Learner engagement through co-creation of knowledge in a blended online learning environment at Makerere University in Uganda

Abstract

The increased adoption and integration of technologies into teaching and learning in Higher Education Institutions has created opportunities for more collaborative and participatory relationships among teachers and learners. This has implications for the changed teacher-learner roles, for course design and for the strategies and approaches to be used to enhance learner engagement and facilitate knowledge co-creation in technology mediated learning environments. This study provided an understanding of the design requirements of blended learning environments for knowledge co-creation, the extent and strategies of learner engagement through knowledge co-creation and the approaches of knowledge co-creation in blended courses. The research was underpinned by the concepts of active learning based on Lev Vygotsky’s social learning/constructivism theory and Jean Piaget’s theory of Constructivism. The two theorists argue respectively that learning primarily happens through social interactions and communication with others such as peers and teachers alike and that learning is an active, constructive process where the learner is a knowledge constructor, creating their own subjective representations of objective reality. A qualitative research design within the Design-Based Research (DBR) approach was used in the study which involved undergraduate students and lecturers who designed blended course modules in a Virtual Learning Environment. Data were collected through 6 structured interviews and 3 focus group discussions with an average of 5 to 8 students in each group. Thematic analysis method was used to analyze data. Data from the VLE were accessed and analysed. The study established nine (9) themes with different design requirements that facilitate knowledge co-creation in blended learning environments. The findings of the study showed that knowledge co-creation to a great extent increases student engagement despite the unique challenges presented by technology, and that developing broad and competence-based activities, use of real time interactive tools and the lecturers’ involvement in the discussion forums are some of the approaches for enabling co-creation in blended courses. These findings support the call for the integration of knowledge co-creation approaches in the design of blended learning environments rather than solely relying on the teacher-centred pedagogy.