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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 5

Publication Date: May 25, 2021

DOI:10.14738/assrj.85.10236.

Xiulin, M., Yujuan, J., Chenyu, F., & Jing, L. (2021). Investigation on the Influencing Factors of Online Learning Quality and Research

on its Improving Strategies. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(5). 420-438.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Investigation on the Influencing Factors of Online Learning

Quality and Research on its Improving Strategies

Ma Xiulin

Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875

Jia Yujuan

Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875

Fan Chenyu

Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875

Liang Jing

Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875

ABSTRACT

With the in-depth development of online learning, especially the large-scale

popularization of online learning during the COVID-19 prevention period in 2020,

some problems have gradually emerged in the online learning process: students'

learning motivation is reduced, and some students have a sense of loneliness and

burnout, which leads to the unsustainable learning process. Based on the pre survey

of teachers and related literature analysis, this study preliminarily divides the

factors affecting students' online learning into four aspects: teacher teaching,

autonomous learning, teacher-student interaction, and learning effect. A student

oriented questionnaire is designed to investigate the online learning environment

and students' learning behavior, and then teachers are interviewed to determine

the key factors affecting the quality of current online learning: excessive online live

broadcast platforms, insufficient management of learning process, lack of teaching

design of some teachers, lack of supervision and feedback in the autonomous

learning process, insufficient interaction of learning process, etc. Based on the

above survey conclusions and the teaching practice experience of the team, this

paper puts forward some suggestions, such as unifying the live broadcast platform

and improving its performance and function, enhancing the process management

of online learning, improving teachers' online teaching literacy, and teaching

students in accordance with their aptitude, in order to provide ideas and reference

for online learning designers.

Keyword: Online Learning; Quality of Online Learning; Influencing Factors; Improving

Strategies; Questionnaire Investigation.

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421

Xiulin, M., Yujuan, J., Chenyu, F., & Jing, L. (2021). Investigation on the Influencing Factors of Online Learning Quality and Research on its Improving

Strategies. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(5). 420-438.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.85.10236

INTRODUCTION

Research Background

Online learning has become the main learning mode during the COVID-19 prevention

period

In recent years, online open courses represented by MOOC have quickly swept the world due

to their openness, convenience and easy accessibility. However, before 2020, MOOC mainly

focused on public education and inter-professional learning, and the proportion of teachers and

students receiving formal academic education to participate in online learning was not high.

However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the requirement of "no

suspension of classes", online teaching has been adopted from higher education to the primary

stage of compulsory education, and online learning methods have begun to be fully popularized.

China has become the country with the largest scale of online education in the world[1]. Under

the government's policy guidance to promote education informatization and improve the

quality of education with new infrastructure, it is very necessary to carry out relevant research

on online learning.

With the development of big data and artificial intelligence, online learning provides more

possibilities for students and teachers. New teaching modes such as distance teaching and

flipped classroom based on online learning environment are favored by domestic scholars

because they can give full play to the subjectivity of students, are conducive to the development

of innovation ability, collaboration ability, and inquiry ability, and are widely used in new

knowledge learning Or after-school tutoring. With the advancement of education

informatization, online learning has gradually become an important form of active learning for

students.

Challenges of online learning

With the in-depth development of online learning, the existing problems are gradually

emerging. Online learning requires students to have a strong ability of autonomous learning,

but without the supervision of teachers, it is generally difficult for students to keep their

attention for a long time and carry out continuous learning [2], which makes their knowledge

not firm and solid; Moreover, students in online learning often have the feelings of loneliness

and fatigue due to the physical separation with teachers and classmates, which leads to the

rapid decline of their learning motivation. The prominent performance is that the investment

time of online learning is gradually reduced, the participation in learning is reduced, and the

phenomenon of "fast forward" often occurs when they leave the classroom or drag the

courseware play button in the learning process. These phenomena have seriously affected the

quality of learning. No matter what kind of teaching methods and means are adopted, good

teaching quality and teaching effect are the goals that education strives to achieve. We hope

that students will "get what they learn and achieve what they learn". Online learning students'

enthusiasm to participate in online learning is not enough, online learning anxiety,

helplessness, low learning efficiency problems also occur from time to time [3]. The "high

dropout rate and low completion rate" of MOOC courses and the "lack of horse in front of the

door" of some online courses also urge us to re-examine whether there are problems in the

current online learning mode and organizational strategy. How to maintain students' learning

motivation and how to promote students to participate in Online learning effectively, so as to

improve the quality of online learning has become a key problem that must be solved.

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 8, Issue 5, May-2021

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Research Question

This research combines online surveys and interviews. By reading the relevant literature to

investigate the factors that may affect the quality of online learning of students, and then use

the questionnaire star to investigate the characteristics of online learning behaviors of students

and their satisfaction with online learning, and then conduct a survey of students in

universities, middle schools and primary schools across the country. Based on the feedback

obtained from the student paper, conduct in-depth interviews with teachers to further

understand the factors that affect the quality of online learning. Based on the analysis of key

factors, comprehensive survey data results, and put forward reasonable suggestions for

improvement. The research questions of this study mainly include the following two aspects:

(1) As the quality of online learning is very important, what are the factors that affect the

quality of online learning? What are the key factors?

(2)In view of the key influencing factors, what measures should be taken to provide

students with a better online learning environment and improve the quality of online

learning?

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The definition of online learning

There is no clear definition about the concept of online learning. Relevant scholars construct

from the characteristics and influencing factors of online learning. In China, Professor Kekang

He puts forward the concept of online learning according to the characteristics of online

learning, which refers to the learning and teaching activities mainly carried out through the

Internet. It makes full use of the learning environment provided by modern information

technology, which has a new communication mechanism and rich resources, and realizes a new

way of learning. This way of learning will change the role of teachers and the relationship

between teachers and students in traditional teaching, thus fundamentally changing the

teaching structure and the nature of Education [4]. Terry Anderson believes that "online

learning is a kind of constructive learning method which uses the Internet as the media and

obtains learning support through the interaction of teachers, students and learning content"

[5]. This definition shows the main body and characteristics of online learning. Bhavani

Sridharan believes that "online learning is a complete system composed of teaching and

learning, learning content, learning habits and learning methods, platforms and approaches,

and the management of learning resources" [6].

Research on the quality of online learning and its influencing factors

With the popularity of online learning, more and more researchers begin to pay attention to the

quality of online learning. However, researchers have not reached a consensus on its real

meaning, and conduct research from different dimensions that affect the quality of online

learning.

Learning experience is an important indicator to measure the quality of learning. Many

researches explore the factors that affect the quality of online learning from the perspective of

learning experience. Hou found that social association has a positive effect on online students'

learning experience [7]. Yujun Jiang and other researchers found that interaction between

teachers and students, peer interaction and cooperation, curriculum task, teaching skills,

resource characteristics and curriculum activity design are key factors influencing online