Quantifying online engagement at three levels of undergraduate study

Learning management systems (LMSs) are ubiquitous in higher education, yet few studies have examined changes in student engagement online with year level. Using data mining of LMSs, we examined the frequency and timing with which first, second, and third year science students accessed the various LMS resources. We compared online access with both attendance and performance. The findings demonstrated that students of all year levels showed a preference for lecture slides over recordings, although there was a marked increase in engagement with year level. For all students, the pattern of engagement with online resources was largely a function of motivation and exam anxiety—students accessed the LMS most frequently in the final three weeks of semester. Finally, attendance was predictive of performance only for first year students, with this demonstrating that approaches are required especially for these students to increase engagement. This study has shown that engagement can vary across year levels and should be considered when designing teaching and learning activities.