Self-Reported Perceptions of Online Learning and Observed Online Learning Behaviors: To What Extent Are They Consistent?

Abstract

This study investigates to what extent there is an association between students’ self-reported perceptions of online learning and observed online learning behaviors recorded by the learning analytic data. The participants were 319 undergraduates studying an engineering course in an Australian university. Data analyses were conducted using cluster analyses, Hidden Markov Model, one-way ANOVAs, and a cross-tabulation. The relations between students’ self-reported perceptions and their academic learning outcome show that those with positive perceptions tended to have higher scores. The relations between observational online learning behaviors and their academic learning outcome demonstrate that students with most learning sessions achieved more highly. The cross-tabulation finds a significant association between the cluster membership generated by by the self-reported perceptions and observational online learning behaviors. Amongst students who had most study sessions characterized by high percentages of reading and formative states and low percentage of summative states, the proportion of those with positive perceptions (40.2%) was significantly higher than those with negative perceptions (20.0%). Of students who had the least study sessions represented by moderate reading and summative states, and low formative states, the proportion of students with positive perceptions (3.0%) was significantly lower than the proportion of students having negative perceptions (8.7%).