Connectedness + Empowerment = Learning Achievement

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 Review of Lin, Huan, and Chuang’s (2015) “The impacts of network centrality and self-regulation on an e-learning environment with the support of social network awareness.” 

This paper combines the effects of social connectedness and self-regulation to determine their influence on learner performance and achievement.  Lin, Huang, and Chuang (2015) acknowledge results of other studies that have already determined that, as independent factors, social network centrality and self-regulated learning (SRL) have positive effects on achievement.  Their study works to further explore how these two factors interact in an e-learning environment that fosters social network awareness. 

To help determine the interaction between self-regulation and network centrality, Lin, et.al (2015) uses “help seeking behavior” in the learners (Lin, Huang, Chuang, 2015, p. 42) an indicative measure of how the two factors interact. Meaning, the study looked at the number of times learners requested assistance from their peers. 

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The study demonstrates significant findings among the learner group who reported low levels of self-regulation.  Learning achievement among this particular group of learners is positively impacted by a highly-centralized social network.  In other words, learners who are less self-regulated are likely to achieve more when they are engaged in a learning environment with peers they trust and can reach out to for assistance.  With low-level centrality, low-level self-regulators had a lower number of requests for peer assistance.  The report shows no significant findings for learning achievement in the interaction of high-level self-regulation and network centralization for learners who are highly self-regulated.

This study highlights the importance of learners being self-regulators and having access to social networks.  To self-regulate is a quality that can be an innate characteristic or something that is learned.  Either way, being proactive is really the key for learning achievement.  Everyone has an element of responsibility to nurture and strengthen this self-regulating quality in themselves and in others so that learners are contributing to and gaining from social networks in a positive way.  Otherwise, the value of that social network diminishes.  While Lin, et.al (2015) manage to bring attention to this interaction between social network awareness, network centralization, and self-regulation, there seems to be more opportunity to consider other indicators beyond help seeking behavior. 

In the end, this article serves as a good reminder that learners must feel safe to ask for help, know when and where to get help, and empowered to be proactive and own their learning.  We as lifelong learners, parents, teachers, mentors, educators, friends, and leaders must recognize that we all play a part in this learning network we call life.

Reference:

Lin, J. W., Huang, H. H. & Chuang, Y. S. (2015).  The impacts of network centrality and self-regulation on an e-learning environment with the support of social network awareness.  British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(1), 32-44