Dissertation
Student perceptions of social presence in relation to academic success, communications tools, and instructor pedagogy in online master's degree courses: an exploratory qualitative study
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Dec 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00010825
Abstract
Despite the popularity of online master's degree programs, students report feeling socially disconnected from their peers and their instructors in their online courses. This lack of social presence from their peers and instructors causes students to feel dissatisfied with their online courses, experience less academic success, and drop out at higher rates than students enrolled in degree programs that meet in person. However, research has pointed to the use of communication tools, such as video conferencing, that can improve social presence. While other research has pointed to an emphasis on the teaching pedagogy of online instructors as the answer to greater social connection. This exploratory qualitative dissertation examined the following research questions to better understand social presence in the online master's classroom: 1. In what ways do online students' understandings and experiences and working definitions of social presence differ from the commonly accepted understandings and definitions from the research? 2. How do graduate students describe and compare their online experiences with asynchronous and synchronous tools? How do these tools support or constrain students' perceptions of social presence and their overall academic success? 3.What teaching strategies do students believe enhance social presence in online learning? How does their online program build these activities and practices in their courses and how did they impact social presence and academic success? The purpose of this dissertation was to further our understandings of how online master's students perceive the instructor's role in combining synchronous and asynchronous communication tools with their teaching pedagogy to foster social presence in a technology-mediated environment, and how this sense of social presence impacts students' self-reported feelings of academic motivation and satisfaction. A total of 21 students enrolled in online master's programs participated in semi-structured interviews. An analysis of the interview data indicated that for these students, their perception of the social presence in their classes impacts their academic motivation and satisfaction with the course. Further, participants indicated that both synchronous and asynchronous communications tools shape the online social environment in different ways. Ultimately, findings suggest that students expect the instructor to play an active role in using the technological tools at their disposal in a way that fosters communication and social interaction among students. These findings can be used to help university leaders and online instructors design and deliver effective instruction that optimizes student satisfaction, enhances academic achievement, and ultimately boosts retention rates in online degree programs. Keywords: online degrees, social presence, video conferencing, online teaching strategies, online retention rates, online academic achievement
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Details
- Title
- Student perceptions of social presence in relation to academic success, communications tools, and instructor pedagogy in online master's degree courses
- Creators
- Paul Anthony Condello
- Contributors
- Jason Silverman (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- x, 95 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991022019918504721