A Measurement Model for Collaborative Online Learning in Postgraduate Engineering Management Studies

A Measurement Model for Collaborative Online Learning in Postgraduate Engineering Management Studies

Leonidas Efthymiou, Alex Zarifis, Yianna Orphanidou
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 21
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4063-3.ch001
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Abstract

Although the approach of social constructivism is not new (its origins are dated back to the pre-World War II era), it can be used along with novel learning strategies to facilitate quality online learning. The progress of technology, learning platforms and digital resources, together with certain social constructivism techniques, enable engineering practitioners to study in postgraduate management programs that replicate face-to-face environments. In this chapter, the authors introduce certain metrics (objectives, critical success factors, key performance indicators, and targets) along with a handful of constructivism techniques, namely, ‘peer interaction', ‘forum activities', ‘learning by doing', and ‘systematic feedback'. Linking the constructs of social constructivism with quantification enables us to develop a rational model of performance measurement, serving as a navigation instrument for instructors, instructional designers, and learners.
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Methodology

The purpose of this chapter is to build a theoretical framework of how online learning performance can be broken down to measurable pieces; and how all the pieces together can facilitate quality online learning experiences. As mentioned in the introduction, this kind of conceptual study is called ‘model’ (Jaakkola, 2020) inasmuch as it seeks to build a framework that predicts relationships between concepts; identifies connections between constructs, and proposes particular outcomes (Cornelissen 2017; Huang & Rust 2018; Payne et al. 2017). Conceptual studies, like the current chapter, are important as they ‘bridge existing theories in interesting ways, link work across disciplines, provide multi-level insights, and broaden the scope of our thinking” (Gilson & Goldberg 2015, p. 128). Towards this end, our analysis relies on a systematic review and synthesis of a) literature on social constructivism and b) performance measurement. These two fields are the ‘conceptual ingredients’ (Jaakkola, 2020: 2), which have been selected to develop a measurement model for quality online learning.

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