Abstract
This multiple-article dissertation explores institutional support for student academic engagement through the lens of the Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework. A literature synthesis explores the current research on teaching assistant (TA) support in online and blended environments in higher education, with a special emphasis on their role in providing support for affective engagement, in addition to supporting cognitive and behavioral engagement. The review suggests that additional research needs to be done in this area to better understand the role of TAs in online environments and how institutions can prepare them for this role through meaningful training. The second article provides insight into students' barriers to learning online and how the institution can support these students. Researchers gathered survey results of 1295 university students regarding the barriers they experience and the support they receive from the institution to support their academic engagement. Descriptive statistics and thematic coding revealed specific practices institutions could implement to help students overcome barriers to fully engaging in their learning. The third article presents how online teaching assistants (OLTAs) interact with students to support their engagement in online and blended learning courses and how a training course may influence their interactions. Researchers gathered data from a tracking instrument that documented OLTA-student interactions over a 2-week period and conducted interviews with 10 OLTAs. Descriptive statistics and thematic coding indicated that TAs supported students in several ways and that their training program most likely influenced how they approached these interactions.
Degree
PhD
College and Department
David O. McKay School of Education; Instructional Psychology and Technology
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Tuiloma, Sara Hirschi, "Understanding the Role of Institutional Support for Student Academic Engagement in Higher Education Online and Blended Learning Settings Through the Lens of the Academic Communities of Engagement Framework" (2022). Theses and Dissertations. 9750.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/9750
Date Submitted
2022-12-07
Document Type
Dissertation
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd12588
Keywords
online learning, blended learning, student engagement, learner engagement, institutional support, peer support, teaching assistant
Language
english