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The relationship between students' perceived sense of community and satisfaction, achievement, and retention in an online course
Abstract
This study evaluated students' sense of community, satisfaction, achievement, and retention in 3 sections of the same online undergraduate psychology course. Use of asynchronous discussion threads and students' perceived interaction with fellow students and the instructor were all correlated with students' perceived sense of community (SOC). When student-student and student-instructor interactions were examined more specifically , the sum of student-student interaction variables was related to SOC, while the sum of student-instructor interaction variables was not. Additionally, although sense of community was related to student satisfaction within the course, it was not related to either course grade or retention in an online course of study. A review of student comments exemplified this and showed that while some students enjoyed, needed, or desired social interaction, some students did not desire sense of community in an online course environment.
... Prior studies has emphasized the significant impact of a classroom's sense of community on both course satisfaction and students' effort allocation Drouin, 2008;Yang, Cho, Mathew, & Worth, 2011). Students who experience a sense of community in online classes tend to report higher course satisfaction Drouin, 2008) and demonstrate a greater commitment to their learning pursuits (Yang, Cho, Mathew, & Worth, 2011). ...
... Prior studies has emphasized the significant impact of a classroom's sense of community on both course satisfaction and students' effort allocation Drouin, 2008;Yang, Cho, Mathew, & Worth, 2011). Students who experience a sense of community in online classes tend to report higher course satisfaction Drouin, 2008) and demonstrate a greater commitment to their learning pursuits (Yang, Cho, Mathew, & Worth, 2011). A strong sense of community fosters an environment of mutual support and collaboration; this, in turn, motivates students to actively engage in the learning process and feel greater satisfaction (Sagor, 2002;Sadera, Roberts, Song, & Midon, 2009). ...
... This heightened sense of community, in turn, may reinforce their motivation to invest effort in their learning tasks and promote higher levels of course satisfaction. Previous research has indicated that students who feel a sense of community in online courses are more likely to experience higher course satisfaction Drouin, 2008) and invest more efforts to learning (Yang, Cho, Mathew, & Worth, 2011). In contrast, perception of classroom performance goal structure may lead students to focus solely on achieving better grades or surpassing their peers, overlooking the learning process and personal growth. ...
... In addition, research on the relationship between sense of community (SOC) on campus and perceptions of GE is lacking. While the literature does show that SOC is related to other positive outcomes in college like retention rates and commitment to the university, little is said about how SOC impacts evaluations of GE requirements (Ash & Schreiner, 2016;Drouin, 2008). We theorize that having a strong SOC with the campus may promote more positive perceptions of general education across scholastic class levels and help to unpack the scholastic class variation in student perceptions of GE. ...
... Levels of SOC may differ depending on the university and individual, but across the board, SOC is positively associated with student outcomes in several ways. For example, a higher SOC has been found to be positively associated with student retention, expectations to graduate, community service, satisfaction, lower levels of depression, higher self-esteem, increased alumni donations, and involvement and participation within the university (Drouin, 2008;Ferguson & Brown, 2019;Gibson, 2010;Jacobs & Archie, 2008;Mounts, 2004;Procentese, Gatti et al., 2019;Soria et al., 2003;Wallin-Ruschman et al., 2018). Because of these benefits, many campuses work to cultivate a SOC among students through campus events and traditions, volunteerism, student activities, on-campus organizations, experiential learning programs, and political engagement (Cheng, 2004;Elkins et al., 2011;Jacobs & Archie, 2008;Soria et al., 2003;Vander Schee, 2011;Wallin-Ruschman et al., 2018). ...
... The data are consistent with that interpretation, and it would be difficult to argue that satisfaction with GE classes is driving SOC (although there certainly could be feedback loops). Furthermore, our findings support past research that upperclassmen's perspectives of GE are generally more negative (Benander & Lightner, 2005;Bittinger, 2017;Humphreys & Davenport, 2005;Johnston et al., 1991;Thompson et al., 2015;Twombly, 1992;Vander Schee, 2011), even when controlling for SOC, which has been found to be associated with academic satisfaction (Drouin, 2008;Gibson, 2010). ...
General education (GE) classes are designed to reflect the mission and goals of the university and to help students become more well-rounded, career-ready, and civically-minded post-graduation. Students’ perceptions of these courses have a significant influence on their capacity to succeed, and ultimately to get the most out of their college experience. Using results from an email questionnaire sent to students at a private university in the western United States, we analyze the relationships between perceptions of the GE experience, sense of community, and academic year, and we find that sense of community is positively associated with perceptions of GEs. These results also show freshmen having a higher sense of community than juniors or seniors, and that scholastic class in school is negatively associated with satisfaction with GEs. Furthermore, we find that seniors generally have a lower perception of the importance of GEs in their lives when compared to freshmen.
... Students' sense of classroom community as they engage with their peers and instructor can lead to a positive and satisfying course climate (Drouin, 2008;LaBarbera, 2013;Liu et al., 2007). Likewise, the degree to which students experience a sense of classroom community is the direct responsibility of course instructors in how they design the course-and the opportunities for interaction included in that design, as well as how they build rapport through relationship-building techniques (Glazier, 2016, Vavala et al., 2010West et al., 2012). ...
... When considering the effect of classroom community on students' outcomes and perceptions, perceived sense of classroom community was consistently related to satisfaction with the course (Drouin, 2008;LaBarbera, 2013;Liu et al., 2007). There were also instances where students identified a relationship between their sense of classroom community and perceived learning (Liu et al., 2007;Rovai, 2002b;Trespalacios and Perkins, 2016); however, this relationship may be weak and non-significant (Drouin, 2008). ...
... When considering the effect of classroom community on students' outcomes and perceptions, perceived sense of classroom community was consistently related to satisfaction with the course (Drouin, 2008;LaBarbera, 2013;Liu et al., 2007). There were also instances where students identified a relationship between their sense of classroom community and perceived learning (Liu et al., 2007;Rovai, 2002b;Trespalacios and Perkins, 2016); however, this relationship may be weak and non-significant (Drouin, 2008). When comparing students' sense of classroom community between online and face-to-face courses, students consistently reported a higher sense of classroom community in face-to-face courses (Ritter et al., 2010;Vavala et al., 2010;Yang and Liu, 2008). ...
Developing a sense of classroom community is important in promoting course satisfaction and in helping students overcome feelings of disconnectedness, especially in online courses. When considering the various strategies identified as contributing to a sense of classroom community, instructors likely need support in which strategies and technology tools to select, as well as how to implement those strategies. This support may be especially needed for instructors seeking to translate community building practices in face-to-face settings to their online courses. Team-based learning might be used to foster a sense of classroom community among students in both face-to-face and online courses. An embedded mixed methods design was used to determine if and how students’ perceptions of classroom community varied between method of course delivery (face-to-face or online) and course format (non-TBL or TBL). The results showed whether students in face-to-face courses (non-TBL and TBL) reported a stronger sense of classroom community than those students in online courses (non-TBL and TBL). The results also revealed how students in TBL courses (face-to-face and online) described their sense of connectedness to their instructor and peers compared to those in non-TBL courses.
... In addition, this concept provides a sense of harmony, friendship, and acceptance of community membership among learners (Rovai, 2000). Studies explaining the relationship between sense of community and course satisfaction can be found in the literature (Barnard, Paton, & Rose, 2007;Drouin, 2008;Hemphill, 2011;Top, 2012;Top et al., 2010). For example, Top (2012) investigated pre-service teachers' course satisfaction and perceived learning in a blended learning environment. ...
... In many studies, discussion (Maurino, 2007) or threaded discussion (Sher, 2009;Zhu, 2012) is stated as a factor that positively affects satisfaction with online courses. There are many studies indicating that course satisfaction is related to sense of community (Drouin, 2008;Top et al., 2010). There are also studies emphasizing that student satisfaction with a lesson is strongly related to their perceived learning Lo, 2010). ...
... In the present study, it was seen that the most predictive variable was sense of community. Similar to this conclusion in literature, there are some studies showing that students' satisfaction with the sense of community is strongly related to their satisfaction with the course (e.g., Barnard et al., 2007;Drouin, 2008;Top et al., 2010). Drouin (2008) stated that sense of community was significantly associated with student course satisfaction in a psychology undergraduate course given online. ...
