The Relationship Between Students’ Pre-Class Learning Behaviors and Student Engagement in Tutorials

In this study we explored the extent of students’ pre-class preparation in both online and offline activities and the relationship of these activities with in-class engagement. Data were collected from 63 first-year bachelor students through biweekly logbooks, capturing their preparation through various study activities before tutorials, including literature reading, pre-class videos, assignments, going through notes, and peer learning. Student in-class engagement was measured by a questionnaire. The relationships between preparatory activities and student in-class engagement were found via descriptive analysis and stepwise regression; additional interviews uncovered factors that influenced student preparation and in-class engagement. Our findings reveal that the proportion of literature reading is higher than that of other activities and that literature reading is the only consistent predictor of various dimensions of student engagement—behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and social. Additionally, going through notes and peer learning in pre-class activities were found to enhance in-class social engagement but did not significantly impact other dimensions of engagement. These results suggest that for students, literature reading is the main means of preparation for students, underscoring its critical role in supporting in-class student engagement in a flipped learning environment. Having examined the relationships between pre-class preparation through different activities and in-class engagement, we conclude that not all pre-class activities contribute equally to student engagement. We recommend that teachers and course designers facilitate students’ literature reading so as to improve student in-class engagement. We also suggest minimizing redundancy across activities while providing appropriate support in the preparatory learning phase. In addition, future research should investigate specific factors that influence engagement in particular activities in order to further enhance in-class student engagement.