Abstract:

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationships between students’ online learning and their help seeking types focused on target. The effects of help seeking target types were examined on students’ completion rate and satisfaction in e-learning. Newman (2009) suggested there should be three key factors for adaptive help seeking; necessity, content, and target. One of biggest differences between traditional classroom learning and e-learning could be ways to seek for help. In the classroom, students mostly ask questions and consultant with their teacher or teaching assistant as formal resources, but in e-learning, they may use other resources rather than formal resources. In other words, target of help seeking may change in the setting where students are studying with networked computers. In this research, 292 students in e-learning courses at a university in Japan were categorized into 4 types of help seeking target with their response on a researchers-made questionnaire conducted after a course; (1) Unnecessary of help, (2) Necessary of help, Action (Formal Target), (3) Necessary of help, Action (Other Target), and (4) Necessary of help, No action. The student numbers (percentages over 292 students) of Type (1) to (4) are as followed respectively: 118 (40.4%), 77 (26.7 %), 40 (13.6 %), and 57 (19.5 %). The overall completion rate averaged .843 and the overall satisfaction, whose scores were collected with the same questionnaire as used for the help seeking type classification ranging from 1 (Not satisfy at all) to 4 (Very satisfy) averaged 2.96. For data analyses, overall MANOVA with two dependent variables, completion rate and satisfaction, was significant (Λ=.929, F(6, 574)=3.567, p=.002). ANOVA was conducted for each dependent variable. The results showed that there was a statistical significance between help seeking types and satisfaction (F(3, 288)=5.669, p=.001), although no significance was found for the completion rates (F(3, 288)=1.995, p=.115). The post hoc analyses showed the significance differences between Type (1) and (2), (2) and (3), (3) and (4). The results indicated that Type (3) may have positive effects on satisfaction in e-learning. This means that students who could use other resources as well as formal target such as teachers or mentors may actively engage their learning and lead to positive affective reaction after the course. The research findings may be significant for teachers, administrators, and researchers of e-learning to plan and provide effective and appropriate helps to learners.

Keywords:

e-learning, help seeking.