The aim of this study is to examine the use of threaded discussions in the blog environment in terms of the factors affecting student course satisfaction. Experimental and control groups were selected, and the students in the experimental group participated in threaded discussions in the blog environment. In the study, students in both groups were asked to share, in the blog environment, their course materials and reports about the subjects included in the course. The experimental group was asked to participate in asynchronous threaded discussions, and feedback about the quality of their participation was rapidly provided by the researchers. The data, collected before and after the experiment, were distributed online. According to the findings, the effect of threaded discussions on students’ beliefs about blogs and peer review was not significant, and perceived learning, sense of community, collaborative learning, and threaded discussion were the variables that predicted course satisfaction. The students’ satisfaction scores were not affected by their beliefs about blogs, peer review, and their ability to organize multimedia features.
... Garrison (2007) defined a learning community as "a group of individuals who collaboratively engage in purposeful critical discourse and reflection to construct meaning and confirm mutual understanding" (p.62). Students' sense of community in a virtual learning classroom comes primarily from the interactions with peers and professors (Drouin, 2008;Liu, Magjuka, Bonk & Lee, 2007;Outzs, 2006). Student perceptions of a sense of community in the virtual classroom correlate to the quality of their peer interaction (Drouin, 2008& Outzs, 2006. ...
... Students' sense of community in a virtual learning classroom comes primarily from the interactions with peers and professors (Drouin, 2008;Liu, Magjuka, Bonk & Lee, 2007;Outzs, 2006). Student perceptions of a sense of community in the virtual classroom correlate to the quality of their peer interaction (Drouin, 2008& Outzs, 2006. Studies find a correlation between student's sense of community and their satisfaction with course achievement and social interactions (Drouin, 2008;Liu, et. ...
... Student perceptions of a sense of community in the virtual classroom correlate to the quality of their peer interaction (Drouin, 2008& Outzs, 2006. Studies find a correlation between student's sense of community and their satisfaction with course achievement and social interactions (Drouin, 2008;Liu, et. al, 2007;Outzs, 2006). ...
Saint Leo University is a liberal arts university located in southwest Florida. University campus is a residential campus that teaches the traditional aged student. The campus population is 1,800 students who are mostly Florida residents, with international students representing 18 different countries. Twenty-one centers located in seven states support non-traditional student populations that may be civilian or military. The Center for Online Learning (COL) enrolls over 3,000 students who earn bachelor and masters’ degrees. The School of Education and Social Services offers undergraduate and graduate programs on campus, in centers and online in criminal justice, education, human services and social work. Throughout the university and the School of Education and Social Services core values are infused in all classes. In this session faculty who teach undergraduate and graduate classes in education, social services and human services will present how they infuse emerging technologies to design and implement instruction. Panel members will discuss effective strategies in technology, utilized across disciplines, to facilitate learning and build successful community, whether the class setting be an online platform, face-to-face or blended class. The panel will share how they quantitatively and qualitatively assess the effectiveness of the diverse technologies to support student learning modalities, critical thinking and application of course content. The panel’s discussion will convey the ways in which they promote dynamic student interactions and collaborations with instructors and peers. Speakers will provide a summary of how they use this information to inform instructional decisions within their specific disciplines which results in deeper understanding of course content.
... A sense of community is also related to a student's satisfaction within a course (10). Satisfaction, in a general sense, is based on perceived fulfillment of a service (11). ...
... Positive student participation has been linked to improved measures in curriculum mastery, reasoning, and attitudes towards education (16). Furthermore, in remote learning environments, the development of the classroom community through student participation has an impact on students' perception of achievement, course satisfaction (10,17), interactivity (9), and retention. A theoretical support for these findings can be found in the Community of Inquiry model, which emphasizes the impact of social presence along with teaching presence and cognitive presence in the online environment (18). ...
Sense of community is valued in higher education but can become a challenge, especially when classroom time is reduced or eliminated in blended and online coursework. As COVID-19 has forced the rapid transition to remote teaching, strategies for optimizing interactivity and discussion in both synchronous and asynchronous environments have become increasingly important. Here we focus first on the theoretical framework for the importance of sense of community in education, followed by a discussion of evidence-based variables that increase students' sense of belonging. Emphasis is placed on strategies that promote discussion and participation across course formats.
... Studies focusing on the reasons for adult dropout in online learning show that adult students' decision to leave distance education are affected by many factors: academic locus of control (Lee, Choi & Kim, 2013), face-to-face interaction request (Willging & Johnson, 2009;Lee & Choi;Drouin, 2008), family responsibilities (Thistoll & Yates, 2016), family and workplace support (Park & Choi, 2009), academic failure (Holder, 2007;Choi & Park, 2018;Paechter, Maier & Macher, 2010), business life (Lee & Choi, 2011), time conflicts (Lim, 2016), monetary problems (Yukselturk & Inan, 2006), academic encouragement (Heyman, 2010), and lack of motivation (Thistoll & Yates, 2016). ...
... This can be explained with the fact that distance education students wish to have the feelings of being a student and being committed to school. Drouin (2008) also stresses that students' insufficient interactions with teachers and with other students can cause students to feel isolated. This causes them to move away from the lesson-based environment and to drop out of school. ...
The first Open Praxis issue in volume 12 includes a brief report on the journal development since its relaunching in 2013, with a special focus on volume 11, published in 2019; nine research papers, one innovative practice paper and one book review.
... Studies focusing on the reasons for adult dropout in online learning show that adult students' decision to leave distance education are affected by many factors: academic locus of control (Lee, Choi & Kim, 2013), face-to-face interaction request (Willging & Johnson, 2009;Drouin, 2008), family responsibilities (Thistoll & Yates, 2016), family and workplace support (Park & Choi, 2009), academic failure (Holder, 2007;Choi & Park, 2018;Paechter, Maier & Macher, 2010), business life (Lee & Choi, 2011), time conflicts (Lim, 2016), monetary problems (Yukselturk & Inan, 2006), academic encouragement (Heyman, 2010), and lack of motivation (Thistoll & Yates, 2016). ...
... This can be explained with the fact that distance education students wish to have the feelings of being a student and being committed to school. Drouin (2008) also stresses that students' insufficient interactions with teachers and with other students can cause students to feel isolated. This causes them to move away from the lesson-based environment and to drop out of school. ...
This study aimed to investigate open education faculty and distance education students’ dropout reasons. By implementing the use of a case study as a qualitative research method, this study investigated why students dropped out for their distance education programs. The study group was composed of 25 students who had dropped out of distance education and open education faculty programmes. The study group was formed by using a stratified random sampling method. The research included a data collection tool based on a semi-structured interview form that was generated on the basis of interviews with experts and an evaluation of theories, models, and studies concerning dropout. The data from the interviews were analyzed through content analysis and involved distinguishing between codes, categories, and themes. This study found the following main factors as responsible for students dropping out of these programmes: students’ difficulty in paying the tuition fees, their maladjustment to the form of education offered on the Internet, their need for printed books, and technical problems encountered in examinations. Students’ lack of personal career objectives and their worries about failure were also among the most important factors that increased the possibility of dropping out. Additional reasons for dropping out included issues related to environmental circumstances and conditions as well as individual responsibilities. In conclusion, it was found that programmes and other environmental factors were influential in instances of dropout.
... In a related study, interviews with Nigerian online Master and doctoral programme in a UK Institution, Szilazyi [13] analysed cultural aspects on Nigerian students' retention in online courses and found that the students' sense of belonging to an online learning community with culturally-specific characteristics helped in motivating them as well as increasing their retention in the courses. However, Drouin [14] in a study with undergraduate students reported that sense of community membership was not necessarily linked to issues of student retention in an online course, rather it had more to do with students' satisfaction. Drouin [14] argued that student-student interactions are more powerful in community building. ...
