Abstract
Past research has shown the variations of students' conceptions of learning, but little has been especially undertaken to address students' conceptions of web-based learning and to make comparisons between students' conceptions of learning in general and their conceptions of web-based learning in particular. By interviewing 83 Taiwanese college students with some web-based learning experiences, this study attempted to investigate the students' conceptions of learning, conceptions of web-based learning, and the differences between these conceptions. Using the phenomenographic method of analyzing student interview transcripts, several categories of conceptions of learning and of web-based learning were revealed. The analyses of interview results suggested that the conceptions of web-based learning were often more sophisticated than those of learning. For example, much more students conceptualized learning in web-based context as pursuing real understanding and seeing in a new way than those for learning in general. This implies that the implementation of web-based instruction may be a potential avenue for promoting students' conceptions of learning. By gathering questionnaire responses from the students, this study further found that the sophistication of the conceptions toward web-based learning was associated with better searching strategies as well as higher self-efficacy for web-based learning.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1092-1103 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Computers and Education |
Volume | 53 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2009 Dec 1 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Distance education and telelearning
- Post-secondary education
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Computer Science(all)
- Education