Towards measurement of the relationship between student engagement and learning outcomes at a bricks-and-mortar university

Abstract

The relationship between student engagement and learning outcomes has been extensively studied in the context of online learning. However, it has been less investigated in face-to-face learning. In this paper, we describe initial findings from a study of student engagement and outcomes at a ‘bricks-and-mortar’ (BaM) university, where engagement is characterized by a diverse set of systems and agents, spanning both physical and digital spaces. We ask whether the substantial relationship often found in online environments between engagement and outcomes, holds in a BaM setting. We present initial analysis of data traces from various sources, each relating to a different dimension of engagement. Initial results indicate a weak relation between engagement and outcomes, suggesting that this important relationship may be substantively different in face-to-face/BaM and online learning environments. These preliminary findings highlight the need for further research, tackling challenges which are specific to face-to-face learning in a bricks-and-mortar university environment.