Sense of Community within a Fully Online Program: Perspectives of Graduate Students (original) (raw)
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Sense of community within a fully online program
The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 2009
This mixed-method study investigates distance education students' desire to interact and the support for community building available to them at a department-wide level in a graduate-level instructional systems technology program. Distance education students' interactions are compared to those of the department's residential students. A modified version of Rovai's Classroom Community Scale (Rovai, 2002) for measuring program-level sense of community is piloted. Levels of student interactions with others in the department are ...
Predicting Sense of Community among Graduate Students in a Distance Learning Environment
Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2019
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the sense of community in graduate level distance education programs. This manuscript provides the results of a descriptive analysis of the existing sense of community among students while exploring the most robust prediction model to explain the variation. This cross-sectional analysis included 382 graduate students enrolled in various graduate programs delivered using the same instructional technology. The predictor variables were related to program characteristics (e.g., time spent in asynchronous coursework) and participants' demographics (e.g., age). The outcome variables were the total sense of community, learning community subscale, and social community subscale scores from a revised Classroom Community Scale (Rovai, 2002b). Results showed that perceived outside interaction with students, sexual orientation, importance of sense of community, and outside interaction with faculty accounted a significant proportion of the v...
The effects of the Psychological Sense of Community in on-line and face-to-face academic courses
2007
Recent studies have shown that the Psychological Sense of Community (PSoC) felt by students plays a key role in affecting their performance, satisfaction and persistence in academic degree programs. Hence, the lower student performance and higher dropout rates suffered by on-line courses in comparison with their face-to-face counterparts are often traced back to lower levels of PSoC caused by the lack of physical interactions among students who learn at a distance. The aim of this work is to understand to what extent the development of PSoC is related with teaching methods and to what extent it affects the learning process. To this purpose, we conduct a comparative analysis between the online and face-to-face versions of the same degree program, differing only for the lack of physical interactions. Multivariate analysis of variance and partial correlations are used both to isolate the effect of the teaching method on PSoC and to point out the effect of PSoC on performance, satisfaction and dropout. The outcomes of the analysis show that similar levels of PSoC and satisfaction are achieved within the two populations and that the differences observed in terms of performance and retention are mainly explained by the different composition of the corresponding cohorts.
Proquest Llc, 2012
Because distance education is such a rapidly developing educational venue, knowing what factors impact success must be known. Loneliness and sense of connectedness, or community, are issues facing graduate distance education students. These issues may influence retention. The theoretical framework of a Community of Practice assisted in understanding the development of community using computer-mediated communication (CMC) systems. The research questions answered included whether the type of synchronous CMC used (text-or video-based) could impact loneliness and community from a distance. An experimental design (randomized subjects, control group, posttest only) was used with distance education graduate students to address the research questions. Hypotheses were not supported. Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions found support for development of community.
Importance of Developing Community in Distance Education Courses
The separation of student and instructor is the core characteristic of distance education (Simonson et al., 2012, p. 28), contributing to one of the biggest challenges to distance educa-tion—–attrition (Dueber & Misanchuk, 2001, p. 2). By the very nature of distance education, students are different locations from one another and their instructor. The instructor's challenge is figuring out how to make students feel connected and able to succeed in this new learning environment. The development of a sense of community is an effective and efficient way to help ensure the success of the distance education program and can directly address the challenge of distance education attrition. By developing a sense of community, an instructor can create an environment that is conducive to student success. This importance was demonstrated when the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Romance Languages and Litera-tures (ROML) transitioned their introductory Spanish course to a hybrid model.
Discovering the Meaning of Community In An Online Master's Degree Program
Association For Educational Communications and Technology, 2004
The purpose of this case study was to analyze the characteristics of an online learning community from the perspectives of 18 adult learners all of whom completed an online master's degree program in instructional design and technology. This program was taught at a distance using the Blackboard.com e-learning system. Several program characteristics supported meaningful learning including institutional cooperation, students' prior experiences with technology, positive peer and instructor interactions, constructivist approaches to teaching and learning, cognitive changes generated through text-based, asynchronous critical discourse, accessibility and reliability of web-based technologies, and perspective transformations fostered by authentic assessments.
Connecting online students to their higher learning institution
Distance Education, 2020
Establishing a sense of community is important for student success in online learning environments. However, how online graduate students experience a sense of community in higher learning institutions providing their courses or degree is an area not fully explored. This article reports the results of an investigation into how graduate students in a fully online program perceived their sense of community to their institution. Further discussion of how the institution supported, or could better support, its students through services and/or aid follows. A mixed methods approach was utilized with three distinct phases. Although students in this study perceived a somewhat low sense of community, the interviews and mixed data helped provide insights on how a sense of community could be improved. The implications of this study may provide further understanding into the support and sense of community experienced by an increasing population of fully online learners.
A study on sense of community could not have been completed if it weren't for the community around me who helped see this project to fruition. I would especially like to express my deepest gratitude to my mentor and dissertation advisor, Dr. Dazhi Yang who provided me many opportunities over the last few years to hone my writing and research skills and also provided a great model for academic excellence. I would also like to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Jesús Trespalacios and Dr. Chareen Snelson, for offering their respective expertise in this dissertation. Without their feedback, this study would be sorely lacking. Also, I want to thank all of the students who participated in each phase of this research, allowing for me to use their feelings and experiences to better understand online student community. Sense of community is one evolution in a long line of theory and practice directly addressing the needs of learners at all levels of education. This study could not have been completed if not for the detailed dedication of these researchers and their subjects. In particular, thank you to the Community Science Project for allowing me to use the Sense of Community Index-2 instrument within this study. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends for their continued support and encouragement throughout this endeavor. I would especially like to recognize my late father, Shelldon, who instilled a love for education and lifelong learning in me. Also, thank you Tom for your guidance and words of encouragement throughout this process. vi Finally, thank you Justin for believing in my and being the cheerleader I needed, when I needed it.
Factorial Validity and Reliability of the Sense of Community in Online Courses Scale
In this study, we sought to confirm the theoretical framework underlying an Online Graduate Mentoring Scale by establishing the scale's factorial validity and reliability. Analysis of data received from doctoral students and alumni/ae of the College of Education of one large, online, accredited university reduced the initial theoretical framework from seven to six attributes, and resulted in a revision of the scale. Further research is needed to test the theoretical framework with other relevant populations and to refine the scale itself by reducing skewness and attaining item balance.
Journal of Educators Online
This study examines whether applying purposeful course design that includes a standardized, easy-to-navigate learning management system (LMS), a focus on creating teacher presence, and the establishment of an environment that provides a feeling of community and inclusion among students can foster retention when a degree program shifts from face-to-face (FTF) to fully online. Using Rovai's Classroom Community Scale (CCS), this study examined student perceptions of the rigor of learning and the presence of community in a fully online asynchronous degree program. The results were mixed in the study. The study could not detect a significant presence of community among students in the program, but it confirmed students' perception that learning was rigorous. Findings highlight the challenges in building community online and the importance of deliberate, research-based online course design.