... However, Drouin [14] in a study with undergraduate students reported that sense of community membership was not necessarily linked to issues of student retention in an online course, rather it had more to do with students' satisfaction. Drouin [14] argued that student-student interactions are more powerful in community building. Though there is a lot of literature on the importance of communities of inquiry in online learning environments, there is a dearth of research exploring if student cohort members view their interactions as that, which resembles a community of inquiry. ...
... According to Rovai [7], one strategy that can be used to increase retention among online learners is to provide them with increased affective support by promoting a strong sense of community that can be created through "a combination of facilitation skills, team-building activities, and group interaction" (p.331). Drouin [8] found that the utilization of learning activities, as well as students' perceived interaction with other students and instructors, were correlated with students' perceived sense of community. Similarly, Carman [9] claims that, within a self-paced learning environment, the effectiveness of learning increases when meaningful collaborative learning activities are in place. ...
... Although the promotion of interaction using learning activities is important when building a sense of community, the precise level of interaction and sense of community students need may differ. A study conducted by Drouin [8] revealed that some students did not desire a sense of community, while other students enjoyed or required social interaction during online learning. Similarly, Rhode [10] explored the dynamics of interaction in a self-paced online learning environment and found that not all forms of interaction were valued equally by learners; furthermore, the study found that effective and informal interactions were as important as formal interactions in determining the quality of online learning experiences. ...
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a sense of community could be enhanced via learning activities delivered through a Facebook group within a self-paced distance-learning course. A closed Facebook group was created for a voluntary English as a foreign language course. Four types of learning activities were delivered via the Facebook group including both syn-chronous and asynchronous structured activities, and synchronous and asyn-chronous unstructured activities. The study was designed as convergent mixed-method study. Quantitative data were gathered from a total of 179 students by using the Classroom Community Scale; quantitative data were concurrently gathered from 17 students via semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that the sense of community among learners was found to be high, however, the type of learning activities had no effect on building a sense of community. The study was intended to guide teachers, instructors, administrators and practitioners interested in designing and delivering self-paced open and distance learning courses.
... Best practices in teaching online typically emphasize the need to provide a space for students to interact so that students can build community [1,42,63]. Indeed, substantial work has been devoted to exploring the importance of developing community in online settings to prevent dropping out (e.g., [3,39]), raise course satisfaction [21,43], strengthen cooperation [4,12,29], increase lines of support [22,54] and promote feelings of belonging [8,27] to aid learning [34,61]. As proof, participation in discussion forums tends to be correlated with higher grades (e.g., [37,51,72]. ...
... Promoting a sense of community and creating support networks are critical for increasing learner success and preventing isolation. According to research, DE students with a stronger sense of community and perceived greater cognitive learning should feel less isolated and more satisfied with their academic programs, potentially leading to fewer dropouts (Davaasambuu and Zagari 2021;Drouin 2008). There is a substantial body of research on the nature and causes of systemic barriers that affect students' sense of community (Ciuffetelli Parker and Conversano 2021;Riley-Brown et al. 2020). ...
The study’s main goals are to investigate a sense of community belonging among distance education (DE) students from the perspective of an institutionalized learning center, as well as its impact on their satisfaction and well-being. This is one of the first studies to look at the perceived sense of community belonging among DE students in Ghana. The article presents the findings of thirty in-depth interviews with DE students at the University of Ghana’s Greater Accra Learning Centers. The findings suggest that low satisfaction and well-being owing to insufficient teaching and learning resources are more important in explaining DE students’ lower sense of community. While some participants reported improved access to higher education,
through DE, opinions on how beneficial the access was or could be for satisfaction were mixed. The findings highlight the need for research to incorporate a sense of community belonging into studies on enhancing DE image and reputation while focusing on the factors contributing to high levels of stress, discontentment, and
incomplete studies among DE students, as well as on how to alleviate or reduce them. These findings are consistent with the need for policy intervention in developing countries to increase DE participation rates.
... This trend is problematic because students improve their mastery of the class material and improve their attitude toward the educational experience when they participate in classroom discussions (Howe et al., 2019). Participation is particularly important in online environment where it is linked to students' perception of achievement and course satisfaction (Drouin, 2008). ...
Online education continues to grow in popularity each year. Although more counselor education programs offer online coursework, few articles discuss teaching strategies for online group work courses. We proposed, developed, and piloted a model for teaching group work in an online intensive format. In this article, we discuss the structure, components, and rationale of this model as well as the perceived benefits and challenges. We also provide recommendations for those who want to teach group work online.
... Substantial work has been devoted to exploring the importance of developing community in online settings to prevent drop-outs (e.g., Liu, Gomez, & Cherng-Jyh, 2009), raise course satisfaction (Drouin, 2008), aid learning (Rovai, 2002a), strengthen cooperation (Barab et al., 2001;Hur & Hara, 2007), and increase lines of support (Farooq et al., 2007) as well as feelings of belonging (Besser & Donahue, 1996). Although varied, definitions of online communities typically incorporate elements of the aforementioned outcomes and particularly focus on the strength of members' relationships (e.g., Haythornthwaite & Wellman, 1998). ...
... An essential role of online instructors is to promote and encourage an online community (Drouin, 2008;Nichols, 2010), assure peer interactions (Pigliapoco and Bogliolo, 2008;Alman et al., 2012), and facilitate effective dialogs with peers (Alman et al., 2012). Becoming a valuable part of the knowledge community fosters an effective knowledge construction process, thus increasing learners' chances of persistence (Goodyear and Zenios, 2007). ...
Online learning is becoming more popular with the maturity of social and educational technologies. In the COVID-19 era, it has become one of the most utilized ways to continue academic pursuits. Despite the ease and benefits offered by online classes, their completion rates are surprisingly low. Although several past studies focused on online dropout rates, institutions and course providers are still searching for a solution to this alarming problem. It is mainly because the previous studies have used divergent frameworks and approaches. Based on empirical research since 2001, this study presents a comprehensive review of factors by synthesizing them into a logically cohesive and integrative framework. Using different combinations of terms related to persistence and dropout, the authors explored various databases to form a pool of past research on the subject. This collection was also enhanced using the snowball approach. The authors only selected empirical, peer-reviewed, and contextually relevant studies, shortlisting them by reading through the abstracts. The Constant Comparative Method (CCM) seems ideal for this research. The authors employed axial coding to explore the relationships among factors, and selective coding helped identify the core categories. The categorical arrangement of factors will give researchers valuable insights into the combined effects of factors that impact persistence and dropout decisions. It will also direct future research to critically examine the relationships among factors and suggest improvements by validating them empirically. We anticipate that this research will enable future researchers to apply the results in different scenarios and contexts related to online learning.
... Reciprocal collaboration in the ecosystem improves the capacity to achieve the shared objectives of all parties in collaboration [22]. Internships, participatory research, community-based project works, civic engagements are medium to engage students not only with course but with higher order learning skills, service, leadership involvement, etc. Social interaction [23], social circle, online community, and fruitful interactions [24,25] raises level of student engagement. ...
During the recent times, online courses have become part of mainstream education for educational institutions. Engaging students for online courses is important as well as challenging. Based on the literature, we attempt to investigate what are the factors that lead to student engagement for online courses. First, we apply factor analysis to investigate the theoretical constructs and manifest factors. Then, network analysis is used to explore how the different antecedents are related to each other. Main findings include that (1) student faculty connect is essential for establishing student engagement (2) acquisition of analytical skills underpins the student engagement levels and (3) engaging students in research, collaborative work and self-driven learning also raises the levels of student engagement.
... This has become a growing concern among academic leaders (Seaman et al., 2018) because success has been commonly reflected and measured according to an institution's student retention rate (Phirangee, 2016). Students' satisfaction, enhanced learning engagement, and reduced feelings of isolation can be influenced by establishing connectedness in online courses while facilitating student success and completion (Drouin, 2008;Worley, 2015). ...
The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand how and why online higher education instructors and learners from the United States of America differed in their perceptions of social presence in the online classroom. Differing perceptions of the factors relevant to promoting social presence in the online classroom between instructors and learners can contribute to instructor and learner satisfaction and or dissatisfaction in the online learning environment.
