SOS: Save Online Students (from Social Isolation)

All Alone in the World?
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.

Otterbein University Theatre & Dance from USA
[CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

This phrase, no less deadly, seems to play out in online learning. Students in online classes who don’t feel part of a community frequently struggle to ever find success with e-learning. (Berry, 2017; Aghaee, N. et. al, 2016)

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

The Final Act
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:

1. 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
2. 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.
3. Berry, S. (2017). Building Community in Online Doctoral Classrooms: Instructor Practices that Support Community. Online Learning, 21(2). doi:10.24059/olj.v21i2.875
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. Ph.D. Completion Project.(2008)Promising Practices. (Council of Graduate Schools Ph.D. Completion Project).from http://www.phdcompletion.org/promising/environment.asp
8. 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

Implications for Asynchronous Discussions in a Blended Learning Model

"Nerd Crossing" by jparise
is licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0

I live in a bubble of comfort and peace labeled as a "nerd."  Tonight, when my colleagues asked how I would spend my night and I responded that I would be writing a blog post on asynchronous discussions, I was not surprised by the sympathetic look and total lack of understanding.

I work in an education environment where hands-on, relevant activity is highly prized.  Our instructors, who challenge students with project-based learning and inquiry-based learning, are considered forward thinking and innovators.  When I was tasked by administration with adding blended learning into the mix, I was shunned by the teachers.  "Our students are hands-on learners, " one teacher scoffed.  "I don't want to be a study-hall teacher," yet another announced at the mention of blended curriculum becoming a mandated practice.

This paradox of pedagogy forced me into my own experience of inquiry-based learning.

"Inquiry" by NY is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

"How does one use online learning successfully with hands-on learners?"

"Can online learning be used effectively in an educational setting where relationships have long been the key to student success?"

What was easy to uncover, in research and case studies, was the importance of asynchronous discussions in developing higher levels of learning/critical thinking.

Olesova, Slavin, and Lim (2016) concluded that students assigned the role of summarizing the discourse in asynchronous discussions demonstrated the most evidence of higher-order thinking. The case study actually evaluated the level of critical thinking achieved with a variety of assigned roles - a student who would initiate the discussion, a student would act as devil's advocate, and as a control, students without an assigned role. The only role that showed correlation with higher order thinking was the "summarizer".

This theme of using asynchronous discussions to elevate student learning and critical thinking also shows up in the work of Yang (2007) who demonstrated that an "inspired instructor and some energetic teaching assistants who use Socratic dialogues during small-group online discussions can successfully develop students’ (critical thinking skills)..."  My forward-thinking peers understand the value of assessing knowledge, application, and behavior. They would certainly see value in generating opportunity for higher-order thinking; however, they may still argue that a face-to-face class discussion could bring equitable results.

"New Blooms Pyramid" by edtechworkshop
 licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

I pushed on in my research and was rewarded with the find of "Increasing Student Engagement Using Asynchronous Learning" Northey, Bucic, Chylinski and Govind (2015).  This work examines the use of Facebook to increase engagement in college level classes.  The asynchronous discussions were a supplement to a bricks-and-mortar course.  This is where the parallels between the study and my work first intersect.  If you remember, I was on a mission to turn a project-based classroom into a blended classroom.

Northey et al. (2015) uncovered a significant difference in both the perceived and actual participation of students who were required to engage in a asynchronous discussions through Facebook as compared to students in the control groups whose classes did not include asynchronous discussions. In fact, and this is the part that I am most excited to share with my colleagues, the study identified a correlation between engagement in the Facebook discussion and the class participation of students.  What amazing educator doesn't want more student engagement? My skeptical colleagues would even be pleased to know that the study showed that Facebook, as a familiar tool to most, had no technology learning curve to inhibit use!

"iPhone Retina Display" by Paul Hudson is licensed by CC BY 3.0

Now, to balance my enthusiasm, Costley (2016) used evidence from the observation of more than 200 students over three college semesters to conclude that teacher presence, more than social presence increased cognitive presence.  In fact, Costly (2016) found that social presence and teacher presence were inversely related.  So, I worry some that high school students will not have the executive function necessary to focus on learning in a Facebook group.  I am, however, hopeful that the emergent student leadership among college students in Northey et al. (2015) could be fostered in high school students.

While my tactile colleagues will not be in the audience reading further for the annotated bibliography, they are all professionals in search of providing the optimum learning environment for their students.  I have faith that the research I have compiled will make a compelling argument for adding asynchronous discussions to their blended learning, project-based teacher tool kits.

References:
Costley, J(January 2016). The Effects of Instructor Control on Critical Thinking and Social Presence: Variations Withing Three Online Asynchronous Learning Environments. The Journal of Educators Online, Volume 13 (Number 1), 109-171

Northey; Bucic, Chylinski, Govind, R. (2015). Increasing Student Learning Using Asynchronous Learning. Journal of Marketing Education, Volume 37 (Number 3), 171-180

Olesova, L, Slavin, M., and Lim, J (December 2016). Exploring the Effect of Scripted Roles on Cognitive Presence in Asynchronous Online Discussions. OLC Online Learning Journal Volume 20 (Issue 4)

Yang, Ya-Ting C., (June 2018). Educational Technology Research & Development, (Volume 56). 241-264