Integrating online meta-cognitive learning strategy and team regulation to develop students’ programming skills, academic motivation, and refusal self-efficacy of Internet use in a cloud classroom

With the development of technology and demand for online courses, there have been considerable quantities of online, blended, or flipped courses designed and provided. However, in the technology-enhanced learning environments, which are also full of social networking websites, shopping websites, and free online games, it is challenging to focus students’ attention and help them achieve satisfactory learning performance. In addition, the instruction of programming courses constantly challenges both teachers and students, particularly in online learning environments. To overcome and solve these problems and to facilitate students’ learning, the researchers in this study integrated two teaching approaches, using meta-cognitive learning strategy (MCLS) and team regulation (TR), to develop students’ regular learning habits and further contribute to their programming skills, academic motivation, and refusal self-efficacy of Internet use, in a cloud classroom. In this research, a quasi-experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of MCLS and TR adopting the experimental design of a 2 (MCLS vs. non-MCLS) × 2 (TR vs. non-TR) factorial pre-test/post-test. In this research, the participants consisted of four classes of university students from non-information or computer departments enrolled in programming design, a required course. The experimental groups comprised three of the classes, labelled as G1, G2, and G3. G1 concurrently received both the online MCLS and TR intervention, while G2 only received the online MCLS intervention, and G3 only received the online TR intervention. Serving as the control group, the fourth class (G4) received traditional teaching. This study investigated the effects of MCLS, TR, and their combination, on improving students’ programming skills, academic motivation, and refusal self-efficacy of Internet use in an online computing course. According to the results, students who received online TR significantly enhanced their programming design skills and their refusal self-efficacy of Internet use a cloud classroom. However, the expected effects of MCLS on developing students’ programming skills, academic motivation, and refusal self-efficacy of Internet use were not found in this study. The teaching strategy of integrating MCLS and TR in an online programming course in this study can serve as a reference for educators when conducting online, blended, or flipped courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.