Student success

Improving learner engagement in online learning:

Key behaviours for success in mathematics

The Covid-19 pandemic challenged the education system on an unmeasured scale. Around the world, learners lost a significant number of school days and many educators, to mitigate the fallout, were forced to adapt to online learning.

The teaching of mathematics in particular, has traditionally relied heavily on face-toface interactions. Teachers use strategies such as problem solving, manipulatives and collaboration to teach the abstract concepts of mathematics. With online learning, many of these strategies had to be relooked and restructured for a virtual setting, so far with varying degrees of success.

Although the myriad issues involved with online teaching remain pertinent (from access to internet and online learning platforms, to whether all educators are able to teach skillfully with technology in a remote setting), my focus in this article is on learner behaviour that can lead to successfully managing the remote learning environment and learning mathematics online. I suggest that attention should shift to developing learners who are capable of self-regulation.

For those schools that have had the infrastructure in place to begin using digital education tools immediately, there has seemed to be the expectation that online learning should happen quickly, easily and successfully. But some schools have still reported low levels of engagement from learners and a lack of enthusiasm for the accessibility and flexibility that online learning offers.

Understanding low engagement during remote learning

Before we can address learners’ poor engagement during remote learning, it’s important to know what these issues may be.

The reasons, of course, are complex and manifold, and an explanation for one school may be different for another. The age of the learners must also be considered.

Possible reasons for low engagement include:

• That remote learning lacks the support that the typical classroom environment provides as far as the face-to-face interaction with a teacher is concerned (i.e. the encouragement it provides, along with the timely correction of misconceptions)

• ●That online teaching can be boring and unengaging if the content is too theoretical; if instructional goals are not being made clear; or when there is no schedule and the flexibility of online learning becomes a drawback rather

than a benefit (i.e. when learners have too much time to do it)

• ●That the rapid switch to remote learning in 2020 resulted in cognitive overload and simply was just too overwhelming for learners – that those who weren’t already using these tools were unprepared for the demands of online and remote learning.

The importance of self-regulation and metacognition

While e-learning tools do have the potential to allow for greater collaboration (one of the key 21st-century skills), remote learning, in particular, requires learners to work more independently than they would in the classroom, or even in a blended learning environment. This means that, particularly for older learners, they need to become more self-directed in their thinking, taking greater responsibility for their learning. Self-regulation has been proven to be a key component in improving performance in mathematics.

Self-regulation means actively thinking about your learning and being aware of your own limitations and strengths. Learners who self-regulate can reflect on their own learning and select learning strategies that are best suited to them.

An essential component of self-regulation is the notion of metacognition. Metacognition comes down to learners’ ability to monitor, direct and review their own learning. Learners who have metacognitive skills can: set goals and reflect on their learning, evaluating their own progress and figuring out the best way to use technology to enhance it.

Self-regulation and meta-cognition are particularly useful when solving mathematical problems as they enable a learner to talk themselves through a problem, question their progress, monitor their performance and verify that their answer is correct. Although metacognition is not the only key ingredient for successful, self-regulated learning, it is one of the more challenging to develop. I believe that more time should be spent developing this skill, as it builds self-reliance and the ability to cope not only in a remote learning environment, but in all academic situations.

Developing metacognitive skills

Metacognition can be developed by following a three-step process during any learning task: planning, monitoring and evaluating. The strategies and teaching of metacognitive skills can be adjusted to be age appropriate. Learners of all ages

can engage in meta-cognitive and selfregulatory behaviour. Young children might be less realistic about their limitations and be less self-aware than older children, but they can, and should be encouraged to, develop metacognition early on.

It is essential that teachers incorporate these steps in learning tasks to develop metacognition in younger learners especially. With these skills, learners can begin to develop the ability to ask and reflect, using questions such as: • ●How have I done this problem in the past? What strategy can I use? (Planning)

• ●Does this strategy improve my understanding of the task? (Monitoring)

• ●Approaching the problem in this way worked, but are there things I could have done differently? (Evaluating)

Online tools can be useful in developing metacognitive skills, especially in mathematics. Applications and online learning platforms that include activities such as frequent review of content and learning material, planning and scheduling tools, quizzes, flash cards, videos, questions, self assessments, screen casts, concept maps and reflective writing will assist with developing meta-cognitive skills.

