Data Modeling
Mathematical and Computational Data Modeling
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Volume 4 Number 1 2023
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Why Students Tune Out in Online Coding Classes: A Mixed-Methods Study of Distraction Across Parents, Students, and Teachers
Md. Afraim Bin Zahangir 1*, Md. Shah Jalal 1, Khondaker A. Mamun 1
Data Modeling 4 (1) 1-9 https://doi.org/10.25163/data.4110811
Submitted: 30 August 2023 Revised: 15 November 2023 Accepted: 21 November 2023 Published: 23 November 2023
Abstract
Background. Online delivery has become a fixture of programming education, yet the same screen that carries the lesson often carries the distraction away from it. Prior work has linked social media use, technical friction, and weak self-regulation to disengagement in online learning generally (Aagaard, 2015; Singal et al., 2020; Winter et al., 2010), but few studies have examined how distraction plays out specifically in coding classrooms, where missing a single conceptual step can derail an entire session (Shanley et al., 2022). This study asked, simply, what pulls attention away in these classes — and from whose vantage point the answer changes.
Methods. A mixed-methods, pragmatist design combined structured surveys and semi-structured interviews with 300 participants in and around Dhaka, Bangladesh — 100 parents, 100 students, and 100 teachers connected to online coding instruction. Quantitative items were summarized descriptively; open-ended and interview data underwent inductive thematic coding, with findings triangulated across the three groups.
Results. Three recurring sources of distraction emerged across all groups: limited real-time oversight, a weakened instructor–student connection, and material that was either too difficult or insufficiently engaging. Convergence across parent, student, and teacher accounts — rather than contradiction — was itself a notable finding.
Conclusion. Distraction in online coding classes appears to be a layered, not singular, problem. Building on these convergent findings, we propose an integrated conferencing framework combining real-time monitoring, parental oversight tools, interactive annotation, restricted-browsing quizzes, automatic recording, and dedicated forums as a conceptually grounded, though as yet untested, response.
Keywords: online coding education; student distraction; mixed-methods research; parental monitoring; self-regulated learning
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