... According to Handelsman et al. (2005), participation engagement deals with interaction with peers and enjoying the content of the course. Social interaction cultivates social engagement which leads to social construction of knowledge and positively influences the satisfaction level of student (Drouin, 2008). Further, with multi-level interactions, resource sharing and activities involving higher order thinking abilities, student can develop competencies on online learning environments (Oliveira et al., 2011). ...
... Online courses should meet the needs of students and motivate those enrolled (Serwatka, 2005). They should be designed to engage students (Dietz-Uhler et al., 2007) and create opportunities for peer-to-peer and mentor-to-peer interactions, while allowing for faculty feedback on student progress and success (Drouin, 2008;Kupczynski et al., 2011). Saiyad et al. (2020), in reviewing the pandemic-induced online transition, highlighted 12 principles for effective and sustainable online courses in medical training, many of which overlap with elements of the CURE model. ...
https://www.nsta.org/journal-college-science-teaching/journal-college-science-teaching-septemberoctober-2021/course
... 329). Drouin (2008) was interested in the relationship between students' perceived sense of community and satisfaction, achievement and retention in an online course. The researcher surveyed undergraduate students as part of course evaluations. ...
This paper explores the perceived information learning needs of students registered in the Teacher-Librarianship by Distance Learning (TLDL) program at the University of Alberta. This paper reports on the findings related to two main questions: 1. To understand the perceived information needs of students who are completing a Master of Education degree completely online. 2. To understand students’ perceptions of “community” in online spaces. To address these questions, an online survey was distributed to current and former students of this online teacher librarianship education program. Respondents indicated that they had a strong sense of community through the program and the online courses. Community within the TLDL program is built through student-to-student and instructor-to-student interactions. Respondents’ perceived sense of community aligned with the existing literature about building online communities. This study indicates that as more students choose to take courses online, instructors need to carefully consider how to make rich learning experiences that are as good as, or even better than face-to-face learning experiences.
... For this to happen, learners have to see themselves as members of a community with other fellow students and faculty who appreciate their unique value and make them feel that they matter and belong in those particular learning environments (Drouin, 2008). This was precisely what the term "sense of connectedness" represents in the context of this research. ...
ABSTRACT
Social integration and a sense of connectedness are important elements in many attrition and student persistence models in higher education. Due to the increased popularity and offerings of distance education courses in recent years, this research study explored the role of social integration and a sense of connectedness among military students in online and hybrid course modalities to better understand effects on persistence rates and academic performance among this fast-growing population of nontraditional learners.
This study used quantitative analysis combined with focus group findings to examine the perception of social integration and a sense of connectedness using Bean and Metzner’s Adult Student Persistence Model (1985) as its theoretical framework. The study sought to answer six research questions related to social integration, sense of connectedness, persistence rates, and academic performance in two course modes (online, hybrid). The site for the study was a local military-friendly academic institution that has one of the largest enrollments of military learners in Hawai`i.
Ratings for social integration and sense of connectedness were low in both course types. Statistical tests showed no significant differences between the online and hybrid course modalities in terms of course persistence rates and final grades of students or in measures of social integration and sense of connectedness. A Pearson product-moment correlation demonstrated no statistically significant relationships among social integration, sense of connectedness, persistence, and academic performance. Lastly, regression analysis indicated only one variable (sense of connectedness) was statistically significant in terms of predicting academic performance (grade) among the military students in online courses. Focus group findings revealed that military students placed importance on social integration and a sense of connectedness in both course modes but perceived it differently. Some desired to have a stronger relationship with faculty, while others put emphasis on being understood better as an adult learner among their peers and instructors. A finding of this study was that better understanding of the need of military learners and how they prefer to learn could lead to improved course persistence and academic performance regardless of what course modality they participate. This study has implications for hybrid and online class educators, administrators, as well as policy makers, to more effectively support the growing student population of military students in programs across the nation.
... Social presence is associated with bet-215 ter performance on writing assignments (Picciano, 2002 Q3 ), a sense of connection with the class (Shea et al., 2006), and student satisfaction (Dennen et al., 2007). Additionally, Drouin (2008) found that the social construction of knowledge and social presence and commu-220 nity impacted student satisfaction and was furthered by deep learning. Rosie (2000) found that interactions between students and teachers had a positive association with overall engagement and with deep learning. ...
With asynchronous scheduling and the semi-anonymous nature of online courses, engaging students can be challenging. The authors created an innovative MBA class assignment designed to teach brand management while engaging students in the topic, the class, and with each other. Students were provided with a food product from a well-established brand and were tasked with creating viral videos to promote the product while making the brand relevant today. Surveys and exams reveal the exercise increased student engagement, effort, and relevancy, motivating them to do well in the course, to participate, and interact more. Contributions, challenges, and alternative assignments are discussed.
... When students receive feedback on their assignments, they feel more connected to the instructor (LaBarbera 2013). This greater interaction can foster a perception of learning community (Drouin 2008;Yuan and Kim 2014). Feedback can increase the interaction between instructor and students (Ice et al. 2007;Richardson and Swan 2003;Swan 2002) and students' sense of learning community (Yuan and Kim 2014). ...
How should learner analytics and different media be used to optimize feedback to increase students’ motivation and sense of learning community in online learning programs? This study was designed to examine the usage of feedback delivery methods (text only, video only, or both) and learner analytics (individual vs. class average) to answer the above question. Two consecutive surveys were administrated to the students of a series of online courses over four semesters which resulted in a sample of 96. Using this quasi-experimental design, we aimed to capture changes in students’ perceived feedback quality, motivation, and sense of learning community when different feedback delivery methods and learner analytics were introduced. The findings revealed that students who received both video and text feedback were least motivated and lowest in their sense of online learning community when compared with students who received just video or text feedback. No significant differences were found between students who received video or text feedback regarding motivation and their sense of learning community. The findings also showed that when sharing class average, students’ motivation decreased. This study provides insights into how instructors might use media and learner analytics when designing feedback to motivate and promote student learning in online learning programs.
... Following this productive online model can allow for a diverse and active online classroom experience (Figure 1). According to Drouin (2008) there is a positive correlation regarding a student's view on interacting with instructors and classmates in the discussion forum and their engagement in the class. Though correlation does not imply causation, it does signify that quality discussion in the online classroom may lead to active engagement (See Appendix A). ...
... Researches on Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) have received limitless attention in educational context particularly among course instructors of tertiary institution. In online learning context such as MOOC, students' retention is highly driven by their motivation and interest towards the course [11,15]. In defining students' retention, previous researchers concluded that the amount of students' retention is highly corroborated with their willingness and extension of commitment to be involved in learning [10,18]. ...
Learning analytics of massive open online courses (MOOCs) can assist educators and researchers to understand learning patterns in MOOCs. As learning in these types of environments are still relatively understudied, learning analytics can help in visualizi ng patterns of learning which include dispersion of learning. Previous studies have indicated that a higher level of dispersion of learning may indicate that a learner is actively participating in a MOOC. As such, the study aims to investigate the dispersion of learning in MOOCs from a learning analytics view and identify the relationships among factors such as total active learning time, peak learning times, and number of comments. The study involved investigating learning analytics of a MOOC for postgraduate studies learning about educational technology with an enrolment of over 660 students. The findings of the study show that high dispersion of learning could indicate that student require a slower pace of learning, while a lower one could indicate vice versa. Results also show that learners with lower completion rates and high dispersion of learning were one who contributed more to the community (i.e. had the greatest number of comments). In sum the findings suggest that dispersion of learning is related to students' overall engagement in MOOCs and dispersion of learning cannot be made the sole measure of learning as it could be related to pace of learning.
... Nonetheless, social presence has been correlated with many important outcomes in educational contexts such as emotional support and connectedness among group members (Park & Bonk, 2007). The lack of social presence has been a common complaint of online students, who lament feeling of isolation, an unfulfilled need for face-to-face interaction and an aversion to low quality online interaction (de la Varre, Irvin, Jordan, Hannun, & Farmer, 2014;Drouin, 2008;Herbert, 2006;Ku, Tseng, & Akarasriworn, 2013). ...
