PUPIL: International Journal of Teaching, Education and Learning

PREDICTORS OF STUDENT DISENGAGEMENT IN FULLY ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS

2026-03-23T05:07:49+00:00

Introduction: The rapid expansion of fully online higher education has increased access for diverse student populations but has also intensified concerns regarding student disengagement. Disengagement in online learning extends beyond withdrawal or dropout and includes behavioral, motivational, psychological, and contextual dimensions that may precede formal attrition. This study sought to identify key predictors of student disengagement in fully online higher education programs within a globally diverse sample of online learners.

Methods: A cross-sectional, correlational design was employed, with data collected from 140 students enrolled in fully online degree programs across multiple continents. Participants completed a detailed sociodemographic questionnaire and a purpose-designed 46-item disengagement instrument assessing behavioral, psychological, instructional, and contextual dimensions of disengagement. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analyses, and multiple linear regression were conducted using STATA 18.

Results: Overall disengagement levels were low to moderate (M = 2.39, SD = 0.48). Psychological and contextual factors emerged as the strongest correlates and predictors of disengagement. Digital fatigue, mental well-being burden, and time-zone or external demands were each independently correlated with higher disengagement. Instructional and social factors, including course design clarity, instructor presence, feedback quality, and sense of community, also significantly predicted disengagement after controlling for sociodemographic variables. Among background characteristics, full-time employment predicted higher disengagement, while older age was associated with lower disengagement.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that student disengagement in fully online higher education is a multidimensional phenomenon shaped more strongly by psychological strain, instructional experiences, and contextual constraints than by static sociodemographic variables. Interventions aimed at reducing disengagement should therefore extend beyond course design improvements to include strategies addressing digital fatigue, mental well-being, and temporal flexibility in globally distributed online programs.

A DIGITAL ADAPTIVE TEXTBOOK FOR SECONDARY BIOLOGY EDUCATION: DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING

2026-06-12T08:47:04+00:00

The digital transformation of educational materials has led to the development of adaptive textbooks that personalize learning according to individual student needs. This paper presents the development and pilot testing of an adaptive digital biology textbook (TSAU) for middle school students in Russia, based on the printed textbook by V. Pasechnik. The research aimed to transform traditional content into an adaptive digital format and evaluate its effectiveness in improving student academic performance. The digital textbook comprises 110 multimedia modules, each containing a video clip and six assessment tasks of varying difficulty levels. The adaptive platform processes student responses, provides immediate feedback, and creates individualized learning paths based on student progress. The study concludes that the adaptive digital textbook significantly enhances biology instruction quality by promoting comprehensive material coverage, providing differentiated assignments, and increasing student engagement. The findings suggest that adaptive learning technologies can effectively support personalized education and improve academic outcomes in secondary school settings.

VIDEOS IN INVERTED CLASSROOM SETTINGS – ADVANTAGES OF LIGHTBOARD LECTURES VERSUS LECTURE VIDEOS

2026-06-16T10:40:37+00:00

HTW Berlin has successfully designed and manufactured a Lightboard, enabling lecturers to create engaging and accessible teaching units. A Lightboard, or learning glass, is a high-refractive transparent glass panel surrounded by LED lights, typically made from high-quality Opti-Glass allowing instructors to write with fluorescent markers while being filmed from the front. Lightboard videos, which allow lecturers to face students directly, have proven superior to traditional lecture recordings and animated lecture videos. Advantageous Lightboard videos maintain lecturer-student eye contact, offer clear and manageable content, and are easy to produce with minimal post-production. These videos, typically under 10 minutes, prevent students from feeling overwhelmed, making them an effective alternative to traditional recordings.

REFLECTING ON THE ROLE OF THE LECTURER IN INVERTED CLASSROOM TEACHING SCENARIOS

2026-06-17T06:08:39+00:00

It has widely been reported that students` motivation and self-attentiveness increase when teaching students via “inverted classroom” teaching scenarios in a blended learning environment. Inverting the classroom is a method to encourage students to self-study the science and then take time to work on their questions and do extended hands-on lectures or exercises in class. Therefore, a sufficient number and variety of teaching material aiming at different learning skills of the students has to meet the diversity of the first year class as well as the overall learning outcome of the course. But, most important for succeeding in inverted classroom environments is to respond to the change of the role as a lecturer from in-front teaching to a more cooperative and collaborate way of teaching. Set-backs are common when starting this teaching method because despite the advantages there are many aspects that need to be taken into account, such as: what to do with unprepared students or easy questions where to go in class during group work. Only if these negative aspects are clear from the beginning and there are answers to problems arousing this teaching method will increase the fun of teaching and be of success for students as well as lecturers. In this practice paper, difficulties are named and possible ways of handling are suggested as the author is still in the procedure of professionalizing the teaching method.