Online Graduate Students' Perceived Feelings Regarding Community
Faculty Advisor Name
Carol C. Dudding
Department
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Description
This study investigates the attitudes and experiences of graduate students participating in an online cohort style graduate program. An area of particular interest to researchers is the role of the learning community within a fully online learning program. As defined in the literature, the online learning community refers to “groups of people, connected via technology-mediated communication, who actively engage one another in collaborative, learner-centered activities to intentionally foster the creation of knowledge, while sharing a number of values and practices” (Ludwig-Hardman, 2003). Rovai (2001) identified four components of classroom community: spirit, trust, interaction and learning. Each of these holds its own importance in the successful completion of an online degree program. Drop-out rates of students enrolled in online courses have also been a large topic of discussion among educators. Furthermore, the reasons why students drop out vary based on the program and the person themselves. One of the main reasons why students drop out deals with the lack of one-on-one interaction between students and instructors (Willging & Johnson, 2009). Rovai (2002a), stated that students should have, “strong feelings of community, that is, they must have a motivated and responsible sense of belonging and believe that active participation in the community will satisfy their needs.” Willging and Johnson (2009), also discuss the fact that online learners have unique needs and face certain challenges as compared to their more traditional counterparts, such as feelings of isolation, disconnectedness and technology problems. Rovai (2002b) suggests, “a strong sense of community can be created by a combination of facilitation skills, team-building activities and group interaction.”
Participants in this study were students currently enrolled in or recent graduates (within one year) of online, part-time master degree program in speech-language pathology at James Madison University. Participants participated in a survey, utilizing The Classroom Community Scale, created by Alfred P. Rovai (2002a). It is a valid and reliable 20-item questionnaire for university students taking courses in a distance learning program, in order to measure their sense of community in their learning environment. Students rated each item on a five-point Likert scale. The students then rated each item in order of how important that particular item was to them. A few examples of items were, “I feel connected to others in this program,” and “I feel isolated in this program.”
Results of the questionnaire were analyzed to determine the student’s feelings towards an online community, and institutional, and faculty support. The study revealed, trust and interaction with classmates as the two most important components of an online community. 100% of survey participants agreed that trust and relying on others was important to their success and feelings of community. However, feeling like a family, spirit of community, and feeling that others depend on them were the three least important components to having an online community. Furthermore, the most important components were student-to-student based, opposed to instructional and/or institutional-to-student based.
Poster Presentation from ASHA 2019
Online Graduate Students' Perceived Feelings Regarding Community
This study investigates the attitudes and experiences of graduate students participating in an online cohort style graduate program. An area of particular interest to researchers is the role of the learning community within a fully online learning program. As defined in the literature, the online learning community refers to “groups of people, connected via technology-mediated communication, who actively engage one another in collaborative, learner-centered activities to intentionally foster the creation of knowledge, while sharing a number of values and practices” (Ludwig-Hardman, 2003). Rovai (2001) identified four components of classroom community: spirit, trust, interaction and learning. Each of these holds its own importance in the successful completion of an online degree program. Drop-out rates of students enrolled in online courses have also been a large topic of discussion among educators. Furthermore, the reasons why students drop out vary based on the program and the person themselves. One of the main reasons why students drop out deals with the lack of one-on-one interaction between students and instructors (Willging & Johnson, 2009). Rovai (2002a), stated that students should have, “strong feelings of community, that is, they must have a motivated and responsible sense of belonging and believe that active participation in the community will satisfy their needs.” Willging and Johnson (2009), also discuss the fact that online learners have unique needs and face certain challenges as compared to their more traditional counterparts, such as feelings of isolation, disconnectedness and technology problems. Rovai (2002b) suggests, “a strong sense of community can be created by a combination of facilitation skills, team-building activities and group interaction.”
Participants in this study were students currently enrolled in or recent graduates (within one year) of online, part-time master degree program in speech-language pathology at James Madison University. Participants participated in a survey, utilizing The Classroom Community Scale, created by Alfred P. Rovai (2002a). It is a valid and reliable 20-item questionnaire for university students taking courses in a distance learning program, in order to measure their sense of community in their learning environment. Students rated each item on a five-point Likert scale. The students then rated each item in order of how important that particular item was to them. A few examples of items were, “I feel connected to others in this program,” and “I feel isolated in this program.”
Results of the questionnaire were analyzed to determine the student’s feelings towards an online community, and institutional, and faculty support. The study revealed, trust and interaction with classmates as the two most important components of an online community. 100% of survey participants agreed that trust and relying on others was important to their success and feelings of community. However, feeling like a family, spirit of community, and feeling that others depend on them were the three least important components to having an online community. Furthermore, the most important components were student-to-student based, opposed to instructional and/or institutional-to-student based.