The purpose of this case study was to explore how the embodiment of graduate students in robotic surrogates was related to their engagement in a class with other robotically and non-robotically embodied classmates. Using a mixed methods design, we collected survey and in-class observational data on the students’ perceptions of their robotic bodies and their engagement in the course. Applying linear models and thematic analysis, we sought to identify prevailing patterns of students’ use their robotic bodies to engage in their learning. Our findings suggest that nonverbal communication with one's robotic body is a dominant form of interaction and engagement in synchronous learning contexts and multiple contextual factors affect robotic students’ engagement. Specifically, the capabilities of the robotic surrogate and the student's perceptions of the surrogate as an extension of their own body may influence their engagement in educational contexts. Patterns of robotic and nonverbal behaviors may also vary with instructional context and social learning. For robotically telepresent students, embodiment becomes a central factor to their engagement and should be included in theories of engagement in technology-mediated contexts that involve surrogate bodies.
... Despite the difficulties inherent in building a learning community in an online environment (Brown, 2001;Vesely, Bloom, & Sherlock, 2007), studies support the value of building community for social reinforcement (Conrad, 2005;Gallagher-LePak, Reilly, & Killion, 2009;Moller, 1998), information exchange (Moller, 1998), and student outcomes (Anderson, 2008;Drouin, 2008;Exter, Korkmaz, Harlin, & Bichelmeyer, 2009;Liu et al., 2007;Shea, 2006;Shea, Li, & Pickett, 2006;Tinto, 1975;Wegerif, 1998). ...
Instructors striving to facilitate the building of community in online courses must make evidence-based decisions in choosing the most effective interaction types during the course-design process. The study reported in this paper sought to identify which types of interaction contribute most to students' sense of community (SoC) in online graduate courses at a regional comprehensive university. Rovai's Classroom Community Scale was used to measure SoC, and Likert-scale questions were employed to measure frequency and perceived importance of seven kinds of learner-instructor interaction. The results indicate that the interactions that are most predictive of SoC include instructor modeling, support and encouragement, facilitating discussions, multiple communication modes, and required participation. Instructor modeling was found to offer the greatest yield to instructors as a balance between effort and benefit. Implications for online course design are discussed.
The chapter is based on the qualitative research conducted in a Canadian post-secondary institution. The researcher applied an exploratory case study methodology and a semi-structured interview approach. The participants were students who studied in fully online classes, instructors who delivered online courses, and instructional designers of the online courses. They answered sets of questions about the relevance of interpersonal relationships among online classmates to learning. The respondents also discussed how those relationships could be initiated, developed, and cultivated in an online course by means of instructional design and the implementation of facilitation strategies and techniques. This chapter examines how instructional designers and instructors can design and foster a collaborative learning environment. The research topic is beneficial to adult education instructors, instructional designers, faculty, higher education administrators, educational technologists, students, and scholars who are interested in researching course design for collaborative online learning.
A relationship is documented as a personal investment in another's life. Relationships add to learning environments as substantial to the growth of students. In an online learning environment, a relationship is defined by the mutual agreement between an educator and a learner in which expectations of increased knowledge gained through the education experience provided by the educator. It is evident that in an online environment it is vital to consistently evaluate in order to have the enrichment of relationships between student to professors and student to student. Research has shown that the creation of such environments results in a feeling of community and social presence for the students. Student satisfaction extends to the relationship students feel toward their professors. The strength of the student to professor relationship results in a key component in student retention. The method in which the relationships are established and built in an online environment are vital for student satisfaction and retention of students within a program of study.
The study focused on the e-learning experiences of blind students at King Saud University during Coved-19 pandemic. The study goal was to increase awareness about the appropriate course design for blind students in particular. The study tried to understand five elements (The reality of teaching academic achievement student interaction, student's communication, best education for blind students). A qualitative methodology was used to understand the e-learning experiences of blind students. The researcher used a snowball sample that included five male undergraduate students. An interview was used for data collection and thematic analysis to describe the data. The results also showed that the students faced difficulty in e-learning due to the visual tasks that require fast interaction during online lectures. Students' achievement was lower and communication depended on the course's teachers. The format of the educational content was one of the biggest challenges that participants emphasized because it was incompatible with the screen reader program. Study recommendations of the study were: providing activities appropriate to the abilities of students with visual disabilities in the e-learning environment.
The development of creative skills by business students has become an increasingly important graduate competency to address contemporary social, environmental, and business challenges. This chapter defines creativity and explores creativity in higher education via its two distinct yet related guises—creativity as a learning outcome (skill) and creativity as a learning process employed by educators to achieve this learning outcome. Grounded in our experiences of the delivery of responsible management education and entrepreneurship education in blended learning environments, this chapter advances creative pedagogy, or creagogy, as an approach to developing and delivering effective, engaging, and enjoyable business education which fosters creativity as a skill and disposition in learners.
Online educators regularly experiment with ways to create a sense of classroom community in the online courses they design and teach. They do this in part to battle feelings of isolation and loneliness but also to align with prevailing theories of learning (e.g., social constructivism) as well as to mimic idealized in-person face-to-face learning experiences. However, little is known about how well a sense of community is developed in accelerated online courses. Given this, we investigated students’ perceptions of classroom community in traditional length online courses (e.g., 15-week courses) and accelerated online courses (e.g., 7-week courses) taught by the same instructors. The results showed that there was not a statistically significant difference in students’ perceptions of classroom community between the 15-week and 7-week courses. Students in this study rated the accelerated 7-week courses as having a higher sense of classroom community. In this paper, we present the results of our inquiry. We conclude with the implications of our research on research and practice.
Higher education institutions implement purposeful change to improve their performance or impose changes in response to their external environments. To deal with these changes, students are expected to develop their coping capacity – the emotional and cognitive ability to manage the demands of adverse situations. Student coping is composed of four interdependent core elements – self-efficacy, engagement, resilience and anxiety. This article synthesizes the evidence on the effect of higher education changes on student’s ability to cope. Using Polanin et al.’s (2017) overview process, our search generated 551 articles, and after three rounds of screening, the remaining 12 reviews were analyzed using the narrative descriptive synthesis approach. We found that the quality assessment within the included reviews were inconsistent and, sometimes not clearly defined. From the analysis of the reviews, four key themes emerged: (1) change is complex; (2) the nature of change is varied; (3) there is an interdependent relationship between the coping elements; and (4) the measurement of change is not sophisticated. Our findings highlight the need for higher education institutions to adopt a principle-based approach to purposefully develop students’ coping capacity, by improving their self-efficacy, engagement, and resilience, and reducing anxiety. Limitations and future research directions are outlined.
The last decade has brought an increase in online courses in the educational setting. One-quarter of American college students are in an online degree program, and 32% have taken at least one online course. While students, higher universities, and faculty are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of online learning environments, there is an increasing concern over the support in distance education, teaching methods, and a social disconnectedness of students from the course. This chapter explores how technology can support a successful online learning experience and impede the dissatisfaction and higher dropout rates among students in distance learning programs. Higher institution's online faculty are now faced with the task of creating a virtual community of learners, meeting both the academic and social needs of students.
Since images leveraged with pertinent information demonstrates a
promising involvement in many field of researches such as medical imaging, micro-
scopic imaging, soft computing, smart cities, network transmission, military areas,
feature extraction, object identification and tracking, remote sensing, geographical
areas, classification, and so on. Whereas, image fusion schemes yields an informative
image via integration of two or more than two partly focused images. Universal image
fusion technique design is not possible in practical. Each image fusion technique has
its own limitations as well as specific application advantages. In this research paper,
authors have analyzed five fusion techniques namely guided filtering-based image
fusion technique (IFGF), image fusion relied on image matting-based technique
(IFIM), image fusion relied on focused region detection (IFFRD), image fusion
technique centered on boundary finding (IFBF), and convolution neural network-
based fusion technique (CNN). Two performance metrics, i.e., MI and FMI, have
been considered to test the performance results. For metric MI, the best performing
method is IFBF with a value of 1.144. For FMI metric, the method with best perfor-
mance is IFBF with a value of 0.666. Lytro multi-focus color image dataset has been
used to perform this experimentation work.
