Discovering disciplinary differences: blending data sources to explore the student online behaviors in a University English course
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IDD-10-2018-0053 |
| Pages | 106-114 |
| Date | 20 May 2019 |
| Published date | 20 May 2019 |
| Author | Dennis Foung,Julia Chen |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Library & information services,Lending,Document delivery,Collection building & management,Stock revision,Consortia |
Discovering disciplinary differences: blending
data sources to explore the student online
behaviors in a University English course
Dennis Foung and Julia Chen
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to explore disciplinary differences in completing blended learning tasks in an academic literacy course and the feasibility
of adopting a blended learning analytics approach to explore disciplinary differences.
Design/methodology/approach –Following a learning analytics approach, this study blends data from the learning management system and
timetabling arrangements.
Findings –Results suggest that online behaviors of design students and accounting students are different in terms of starting day and completion
rate. Blending data sources also provides a new perspective to our learning analytics study.
Originality/value –This study is an important contribution to the field because studies on learning analytics with multiple data sources are rare,
and most disciplinary studies rely on survey data; students’actual behaviors are under-explored.
Keywords Design, Accounting, Blended learning, Learning analytics, Disciplinary differences, English for academic purposes
Paper type Case study
Introduction
Disciplinary differences in higher education have been a well-
established area of research. Some scholars start the debate by
defining academic disciplines based on their nature (Biglan,
1973). For example, some disciplines are concerned with the
theoretical aspect of knowledge (e.g. natural science), whereas
some are focused on the practical nature of knowledge (e.g.
chemical engineering). Thereare, in fact, more ways to classify
academic disciplines; an in-depth review can be found in the
literature review section. Scholars are interested in how
differences in academic disciplines affect students. For
example, Whitmire (2002) found that students in pure
disciplines (such as science) demonstrate information-seeking
behaviors that are different from those of their counterparts in
the applied disciplines(e.g. applied social science). Hornik et al.
(2008) also found that students in hard disciplinesscore higher
in online educationthan their counterparts in soft disciplines.
Differences in disciplines may have a certain degree of
impact on the teaching and learningin their courses, but these
differences particularly have enormous implications to the
generic courses offered to all university students, such as first-
year composition courses. Offered by a writing center or an
English department, these courses are designed to meet the
generic academic literacy needs of all students, so typically,
only one single course is designedfor all students. Provided that
there are differences in teaching and learning processes across
disciplines, delivering these courses across disciplines can be a
challenge to course designers, frontline teachers and even to
students themselves. To start with, students from different
disciplines may perceive their English needs in different ways
(Evans and Morrison,2011).
Among a range of teaching and learning issues,one practical
concern is the design of blended learning components in these
courses. Students in some disciplines may have certain
perceptions of blended learning. For example, Pektasand
Gürel (2014) reported that design students feel that the
learning management system (LMS) is an appropriate
interactional platform for their core courses. Lam etal. (2014)
found that significant differences exist in student perceptions
toward e-learning study tools across disciplines. Their
confidence in using technology for e-learning is also different,
such as in using multimedia and a personal e-journal. With
these differences, determining the direction in the design of a
blended learning component for all students across disciplines
seems difficult. Furthermore, not many studies have explored
the use of blended learning in an academic literacy course.
Whether the blended learningdesign preferences in disciplinary
courses, such as those described by Lam et al. (2014) above,
apply to a generalacademic literacy course remains unknown.
Another noteworthy issue is the research methodology for
studies on disciplinary differences. The comparison of
disciplines is usuallyperformed by administering surveys across
groups, such as that conducted by Lam et al. (2014). Whilethe
results can reveal the perceptions of students from different
disciplines, their actual behaviors online have rarely been
explored. Although onlinebehaviors can be revealed via typical
learning analytics studies (L
opez-Pérez et al.,2011as an
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2398-6247.htm
Information Discovery and Delivery
47/2 (2019) 106–114
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2398-6247]
[DOI 10.1108/IDD-10-2018-0053]
Received 2 October 2018
Revised 9 December 2018
Accepted 20 December 2018
106
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