In high school I played a devious old woman who poisoned lonely people with arsenic-laced elderberry wine. My character’s famous line was, “All alone in the world?”. It signaled to the audience that another victim had been chosen.
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| Otterbein University Theatre & Dance from USA [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons |
Maslow - Enter Stage Right
It should be no surprise that students are seeking a sense of belonging in their online learning environment. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs shows that a sense of belonging is a strong motivator for individuals.
Pick your scientific study: Berry’s work in 2017, Kyvec and Olson’s work in 2013, or even a large research project conducted by the Ph.D Completion Project in 2008; all of them have found that attrition in online programs has largely been identified as stemming from a student’s sense that he/she was not part of a supportive and social learning community.
The Role of “Hero” to be Played by the Instructor
Aside from the obvious facilitation of learning activities and assessment, instructors in an online environment play a large role in ensuring students find and fit into their online-course communities. Research has shown three basic methods of developing community with online learners:
In 2006 Mishra and Kohler shared the TPACK model with those in the online instruction world. They have asserted with this model that knowledge of content is not enough for effective online teaching. A strong understanding of the pedagogy specific to online learning plays an equally important role for educators. Owning the development of social constructs for e-learners fits into this online-instructional pedagogy.
It should be no surprise that students are seeking a sense of belonging in their online learning environment. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs shows that a sense of belonging is a strong motivator for individuals.
Pick your scientific study: Berry’s work in 2017, Kyvec and Olson’s work in 2013, or even a large research project conducted by the Ph.D Completion Project in 2008; all of them have found that attrition in online programs has largely been identified as stemming from a student’s sense that he/she was not part of a supportive and social learning community.
The Role of “Hero” to be Played by the Instructor
Aside from the obvious facilitation of learning activities and assessment, instructors in an online environment play a large role in ensuring students find and fit into their online-course communities. Research has shown three basic methods of developing community with online learners:
- Model appropriate social interaction in asynchronous discussion groups. Students need coached to develop written communication skills and language use appropriate to an online education environment. (Arasaratnam-Smith and Northcote, 2017) Instructors can support this development by scaffolding their involvement in asynchronous discussions. Instructors should focus on appropriate language, positive tone in writing, and use of names in posts to make writing feel like dialogue and not expository writing.
- Develop opportunities for socializing, not just learning. A 2017 survey of students revealed that e-learners with tools to support socializing with online classmates were more satisfied than those without such tools (Raspopovic, Cvetanovic, Medan, and Ljubojevic, 2017). Instructors could leverage this research by creating social media groups for students to engage in outside of class.
- Personally connect with students early and often. Earlier this year (2018) Law and Law conducted a study of students in an online MBA course and found that pre-course correspondence from instructors was the number-one rated tactic for increasing a student’s sense of belonging in an online course. Instructors should consider this prior to the start of a course and reach out to their students to meet, greet, and connect with students as individuals. Periodic communication through email, video, and phone calls are also ways to help students break through a feeling of isolation.
In 2006 Mishra and Kohler shared the TPACK model with those in the online instruction world. They have asserted with this model that knowledge of content is not enough for effective online teaching. A strong understanding of the pedagogy specific to online learning plays an equally important role for educators. Owning the development of social constructs for e-learners fits into this online-instructional pedagogy.
References:
- Aghaee, N., Jobe, W. B., Karunaratne, T., Smedberg, Å, Hansson, H., & Tedre, M. (2016). Interaction Gaps in PhD Education and ICT as a Way Forward: Results from a Study in Sweden. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 17(3), 360-383. doi:10.19173/irrodl.v17i3.2220
- Arasaratnam-Smith, L., & Northcote, M. (2017). Community in Online Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities. Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 15(2), 188-198. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1141773.pdf.
- Berry, S. (2017). Building Community in Online Doctoral Classrooms: Instructor Practices that Support Community. Online Learning, 21(2). doi:10.24059/olj.v21i2.875
- Kyvik, S., & Olsen, T. (2014). Increasing Completion Rates in Norwegian Doctoral Training: Multiple Causes for Efficiency Improvements. Studies in Higher Education, 39(9), 1668-1682. doi:https://eric.ed.gov/?redir=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.801427
- Law, M., & Law, M. (2018). Assessing connectedness in an online MBA course. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies,21. Retrieved from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/182786.pdf
- Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for integrating technology in teachers’ knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108 (6), 1017–1054
- Ph.D. Completion Project.(2008)Promising Practices. (Council of Graduate Schools Ph.D. Completion Project).from http://www.phdcompletion.org/promising/environment.asp
- Raspopovic, M., Cvetanovic, S., Medan, I., & Ljubojevic, D. (2017). The Effects of Integrating Social Learning Environment with Online Learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(1), 141-160. doi:10.19173/irrodl.v18i1.2645