News with political bias associated with suggestion falsi to impact the masses is a very pertinent issue today. It’s very difficult to verify the information since it depends upon the perception of the individuals and time constraint to detect it because of the high volume of such news. We intend to identify a methodology that uses NLP processes to identify the political inclination and reliability of the news articles. Using search engines, the proposed tool identifies similar articles from reliable news sources and compares it with original news. We have used many state-of-the-art NLP methods (i.e., BERT, Siamese Network) and search engines API to do the initial job of summarization and text similarity. Subsequently, the Bias Score and Factual Correctness Score of mediabiaschart.org are used to do the final prediction.KeywordsNatural language processingNews verificationPolitical bias analysis
This article proposes a transferable model for online learning, based on the principles of social constructivism. The findings have been collected through ‘end-of-course feedback surveys’, and concern a student-sample of 170 nationalities, residing in 154 countries. All students were registered in cohorts of the same postgraduate programme over a period of four years. The findings throw light on learners' difficulties in different parts of the world; along with practical implications for University decision-makers and instructors. The article's contribution is encapsulated in an eight-pillar learning model, aiming to facilitate educational inclusion, quality enhancement, and promote the benefit of learners.
This PhD project focuses on the investigation of key influential variables related to blended learning (BL) courses in Tanzanian Universities by applying the Community of Inquiry theory. The Community of Inquiry theoretical framework represents a process of creating a deep and meaningful learning experience through the development of three interdependent elements – social, cognitive and teaching presence. Five independent studies were conducted involving five universities in five regions in Tanzania. A total of 2704 students and instructors were involved in the studies. Data were collected using surveys, interviews, observation and focus group discussions. The major findings show that teaching, social and cognitive presences tend to influence student perfomance in certain circumstances. Students feel highly connected in their BL courses. However, the results indicate that their sense of connection does not predict their academic performance. The results show that students use group discussions to connect with each other, which enhances interactions and social presence. Instructors tend to view teaching as mainly lecturing and BL as an extension of face-to-face instruction. Recommendations for applying blended learning are put forth among Tanzanian universites.
هدف البحث إلى رصد وتحليل كم ونوعية استخدام أدوات التفاعل التزامنية بين المشاركين في الفصول الافتراضية من أجل التوصل لمدى استخدام الدارسين لنوعيات محددة من أنماط الاتصال وتفضيلهم لها بالرغم من تنوع أنماط الاتصال التي تتيحها هذه الفصول الافتراضية؛ مما قد يفيد في التعرف على أسباب هذا وكيفية تلافي مشكلاتهم في استخدام بعضها الأخر، كما أن كم استخدام أدوات محددة من الاتصال قد يفيد في تطوير هذا الاستخدام وزيادته بما يحقق مخرجات تعليمية أفضل وفقاً لتفاعلات أكثر تنوعاً وتكراراً
The last decade has brought an increase in online courses in the educational setting. One-quarter of American college students are in an online degree program, and 32% have taken at least one online course. While students, higher universities, and faculty are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of online learning environments, there is an increasing concern over the support in distance education, teaching methods, and a social disconnectedness of students from the course. This chapter explores how technology can support a successful online learning experience and impede the dissatisfaction and higher dropout rates among students in distance learning programs. Higher institution's online faculty are now faced with the task of creating a virtual community of learners, meeting both the academic and social needs of students.
Notre travail de recherche porte sur la saisonnalité en station de ski en hiver. Il s’agit d’un groupe professionnel qui fait l’objet de peu de recherches. Les travailleurs saisonniers en stations sont pourtant nombreux (400 000) (Aboubadra-Pauly, d’Artois, & Le Ru, 2016) et sont exposés à des stresseurs spécifiques (précarité, isolement, climat, hébergements, invisibilité sociale, etc.) qui les conduisent souvent à abandonner leur poste de travail. Les abandons de poste constituent des échecs pouvant générer des situations de précarité, d’insécurité, de perte de lien social et de baisse d’estime de soi. Ces abandons ont également des conséquences économiques importantes pour les entreprises qui emploient ces saisonniers. Il s’agit donc d’étudier, dans une approche prospective, les facteurs personnels (personnalité, âge, situation familiale), contextuels (logement, métier, rémunération, etc.) et psychosociaux (demandes psychologiques, latitude décisionnelle, soutien social, stratégies de coping, adéquation entre les valeurs du salarié et celles de l’organisation, satisfaction au travail) permettant de prédire un bon ajustement aux métiers desaisonniers. Nos indicateurs d’ajustement sont le turnover volontaire et l’engagement au travail (mesuré avec l’Utrecht Work Engagement Scale). Cent soixante et un sujets ont été évalués à 3 reprises (avant, pendant et à la fin de la saison). Les résultats montrent que la personnalité des saisonniers (selon la taxonomie des big five) a peu d’influence sur le turnover et le niveaud’engagement. Nous mettons également en évidence l’effet médiateur de la satisfaction au travail entre l’adéquation personne-organisation (PO fit) et le turnover. En outre, nous montrons les liens directs entre stresseurs professionnels, l’adéquation de la formation, les responsabilités, larémunération, le mode de logement, l’expérience du métier, certaines stratégies de coping, le PO Fit et l’engagement. Les liens entre nos deux critères (engagement et turnover volontaire) sont également étudiés. Les implications théoriques et pratiques de nos travaux sont discutées.
The last decade has brought an increase in online courses in the educational setting. Online enrollment has increased from 1.98 million in 2003 to 2.35 million in 2004 (Allen & Seaman, 2005). While students, higher universities, and faculty are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of online learning environments, there is an increasing concern over the support in distance education, teaching methods, and a social disconnectedness of students from the course. This chapter explores how these factors can impede a successful online learning experience and can cause dissatisfaction and higher dropout rates among students in distance learning programs. Carr (2000) found higher dropout rates for distance education (10-20%) over traditional programs. Higher institution's online faculty are now faced with the task of creating a virtual community of learners, meeting both academic and social needs of students.
This article describes a practical approach to judging the nature and quality of critical discourse in a computer conference. A model of a critical community of inquiry frames the research. A core concept in defining a community of inquiry is cognitive presence. In turn, the practical inquiry model operationalizes cognitive presence for the purpose of developing a tool to assess critical discourse and reflection. The authors present encouraging empirical findings related to an attempt to create an efficient and reliable instrument to assess the nature and quality of critical discourse and thinking in a text‐based educational context. Finally, the authors suggest that cognitive presence (i.e., critical, practical inquiry) can be created and supported in a computer‐conference environment with appropriate teaching and social presence.
This study attempts to find appropriate interaction analysis/content analysis techniques that assist in examining the negotiation of meaning and co-construction of knowledge in collaborative learning environments facilitated by computer conferencing. The authors review strengths and shortcomings of existing interaction analysis techniques and propose a new model based on grounded theory building for analyzing the quality of CMC interactions and learning experiences. This new Interaction Analysis Model for Examining Social Construction of Knowledge in Computer Conferencing was developed after proposing a new definition of "interaction" for the CMC context and after analyzing interactions that occurred in a Global Online Debate. The application of the new model for analysis of collaborative construction of knowledge in the online debate and in a subsequent computer conference are discussed and future research suggested.
Instructional media such as computer conferencing engender high levels of student-student and student-teacher interaction; therefore, they can support models of teaching and learning that are highly interactive and consonant with the communicative ideals of university education. This potential and the ubiquity of computer conferencing in higher education prompted three of the authors of the this article to develop a community of inquiry model that synthesizes pedagogical principles with the inherent instructional and access benefits of computer conferencing (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). This article explicates one element of the model, social presence. Social presence is defined
The use of online discussion boards has grown extensively in the past 5 years, yet some researchers argue that our understanding of how to use this tool in an effective and meaningful way is minimal at best. Part of the problem in acquiring more cohesive and useful information rests in the absence of a comprehensive, theory-driven metric to assess quality and effectiveness. Based on an extensive review of the research, the following variables were used to assess traditional discussion board use: thread, location of message within thread, author (student vs. educator), subject line clarity, time of posting, response time from previous message, number of times message was read, number of words, primary purpose, message quality, difficulty level of topic, knowledge level, processing level and use of external resources. These variables proved to be effective in assessing 12 key areas of discussion board use. It is argued that this kind of metric is essential if we wish to advance our understanding of online discussion boards for both educators and researchers.