Teachers as facilitators of learning

Creating the chance for learners to think and learn in this way, is a far cry from the rote and teacher- centred learning that is prevalent in many schools. Nowadays, content is readily available on the internet and teachers are no longer the only experts. Teachers’ should rather focus their efforts on taking the role of facilitators of learning who teach ways and strategies of learning rather than just content.

This includes, for example, activating prior learning, teaching strategies for learning, providing guided practice along with independent practice and encouraging reflection. Gradual removal of support (scaffolding) during independent practice will encourage independent thinking and metacognition.

Lastly, learners must be taught how to organise and manage their learning independently. Get the learner to set specific short-termgoals, adopt strategies for achieving goals, monitor performance, restructure one’s context to make it compatible with the achievement of goals and use time efficiently.

Here is an example:

Grant knew that he would need to create a study space for himself during the period of school closure and remove distractions such as his Xbox from his room. Although he would need his cell phone to do his schoolwork, he switched off the notifications on all his social media and installed a ‘blackout’ app for it. He drew up a schedule for each day, making sure he scheduled breaks regularly. When he went on a break, he set an alarm for when the break was over. He would also leave his room, go outside, get some fresh air and have a snack.

Knowing that he likes to collaborate when he learns mathematics, he and his friends formed a virtual homework group where they met every afternoon to go over their maths problems and share ideas and useful online videos. Grant kept a notebook, writing notes about the videos he watched for when he returned to school.

Every day, he would check that all his exercises and classwork for mathematics was done by ticking the tasks off in his planner. He kept a visual tracker against his wall and spent a few minutes at the end of the day reflecting on his progress for the day. He made sure to email his teacher with any questions. He rewarded himself with an hour of game playing or Netflix at the end of the day.

The role of parents

While parental involvement is important for learners to know that they are cared for, parents can still foster independence by not becoming over-involved in the process and rather playing a supervisory and supportive role.

For learners who are old enough, parents can assist them with: selecting and using online tools that can foster meta-cognition, making

a schedule, helping with technology use and making sure their children do not overdo it. Rules around mealtimes, screen time, getting fresh air and keeping regular sleep schedules can be enforced. In addition, online learning tools can be useful to parents who struggle to support their children in their work; for example, if they did not take mathematics in school or can no longer remember some of the more complex work in the higher grades.

Learning with technology can be challenging, but ultimately technology is merely a tool for learning that requires teachers, learners and parents to direct its use. As the educational landscape evolves and digital learning becomes an integral part of a learner’s education, teachers must adopt a guiding role, helping learners to become self-regulating and independent. Honing these metacognitive skills will ensure future success – not only in this rapidly evolving learning environment, but also in the 21stcentury workplace.

Marelize Barnard

Marelize Barnard is a mathematics education specialist, learning and cognitive development specialist and educational writer.

References

Dhawan, S. (2020) ‘Online Learning: A Panacea in the Time of COVID-19 Crisis’, Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 49(1), 5–22, https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239520934018

Education Endowment Foundation (2018), ‘Metacognition and self-regulation’, Teaching and Learning Toolkit, https://bit.ly/3mzffjb

Education Endowment Foundation, ‘Selfregulation strategies’, https://bit.ly/3t7BFuo

Whitebread, D. & Coltman, P. (2010) ‘Aspects of pedagogy supporting metacognition and self-regulation in mathematical learning of young children: evidence from an observational study’, ZDM Mathematics Education, 42 (2), 163–178, https://doi. org/10.1007/s11858-009-0233-1

Zimmerman, B. J. (2010) ‘Becoming a SelfRegulated Learner: An Overview’, Theory into Practice, 41 (2)

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