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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1354641

Schrödinger's cat -parallel experiences: Exploring the underlying mechanisms of undergraduates' engagement and perception in online learning

Provisionally accepted
Hongfeng Zhang Hongfeng Zhang 1YAN LIU YAN LIU 2,3*
  • 1 Macao Polytechnic University, Macau, Macao, SAR China
  • 2 The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong, SAR China
  • 3 The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, SAR China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Based on the learning experiences of undergraduates, this study explores the underlying occurrence mechanisms and connotations of interrelations and influence of various phenomena in online learning. The study adopts The Grounded Theory approach, including three-level coding, constant comparison method, theoretical sampling, core category extraction, and storyline development, to construct a substantive theoretical model. The results show that online features lead to students' motivation mainly depending on self-regulated levels. Teacher-student interactions and self-regulation shape different learning contexts and types by being moderated by internal and external effects. However, students with different engagement had a parallel experience similar to that of Schrödinger's Cat: they were constantly dissatisfied with "rational" learning and "perceptually" satisfied with online learning. The study found that the basic psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness, and competence, proposed by self-determination theory, play a crucial role in this context. The variation in the satisfaction of the three basic needs of college students in online learning leads to parallel experiences. The students' learning engagement and experience result from a combined influence of self-determination and natural determination. The findings provide a more profound basis for theoretical development and educational improvement of online learning.

    Keywords: online learning perceptions, learning motivations, Learning engagements, self-determination theory, parallel experiences

    Received: 12 Dec 2023; Accepted: 03 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang and LIU. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: YAN LIU, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong, SAR China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.