This paper presents a theoretical framework for viewing elements that comprise distance education instructional systems in terms of dialogue. It is assumed that learning is mediated by intrapersonal dialogue and facilitated by interpersonal dialogue. Every resource in a distance education instructional system (eg, instructor availability, asynchronous communication networks, self-instruction texts, etc) is analysed in terms of the dialogue mode it supports. The framework offers three advantages: (1) a unified, simple, and coherent description of the mechanisms at play in distance education systems, (2) clear-cut operational definitions, and (3) hypotheses that may be investigated empirically.
Although important, traditional basic-to-applied research methods have provided an insufficient basis for advancing the design
and implementation of innovative collaborative learning environments. It is proposed that more progress may be accomplished
through development research or design research. Development research protocols require intensive and long-term collaboration
among researchers and practitioners. In this article, we propose guidelines for implementing development research models more
widely, and conclude with a prescription for an online collaborative learning research agenda for the next five to ten years.
The purpose of this study is to provide conceptual order and a tool for the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and computer conferencing in supporting an educational experience. Central to the study introduced here is a model of community inquiry that constitutes three elements essential to an educational transaction—cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. Indicators (key words/phrases) for each of the three elements emerged from the analysis of computer-conferencing transcripts. The indicators described represent a template or tool for researchers to analyze written transcripts, as well as a guide to educators for the optimal use of computer conferencing as a medium to facilitate an educational transaction. This research would suggest that computer conferencing has considerable potential to create a community of inquiry for educational purposes.
Many advocates of computer-mediated distance education emphasize its positive aspects and understate the kind of work that it requires for students and faculty. This article presents a qualitative case study of a Web-based distance education course at a major U.S. university. The case data reveal a taboo topic: students' persistent frustrations in Web-based distance education. First, this paper will analyze why these negative phenomena are not found in the literature. Second, this article will discuss whether students' frustrations inhibit their educational opportunities. In this study, students' frustrations were found in three interrelated sources: lack of prompt feedback, ambiguous instructions on the Web, and technical problems. It is concluded that these frustrations inhibited educational opportunities. This case study illustrates some student perspectives and calls attention to some fundamental issues that could make distance education a more satisfying learning experience.
P class=abstract>This article challenges the belief that strong sense of community is limited to the traditional classroom and proposes that the virtual classroom has the potential of building and sustaining sense of community at levels that are comparable to the traditional classroom. Drawing on research literature, the concept of learning community is applied to the virtual classroom by taking on the issue of how best to design and conduct an online course that fosters community among learners who are physically separated from each other. Course design principles are described that facilitate dialogue and decrease psychological distance, thereby increasing a sense of community among learners.
Key Terms
Distance education, community, spirit, trust, interaction, learning, persistence, attrition, ALN, online</P
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies are becoming increasingly important components of online educational environments (Romiszowski & Mason, 2004). The online discussion forum that is a significant component of many web-based courses is one type of CMC. Instructors and students rely on these asynchronous forums to engage one another in ways that replace face-to-face communication. The goal of such interactions is to promote critical thinking, meaningful problem solving, and knowledge construction (Kirschner, Strijbos, Kreijns, & Beers, 2004). In spite of the importance of these forums, the most common methods for assessing the content and outcomes of these forums have often been limited to frequency counts and other quantitative measures (Mason, 1992; Romiszowski & Mason, 2004). In order to assess any meaning that results from these discussions, it is necessary to perform some kind of semantic analysis of them. This article provides an overview of current methods of quantitative and qualitative research paradigms for analyzing the content of asynchronous computer-mediated discussion forums. For each analysis method we describe the research method, provide an example of a research study that used that method, describe the types of questions that this method can address, and compare the methods in terms of validity and reliability. Researchers and instructors will be able to use this analysis to become familiar with the choices available and make decisions about appropriate methods for analyzing CMC forums.
This study presents a comprehensive theoretical model designed to explain the academic satisfaction, residential living satisfaction, academic performance, and retention of college students. The model is tested against data obtained from a state university with generally strong results. This article explains how the model can be used by individual institutions of higher education to test the effect of their own policy measures on retention.
A social network paradigm provides a unique way of understanding student integration. Integration, in a structural sense, can be measured with knowledge of the universe of students' on-campus associations. This study surveys such a universe and measures the structural aspects of student relations to assess how they affect student commitment and persistence.
Nineteen on-line graduate courses were analyzed in order to determine how perceived learning varies by course and its relationship to active and passive participation by students in on-line discussions. Study results provided evidence that significant differences existed by course, suggesting that quality assurance is an issue in Internet-based instruction. Moreover, female students felt that they learned more than their male counterparts. Only active interaction, operational-ized by the number of messages posted by students per week, was a significant predictor of perceived learning. Passive interaction, analogous to listening to but not participating in discussions and operationalized by the number of accesses to the discussion boards of the e-learning system each week, was not significant. Résumé Dix-neuf cours en ligne de deuxième cycle ont été analysés afin de déterminer comment la perception de l'apprentissage varie selon le cours et aussi afin de définir le lien avec la participation active et passive des étudiants dans les discus-sions en ligne. Les résultats de l'étude ont fourni des indices sur l'existence de différences importantes selon le cours, suggérant que l'assurance de la qualité est une question importante dans la formation utilisant l'Internet. De plus, les étu-diants de sexe féminin ont le sentiment d'avoir appris davantage que le pensent leurs collègues masculins. L'interaction active, opérationnalisée par le nombre de messages affichés par les étudiants par semaine, était le seul indice significatif de l'apprentissage perçu. L'interaction passive, analogue à écouter mais ne pas parti-ciper aux discussions et opérationnalisée par le nombre d'accès aux forums de discussion du système de e-learning chaque semaine, n'était pas significatif.
This article discusses course design factors affecting the success of asynchronous online learning, with a specific focus on the social development of learning communities through online discussion. It reports on an empirical investigation of correlations between 22 course design factors and student perceptions of satisfaction, learning, and interaction with instructors and classmates using data collected from 73 courses offered through the State University of New York Learning Network (SLN) in the spring 1999 semester. Data analyses revealed that three factors were significantly related to student perceptions - clarity and consistency in course design, contact with and feedback from course instructors, and active and valued discussion. An explanation for these findings may center on the importance of creating opportunities for interaction in online learning environments. In this vein, preliminary findings from research on the development of community in online course discussions is presented. Drawn from content analyses of asynchronous discussions in an online graduate course in education, this research examines the ways in which course participants use verbal immediacy indicators to support the development of online community. Findings support an equilibrium model of social presence in online discussion which suggests that as affective communications channels are reduced, discussion participants use more verbal immediacy behaviors to support interaction among classmates. Taken together, the findings support the importance of interaction for online teaching and learning.
Time constraints and teaching in crowded classrooms restrict in-depth dialogical interaction in teaching and learning. Electronic conferencing systems, however, have the potential to foster online discussions beyond class time. Case-based instruction also constitutes a promising approach in fostering learners' participation and reflection. The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) the extent to which an electronic conferencing system, named COW (“Conferencing on the Web”), facilitates pre-service teachers' communication outside their classroom, when discussing teaching cases from their field experiences, and (b) the potential of COW and case-based instruction to foster quality discourse and promote students' critical-thinking skills. The results showed that students' online discourse was mostly an exchange of personal experiences and did not reflect well-supported reasoning. Future research on the issue of interactivity should address motivational and affective variables related to the implementation of distance-education methods, variations in pedagogical activity and task structure, and the readiness of mentors and learners.
