Investigating students’ online learning behavior with a learning analytic approach: field dependence/independence vs. holism/serialism

ABSTRACT

Individual differences exist among learners. Among various individual differences, cognitive styles can strongly predict learners’ learning behavior. Therefore, cognitive styles are essential for the design of online learning. There are a variety of cognitive style dimensions and overlaps exist among these dimensions. In particular, Witkin’s field dependence/independence and Pask’s Holism/Serialism share some similarities. To this end, it is necessary to develop a framework to show overlapped behavior between these two cognitive style dimensions. To address this issue, this study used the Lag Sequential Analysis to examine the overlaps between these two cognitive style dimensions from the aspect of online learning behavior. The results from this study indicated that the overlaps mainly appear in comprehensive/local and dynamic/fixed approaches. Based on the findings of this study, we develop a framework that can support the improvement of instruction design so that the needs of different cognitive style groups can be accommodated. Accordingly, this study is an interdisciplinary work, which makes scientific contributions to three communities, i.e. human–computer interaction, digital learning and learning analytic.

KEYWORDS:

• Learning behavior
• cognitive style
• self-regulated learning
• learning analytics

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China, Taiwan, for financial support (MOST 108-2511-H-008-011-MY3 and MOST 108-2629-H-008-001-MY3).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tzu-Chi Yang

Dr Tzu-Chi Yang is an Assistant Professor at Department of Mathematics and Information Education, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, Taiwan. His main research interest lies within intelligent data analyses. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Central University in Taiwan.

Sherry Y. Chen

Dr Sherry Y. Chen is currently a Chair Professor at Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology, National Central University, Taiwan and a Visiting Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Computing at Brunel University, UK. In 2010 and 2017, she was granted an Outstanding Scholar Award from the Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship and Ministry of Science and Technology.