Engaged academic e-learning – research report

Abstract

The author of this text raises an important issue of student engagement shown by e-learning users. In this report, she presents the results of her own empirical research, the aim of which was to identify the conditionings of their engagement in online learning. The research was conducted on a community sample consisting of 310 students of different majors at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (English Philology, Polish Philology, German Philology, History, Mathematics, Finance and Accounting, Pedagogy, Management, Economics, Law). The research has shown that higher degree of students’ engagement in classes and their motivation driven by educational materials and teacher’s activities go hand in hand. Interactive exercises, self-assessment, graded activities and presentations proved to contribute to higher engagement on the students’ part. The more motivating teacher’s support was, the more engaged the students were. Rewarding the students turned out to be the most successful type of motivation.