In an attempt to serve online students' needs, several questions were asked: Is there a dominant learning style of students in online courses? Is there a preferred method of online instruction? Is there a relationship between learning styles and the preferred method of online instruction? A two-part survey was administered to all graduate students enrolled in SetonWorldWide. Part A consisted of the Gregorc Learning Styles Delineator (GSD) and Part B consisted of demographic questions and a Likert scale focusing on the rating of online instructional methods. Subjects ( N = 96) displayed varied learning styles with dual learning styles (56.2%) representing the largest group. Subjects demonstrated strong preferences for asynchronous log-ons (99%), a high degree of interaction within the course, and noted a high degree of satisfaction with their online programs (95%). Convenience was the most frequent reason reported (92%) for selecting a Web course. The strongest preferences were noted for instructional activities emphasizing convenience, time management, and interactivity. Correlation analysis between students' learning styles scores and six online instructional methods revealed several significant relationships which were inconsistent with personality traits. It was found that students enrolled in online education because of the convenience, displayed a dual learning style, and favored individual assignments and threaded discussions.
Most treatments of the concept of interaction in distance education have been based on Moore's (1989) discussion of three types of interaction: learner‐content, learner‐instructor, and learner‐learner. However, these previous discussions have failed to consider the interaction that occurs between the learner and the technologies used to deliver instruction. This article presents the concept of learner‐interface interaction and recommends instructional design strategies that will facilitate students' acquisition of the skills needed to participate effectively in the electronic classroom.
In an empirical study, the predominant needs of 2 contrasting groups of students in distance learning programs were investigated. One group was composed of traditional, on-campus students. The other was composed of nontraditional, off-campus students from a rural area. We administered a survey to 95 distance learning students to determine their primary educational needs, and completed a contrasting analysis to determine if accessibility of the instructor and satisfaction levels varied across groups. Results show that satisfaction levels did not vary significantly across student segments.
Based on the GlobalEd inter‐university computer conference, this study examined how effective “social presence” is as a predictor of overall learner satisfaction in a text‐based medium. The stepwise regression analysis converged on a three‐predictor model revealing that social presence (the degree to which a person is perceived as “real” in mediated communication), student perception of having equal opportunity to participate, and technical skills accounted for about 68% of the explained variance. Social presence alone contributed about 60% of this variance, suggesting that it may be a very strong predictor of satisfaction. Reliability data on the social presence scale is provided. The results also indicated that participants who felt a higher sense of social presence enhanced their socio‐emotional experience by using emoticons to express missing nonverbal cues in written form. These findings have implications for designing academic computer conferences where equal attention must be paid to designing techniques that enhance social presence.
Compared with other media, computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a relatively new mode of communication that has emerged in the past two decades. In the past decade, there has been a growing body of research on CMC. There are two dominant models of CMC: the task-oriented and the social-emotion-oriented. This review discusses, compares, and contrasts several major aspects of these two models. Results indicate that both models share similarities in three areas: research methods, participants' characteristics, and task characteristics. However, the models have differences in three other areas: theoretical foundations, technology and experimental duration in research methodology, and major findings. Suggestions for future CMC research are proposed in order to more clearly identify the nature of CMC environments. (Contains 93 references.) (Author/MES)
Our pervasive adoption of CMC in higher education has far outpaced our understanding of the nature of CMC and, accordingly, how this medium should best be used to promote higher‐order learning (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, American Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 7–23, 2001). Therefore, this study examined the relationship between peer interaction and learning outcomes by creating and testing through structural equation modeling a model of five variables—learner characteristics measured by self‐construal, perceived teaching style, task design, course requirements, and prior CMC experience—that influence self‐reported peer interaction and self‐reported learning outcomes. The results showed that perceived teaching style had a small direct effect (0.23) and prior CMC experience had a moderate direct effect (0.31) on self‐reported peer interaction; self‐reported peer interaction had a strong direct effect (0.66) on self‐reported learning outcomes.
This study analyzed discussion in an online conferencethat supplemented class discussion using aninstructional method called the starter-wrappertechnique within a traditional graduate leveleducational psychology course. Various quantitativemeasures were recorded to compare instructor andstudent participation rates. In addition, Henri's(1992) model for content analysis of computer-mediatedcommunication was employed to qualitatively analyzethe electronic discourse. Using this model, five keyvariables were examined: (1) student participationrates; (2) electronic interaction patterns; (3) socialcues within student messages; (4) cognitive andmetacognitive components of student messages; and (5)depth of processing -- surface or deep -- within messageposting. Transcript content analyses showed that,while students tended to post just the one requiredcomment per week in the conference, their messageswere lengthy, cognitively deep, embedded with peerreferences, and indicative of a student orientedenvironment. Moreover, students were using high levelcognitive skills such as inferencing and judgment aswell as metacognitive strategies related to reflectingon experience and self-awareness. Weekly conferenceactivity graphs revealed that student electroniccomments became more interactive over time, but werehighly dependent on the directions of discussionstarter. To better understand the impact ofelectronic conferencing discourse, modifications toHenri's model as well as qualitative researchsuggestions were offered.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that instructor performance in the online discussion portion of online courses has a major impact on learning and learner satisfaction. If this is the case, faculty development is an important component of success. This paper describes the development of a taxonomy of six categories to describe instructor postings to asynchronous discussions in online courses. This taxonomy was used during the inspection of 18 post-graduate level course sections at a Midwest university. The resulting data show that there is considerable variation in faculty teaching styles, interaction, and the amount of content-related feedback. The process also allowed issues such timeliness of feedback and responsiveness of faculty to be quantified. In-depth interviews with instructors and learners with experience of online courses were conducted to validate the qualitative data.
Although the professional literature identifies feelings of alienation and low sense of community as factors that help explain relatively low student persistence rates in distance education programs, no studies have attempted to investigate the relationship between these two constructs. Accordingly, the present study uses canonical correlation analysis to determine if and how a set of three alienation variables is related to a set of two classroom community variables in a sample (N = 117) of online graduate students. The results suggest that the two sets of variables are related along two reliable multivariate dimensions. Implications for college teaching are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to develop and field-test the Classroom Community Scale and to determine its validity and reliability for use with university students taking courses at a distance via the Internet. The 20-item Classroom Community Scale measures sense of community in a learning environment. Data were collected from 375 students enrolled in 28 different courses, offered for graduate credit via the Blackboard e-learning system by a private university. It was concluded that the Classroom Community Scale is a valid and reliable measure of classroom community and that this instrument yields two interpretable factors, connectedness and learning.
This article states focuses on the role of asynchronous learning networks (ALN) as a virtual classroom. Despite lack of physical space, virtual facilities of an ALN allows students to exchange emotional support, information, and a sense of belonging. Computer-mediated communication can enable people with shared interests to form and sustain relationships and communities. Compared to communities offline, computer-supported communities. The Internet provides information and social support in both specialized and broadly based virtual communities. Due to its reduced social presence, the Internet will never replace face-to-face meetings for engendering and nurturing primary group relationships. It is possible to make friends, even close, personal friends, online, but it is less likely. There is no On the other hand, the Internet can provide emotional support, companionship, and a sense of belonging when real hugs are impossible.
This article looks at factors affecting the success of asynchronous online learning both through a review of the research literature and through an empirical investigation of student perceptions and course design factors in one of the largest asynchronous learning networks in the country. It finds that three such factors - consistency in course design, contact with course instructors, and active discussion- have been consistently shown to significantly influence the success of online courses. It is posited that the reason for these findings relates to the importance of building communities in asynchronous online learning environments.
This paper suggests that, through the provision of opportunities for reflection–in–action at critical learning stages and with the support of a trained e–moderator, the participants in computer mediated conferencing (CMC) can be encouraged to engage in reflecting about their onscreen experiences. Such reflection aids the building of a productive online community of practice. In addition, by encouraging participants to reflect on later stages of their online training experiences, a reflection–on–action record can be built up. Participants’ reflective processes can be captured through analysis of their on screen text messages and so be available for research purposes. Examples of conference text message reflections are given throughout the paper, drawn from the on screen reflections of Open University Business School (OUBS) Associate Lecturers who were working online through the medium of computer mediated conferencing for the first time. The conclusion is that reflection–on–practice in the online environment is beneficial for helping the participants to learn from online conferencing and can provide an excellent tool for qualitative research. Opportunities for reflection need to be built into the design of online conferences and facilitated by a trained e–moderator.
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