Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Examining the Usage of Persuasive System Design to Drive Motivation for Learning Programming(RMIT, 2024-06) Alyounis, Essa Saleh A; Dick, Martin; Peszynski, KonradLearning to program is challenging, and the dropout and pass rates in programming courses have remained an issue for several decades. Many students experience difficulties in gaining the necessary programming skills. Hence, students in programming courses need to be motivated to maintain the required effort to develop programs. The current problem is that not all students—in particular, non-computer-science majors—have the same motivation or interest to pursue programming as part of their studies. Therefore, there is a need to keep students motivated while they pursue programming activities. Accordingly, this research aimed to examine the impact of applying persuasive system design (PSD) principles to develop the instructional design of a programming course in order to improve students’ motivation for learning programming. This study followed the design science research (DSR) methodology by adapting Peffers et al.’s (2007) model to develop the instructional design for an introductory online programming course, into which it incorporated PSD principles. The programming course was deployed in a free Canvas account and covered the fundamental topics in introductory programming. Mixed methods were employed for data collection, encompassing pre-test and post-test assessments, log-system analysis and semi-structured interviews with voluntary participants to assess the influence of the course design on their motivation. First, a Programming Motivation Questionnaire, adapted from the Science Motivation Questionnaire-II, was used to measure their motivation before and after they took the designed programming course. This adapted questionnaire consists of five subscales: intrinsic motivation, career motivation, self-efficacy, self-determination and grade motivation. Second, a thematic analysis was conducted to identify the themes that emerged from the interviews. The results showed that the intervention had a positive impact on the participants’ motivation. Analysis of data from the 89 participants completed pre- and post-questionnaires revealed a significant enhancement of their motivation level (from a mean of 3.62 and median of 3.96, respectively, to a mean of 4.08 and median of 4.28, respectively). Further, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed a statistically significant increase in motivation after taking this course, with a medium effect size. Moreover, the thematic analysis identified various themes, which supported the quantitative results. The themes identified that the effects of the course on the participants’ experience, such as motivation, encouragement, self-efficacy and satisfaction, were prevalent among the 10 interviewees. Thus, this research contributes to the literature that addresses issues surrounding learning programming. It provides an alternative solution to stimulate students’ motivation and avoid increasing instructors’ workload. This study also reveals the role of various PSD principles in developing the instructional design and the impact of an instructional design decision on students’ motivation. Future research should examine the application of PSD in traditional courses in higher education. Conducting the study during an academic semester will provide a more comprehensive understanding of how PSD influences the motivation of students from various domains.81 0Item Restricted Faculty Members’ Digital and Instructional Practices in E-learning Programs at Saudi Universities(University of Idaho, 2023-02-10) Alhasaf, Ibtisam; Dixon, Raymond A.With the increasing popularity of e-learning programs, educational stakeholders are attempting to promote the successful implementation of interactive e-learning programs. Scholars have long tried to understand how faculty members perceive and practice e-learning instruction in Saudi universities, where e-learning is a relatively new concept. A few studies conducted in different regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have investigated faculty members' perceptions. This study added to the limited body of knowledge on Saudi faculty members' perceptions of their practices in e-learning programs. This qualitative study recruited 17 instructors from six universities in Saudi Arabia using a generic qualitative inquiry approach. Semi-structured interviews with the participants were used to collect data. Findings indicated that the participating faculty members have a variety of practices and experiences regarding implementing an interactive e-learning program. These experiences were conceptualized in four main themes: interactive activities, assessment, multimedia learning material, and students' acceptance of e-learning programs. The present study clarified that instructors use various interactive activities, tests and quizzes for assessment, and videos as the main multimedia tool in their online classes. The results elucidate that students are increasingly accepting e-learning environments and the technologies used in their learning space. The study also throws light on factors affecting the successful implementation of the interactive e-learning program. Exploring these competencies and practices can provide instructional designers, faculty members, directors of online education, and other relevant stakeholders with the present picture of faculty techniques and virtual ability to teach in dynamic online spaces in Saudi universities.9 0Item Restricted Enhancing Students engagement among Saudi EFL learners: Empirical investigation(Saudi Digital Library, 2023-12-15) Fatimah, Hamoud; Aizawa, IkuyaStudent engagement plays a key role in the achievement of academic excellence among students. In particular, student engagement for EFL learners is crucial due to its role in shaping their abilities in language acquisition. This study aims to investigate the student engagement of EFL learners in an Arabic context. The study adopts a cross-sectional design with a descriptive-analytical research approach to review the available literature and collect data from concerned EFL learners to reach accurate results to answer the research question. The study relied on a questionnaire as the main research instrument which was developed based on reviewing the available and relevant literature. Additionally, the study adopts non-probability sampling techniques and convenient sampling methods. The data was collected by distributing the research questionnaire electronically to EFL learners at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia, where 105 responses were collected for analysis. The findings indicated a low to moderate extent of engagement and interactions among EFL learners. Further, the findings indicated that there is a strong positive correlation between student's overall engagement with their learning efforts, activities, interaction with peers and teachers and their social engagement. It was found that students' overall engagement is significantly influenced by interaction with peers and teachers along with learning activities, however, social engagement and learning efforts were not found to be influential. Finally, the results indicated that gender is the only variable contributing to the variance in the learning effort, activities, and the interaction of EFL students with peers and teachers. This study adds to the literature by being the first study to investigate students' EFL engagement in an Arabic context; further, it presents the role of student's characteristics in diversifying the extent of their engagement and interactions.26 0