What affects learner's higher-order thinking in technology-enhanced learning environments? The effects of learner factors

Higher-order thinking has long been confirmed as a critical predictor of success, both in academia and the workplace. Widespread endeavors to foster higher-order thinking have involved implementing instructional design interventions that engage learners in complicated cognitive activities. One representative design approach is the technology-enhanced learning environment (TEL), in which technological affordances are used to facilitate learners' higher-order thinking activities. For such design factors to work as intended, however, learner factors such as epistemological beliefs, attitudes toward technology use, and approaches to learning must lay the groundwork for the design intervention. This study investigated how learner factors interactively affected higher-order thinking in the contexts of TEL. A total of 487 undergraduates enrolled in various courses across seven universities in South Korea participated in this study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that learners' higher-order thinking was strongly and directly affected by deep learning approaches, but not by epistemological beliefs or attitudes toward technology use. Instead, these two factors indirectly affected higher-order thinking, mediated through the learner's deep learning approach. The theoretical and practical implications of the results for promoting higher-order thinking in TEL contexts are discussed.