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ERIC Number: EJ1124630
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Dec
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1939-5256
EISSN: N/A
Students' Perceptions of Learner-Learner Interactions that Weaken a Sense of Community in an Online Learning Environment
Phirangee, Krystle
Online Learning, v20 n4 p13-33 Dec 2016
Despite the growth of its popularity in recent years, online learning has demonstrated high dropout rates compared to dropout rates in traditional face-to-face courses. Prior research attributes attrition to the physical isolation of students from one another and the lack of interaction between and among them--factors which foster feelings of alienation, isolation, and disconnection. The goal of this research study was to more deeply understand the causes of such negative feelings, which may eventually lead students to drop out of online courses. More specifically, this study adopted a qualitative approach by interviewing six graduate students to further explore which specific learner-learner interactions weaken online students' sense of community. Seven learner-learner, interactions were identified: the keener, lack of meaningful data, selective listening, lack of attribution, going off on tangents, editing notes, and cultural exclusion. [Paper presented at the Special Interest Group on Online Teaching and Learning (SIG-OTL), American Educational Research Association (AERA) Centennial Annual Meeting (100th, Washington, D.C., April 8-12, 2016).]
Online Learning Consortium, Inc. P.O. Box 1238, Newburyport, MA 01950. Tel: 888-898-6209; Fax: 888-898-6209; e-mail: olj@onlinelearning-c.org; Web site: http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/online-learning-journal/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A