Introduction

"Any time, any place, any pace" is one of the most familiar promises of online learning. It is also one of the least studied aspects of online learning, at least at the K-12 level. Over the past year, researchers at the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute (MVLRI) published a series of reports that asked a deceptively simple question: when students are given that much flexibility, what do they actually do with it? And is it related to course outcomes? 

In the following interview from our "Interview with a Researcher" blog series, the lead researchers behind the 'Any Time, Any Place, Any Pace' series pull the threads together and discuss what the findings mean for the adults supporting online learners.

The interview

This series took a well-known phrase in online learning and broke it down into an introductory literature review, three separate studies, and a synthesis. Why approach it that way?

These concepts have not been thoroughly explored in K-12 online settings individually, let alone together. Examining each construct separately allows us to better understand how students use them and how that contributes to their course outcomes. It also allows us to make more flexible recommendations for administrators, instructors, and mentors who may not have access to the tools and technology to track all of the pieces. The synthesis is a natural progression to understand how all the pieces fit together and thus pinpoint the most influential and actionable aspects of students’ flexibility.

The 'place' report used submission timestamps as a stand-in for physical location. What did that reveal, and what are its limits?

If LMS timestamps indicated an assignment was submitted during weekday school hours it was labeled as being submitted “at school”, otherwise, it was labeled as being submitted “not at school” because location data was not currently available through the LMS. This revealed a pattern in location use based on performance - students who failed their courses and students who didn’t demonstrate content mastery submitted more assignments at school than their peers. Regardless of the impetus for students utilizing this school structure, this information can be used by instructors, mentors, and administrators to develop timely interventions. Using timestamps was a creative way to get a first look at the role of place, but it is imperfect as we couldn’t account for breaks, holidays, or that students may be working from a third space (e.g., a hotel, sporting event, bus, etc).

Looking across the studies, what surprised you most?

The most surprising finding was probably the extent to which assignment progress (proportion of available work submitted) differentiated students who failed from those who demonstrated content mastery. When you picture a low-performing student, your mind may immediately jump to a student who produces low-quality work, but our findings revealed that isn’t necessarily the whole picture. While students who failed or those who earned less than 60% of available course points produced lower-quality work than their peers who demonstrated content mastery, the gap was not nearly as large as we had assumed—the bigger gap was in the quantity of work submitted. Students who failed earned about 75% of available points on the quizzes they submitted, while students who demonstrated mastery averaged about 89% of available points. A larger gap in the quantity of work submitted emerged when looking at when students submitted 50% of their course quizzes. Mastery students submitted half of the available course quizzes by week 12, while students who failed didn't get there until week 19 of a roughly 20-week course.

Despite being a surprising finding, the observation that assignment completion over a course distinguishes between high and low performers was one of the clearest themes from the synthesis report. Can you unpack what that means for students, instructors, and mentors?

Absolutely. For students, developing strong time management and communication skills is crucial. Because there is no designated face-to-face time with the instructor, setting up and adhering to a schedule is necessary to ensure the work gets done. Students should allot about 5-10 hours per week for each online course. Students also need to feel comfortable communicating asynchronously with their instructors and mentors. For instructors and mentors, monitoring student progress will be key. During the first week of a course, instructors and mentors should review assignment submissions and reach out to students who have not submitted an assignment. Throughout the course, the number of assignments students submit should be benchmarked against their course pacing guides. In other words, is the student progressing as expected? Or are they falling behind? Based on our findings, the critical intervention window is between weeks 3 and 4 because submission rates start to diverge around this point. The last thing that instructors and mentors should look out for is students who make frequent or big jumps in course content. We found that submitting assignments out of their intended order was negatively associated with the final course score. The more students deviate from their course pacing guides, the more likely they are to experience negative consequences, so instructors and mentors should encourage students to progress through their courses as intended.

What are the big picture takeaways for administrators versus mentors and instructors?

The most important takeaway for administrators is that students who are struggling, particularly those not reaching content mastery, rely on school-based supports. Having more accessible school-day support options for online learners may help this group of students be more successful. Instructors and mentors should closely monitor the proportion of assignments students submit relative to where they are in the course. Keeping a close eye on how much work students have submitted, and intervening early if students are falling behind, may make a big difference in course outcomes.

Final thoughts

The promise of learning "any time, any place, and at any pace" does not mean learning without structure or support. Across four reports, the students who experienced the most success were those who maintained a steady pace, submitted an assignment within the first week, and generally followed the intended course pacing guide recommendations. This means that providing early, targeted support to help students leverage flexibility appropriately can make a difference in student performance. 

You can check out the full reports below:

• Any time, any place, any pace: An introduction to the flexibility of K-12 virtual learning

• Any time, any place, any pace: How students use time in online courses

• Any time, any place, any pace: How students use place in online courses

• Any time, any place, any pace: How students use pace in online courses

• Any time, any place, any pace: How time, place, and pace converge