oriented perspective. The results showed that various instructor scaffoldings have been used to promote groups’ social and cognitive engagement. Instructor scaffoldings have delayed effects on promoting collaborative programming qualities. It is highly suggested that instructors should integrate scaffoldings to facilitate computer programming education and relevant research should apply MMLA to reveal details of the process of collaboration.

Research supports the importance of policies and interventions to infuse social emotional
\ncurricula in schools. The role of teachers in supporting young children’s social and emotional
\nreadiness for classroom learning has been recognized, but instruction in children’s well-being
\nand social emotional competence is a low priority in teacher preparation programs. In this
\nstudy we, used qualitative methods to examine whether we could successfully infuse an
\nundergraduate curriculum and instructional course with social emotional learning content.
\nThe article reports on this effort, and considered the following questions: How can courses
\ninfused with SEL content impact prospective teachers’ views on the overall role of emotions
\nin the classroom? What is the influence of the course on preservice teachers’ conceptions of
\nSEL and its association with children’s classroom learning and behavior? How can teacher
\npreparation programs encourage prospective teachers to consider children’s social emotional
\nskills once they enter the classroom as teachers? At course end, the 15 enrolled students
\nresponded to predetermined questions as part of a self-reflection assignment. Using grounded theory methods, three themes were identified from participants’ reflections, including the connection between SEL and academic learning, shifting from teacher- to student-centered pedagogy, and the desire for continued learning related to SEL. An in-depth examination of these themes revealed that SEL concepts can be successfully infused in an undergraduate course on curriculum and instruction. Implications for teacher training are discussed and future avenues for research are presented.

BACKGROUND: Communication competence in nursing students is one of the nursing education requirements, especially during the internship period, the final stage of the bachelor nursing education in Iran. Several factors can influence this competence and identifying them could help provide safe care by nursing students in the future. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate factors that influence nursing students' communication competence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A purposeful sampling technique was used to select 18 nursing students who had completed their internship. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were analyzed by the conventional qualitative content analysis method. RESULTS: After data analysis, three main categories were achieved: organizational factors, humanistic factors and socio-cultural factors. The main and latent theme that affected the students' communication competence was not being accepted as a caregiver in the clinical environment. CONCLUSIONS: With regards to students not being accepted in health care environments, it is recommended to plan special programs for empowering students to acquire better social state and acceptance by the health care team.

Supervision matters: it serves educational, supportive and management functions. Despite a plethora of evidence on the effectiveness of supervision, scant evidence for the impact of supervision training exists. While three previous literature reviews have begun to examine the effectiveness of supervision training, they fail to explore the extent to which supervision training works, for whom, and why. We adopted a realist approach to answer the question: to what extent do supervision training interventions work (or not), for whom and in what circumstances, and why? We conducted a team-based realist synthesis of the supervision training literature focusing on Pawson's five stages: (1) clarifying the scope; (2) determining the search strategy; (3) study selection; (4) data extraction; and (5) data synthesis. We extracted contexts (C), mechanisms (M) and outcomes (O) and CMO configurations from 29 outputs including short (n = 19) and extended-duration (n = 10) supervision training interventions. Irrespective of duration, interventions including mixed pedagogies involving active and/or experiential learning, social learning and protected time served as mechanisms triggering multiple positive supervisor outcomes. Short-duration interventions also led to positive outcomes through mechanisms such as supervisor characteristics, whereas facilitator characteristics was a key mechanism triggering positive and negative outcomes for extended-duration interventions. Disciplinary and organisational contexts were not especially influential. While our realist synthesis builds on previous non-realist literature reviews, our findings extend previous work considerably. Our realist synthesis presents a broader array of outcomes and mechanisms than have been previously identified, and provides novel insights into the causal pathways in which short and extended-duration supervision training interventions produce their effects. Future realist evaluation should explore further any differences between short and extended-duration interventions. Educators are encouraged to prioritize mixed pedagogies, social learning and protected time to maximize the positive supervisor outcomes from training.

In a digital and interconnected context, where educational processes are in constant change, active methodologies take on a relevant role by making students the protagonists of their learning. Among the different possibilities, the flipped classroom stands out for its time optimization, the incorporation of technological resources, and the personalization of the processes. The aim of this research is to analyze the perception of higher education students about the usefulness of the flipped classroom as a methodology. The information was collected with a validated instrument, which was applied to a sample of 123 students from the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Málaga (Spain). A positive evaluation of the usefulness of the flipped classroom as a learning methodology was reflected in the results, highlighting its instrumental dimension. Significant differences were perceived regarding the usefulness of the flipped classroom for the promotion of autonomous learning, which had a superior valuation according to women. In conclusion, the flipped classroom stands as a methodological alternative to promote learning that has a positive evaluation from the students that made up the sample.

This study offers a theoretical construct for better understanding how experiential learning enables student teachers to acquire social and cultural variation skills, develop cultural empathy in the K-12 classroom, and the transference of these skills to new educational situations. An Australian and United States research team used a phenomenological approach to explore the connections between the skills student teachers acquire and the application of these newly developed skills to professional practices. Participants were a group of United States pre-teachers who enrolled in a 5 week teaching experience in Australia. Findings show that participation in cultural based events is part of a complex decision making process. The variety of cultures that now exist in schools requires new teachers to obtain and apply a skillset that promotes manoeuvrability through, and an understanding of the many definitions of culture. A better understanding of this process may strengthen curricula and improvements in teacher education program delivery and further enhance higher education study-abroad international partnerships.