Exploring students’ epistemic orientation, learning trajectories, and outcomes

The influence of students’ epistemic orientations on their learning behavior and outcomes is well-documented. However, limited research explores students’ epistemic orientations in terms of conceptual engagement and learning outcomes. This study, set within the context of higher education, examined the patterns of conceptual engagement among two performance groups and identifies differences in their epistemic orientations. Both epistemic network analysis (ENA) and ordered network analysis (ONA) methods were used. The results from the ENA revealed distinct trajectories and patterns of conceptual engagement between high-performing and low-performing students during different periods in their learning journey. High-performing students were able to establish a more interconnected and distributed epistemic network earlier than their low-performing counterparts. ONA results revealed that (1) high-performing students were more inclined to employ abstract theoretical concepts to address empirical concerns, doing so more frequently and earlier; and (2) low-performing students benefitted from forum interactions with high-performing students to expand their knowledge resources and engagement with theoretical constructs over time. These discoveries contribute to our comprehension of epistemic orientations in different learners. The implications of this study could help generate learning analytics that monitor students’ conceptual engagement in forum discussion and provide feedback to guide the design of learning.