Do consistency and quality content matter in online learning and do they improve student engagement? | Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Seneca Polytechnic

By Mehrnoosh Sorkhabi, Manager, Academic Programs, School of English & Liberal Studies

I designed this project to address a recurring challenge: how to improve consistency and enhance student engagement in asynchronous online learning environments. Students often skip readings, avoid purchasing textbooks, and disengage from content that feels fragmented or poorly structured. This negatively impacts their learning experience and performance. My goal was to explore whether standardized, high-quality eModules could solve these issues by creating a more engaging and accessible learning environment.

The Need for the Project
The need for this project stems from two critical gaps:

1. Consistency Across Sections and Semesters – Without a centralized content bank, courses vary significantly depending on the instructor’s proficiency in online design. This inconsistency can confuse students and diminish their trust in the learning process.
2. Quality Assurance and Faculty Support – Faculty often spend excessive time creating materials, which detracts from their ability to focus on facilitation and feedback. A well-designed content bank ensures quality control and frees faculty to concentrate on teaching rather than content development.

I collaborated with the School of English & Liberal Studies and Seneca's Teaching and Learning  Centre to create and implement eModules for Technical Communication, a mandatory course for students in technical programs. These modules were developed under my supervision as the subject matter expert and first deployed in Fall 2022.

Methodology Design
My SoTL research project involved collecting data to determine the impact of the eModules on learners' engagement and learning experience. I planned to use a mixed method approach to measure both engagement level and performance outcomes comprehensively, gathering data from the following sources:

• Self-reporting surveys (student and faculty perspectives)
• Blackboard Ultra analytics (engagement metrics)
• Assessment results (performance indicators)
• Comparative data from ENG205 (benchmarking outcomes)

This project concluded early when I transitioned into my current role as Manager, Academic Programs in the School of English and Liberal Studies, but it highlights an important area for further research.

The Teaching and Learning Centre at Seneca continues this work with their exceptional instructional design team, ensuring that the principles of consistency, accessibility, and quality remain central to online course development.