When is enough, enough? An Examination of Student Engagement when Watching Online Group Project Presentations

Abstract

In traditional face-to-face classes, conventional wisdom suggests that delivering and watching group project presentations is a valuable learning experience. In this research, we examine the limits of student engagement and learning in an asynchronous online context. Specifically, 249 undergraduate students were assigned to perform peer evaluations of multiple ten-minute project presentations. The online learning platform collected objective viewing behavior for each student, allowing us to use viewing time as a proxy for engagement. We also collected self-reported attitudes towards the assignment, finding that while students value providing feedback, they do not consider it a valuable use of their time. Students who engage more are also likely to receive a better final course grade. Finally, students exhibit different types of viewing behavior (i.e., personas) when evaluating multiple videos. Based on these results, we provide suggestions for improving the design of online group presentation and peer-review assignments.