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Abstract

Student engagement has been defined as “the level of interest demonstrated by students, how they interact with each other in the course, and their motivation to learn about the topics” (Gray & DiLoreto, 2016, p. 5). Online learning environments are challenged to develop strategies that will engage students, to improve student retention and maximize student achievement of course objectives. Therefore, different online learning strategies require an assessment to determine their effectiveness at enhancing student engagement. Hilty, Gill-Rocha, Parkinson, Blackford, & Cook (2018) evaluated the psychometric properties of the Burch et al., (2014) 63-item Student Engagement Survey (SES). Exploratory principal axis factor analysis (EPAFA) was used to determine the number of underlying factors. Using the scree test to determine the number of factors, the EPAFA with an oblimin rotation suggested four factors. The scree test indicated four factors (eigen values: 17.176, 3.807, 2.942, and 2.151) accounting for 63.6% of the variance. Forty-one (41) of the 63 items loaded on one of the physical engagement, cognitive engagement, deep learning engagement, and engagement skills factors. Coefficient alpha reliability estimates were .921 (Physical), .961 (Cognitive), .905 (Deep Learning), and .937 (Engagement Skills). Masters level graduate nursing students completed the 41 questions designed to measure student engagement. Advanced Pathophysiology students completed an educational intervention based on passive learning and active learning modules for this online course. Learning activities, such as textbook readings, videos, and quizzes, were the same for all modules. The difference was in the discussion of the case studies. Using SPSS 25, the dependent t-test analyzed the passive and active learning approaches by comparing student responses to the physical, cognitive, deep learning, and engagement skill factors.

Biography

Beverly Gish is an Assistant Professor working as a nurse for 40 years and has diverse career experiences in direct patient care, staff education, nursing management, and finally nursing education. She started her career on a busy gynecology/oncology unit, moving to critical care, then the emergency department, and finally a specialty in neurosurgery. Currently, she had returned to direct patient care and practice as a certified nurse practitioner (CNP) in a primary care (community clinic) setting. She loves the insight it gives her in the teaching environment. Professionally, she has fifteen years’ experience of teaching nursing.

E-mail: bgish@mccn.edu