Students-Enthusiasts in Online Classes: Their Contribution To the Educational Process
In this work, the phenomenon of student enthusiasm was explored in a population of 47 students of Touro Graduate School of Education who took the author's online psychology course. The purpose of the study was to find how students-enthusiasts differ from classmates in their communication sty...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The International Academic Forum
2015-09-01
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| Series: | IAFOR Journal of Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://iafor.org/archives/journals/education/journal-of-education-august-v3-i2-contents/Toom.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819200441333841920 |
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| author | Anna Toom |
| author_facet | Anna Toom |
| author_sort | Anna Toom |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this work, the phenomenon of student enthusiasm was explored in a population of 47 students
of Touro Graduate School of Education who took the author's online psychology course. The
purpose of the study was to find how students-enthusiasts differ from classmates in their
communication style(s) reflected in group discussions on the Discussion Board (DB). The
research methodology included graphical and statistical analysis of students’ discussions. It was
found that, although the enthusiasts constituted a small part (6%) of the investigated population,
their contribution to the virtual learning environment was the greatest – they were catalyzers of
the educational process. Students-enthusiasts a) consolidated their group, transforming it from a
disorganized mass without common interests to a team capable of collaboration; b) stimulated
discussions by helping their classmates to develop "a sense of community"; c) unlike others, also
competent as learners and computer users, the enthusiasts shared information with their less
knowledgeable classmates concerning various aspects of the online study. Students-enthusiasts
served as a model and support for their fellow learners and the instructor. The author concludes
that such a contribution must be appreciated and maximally used in the virtual classroom (VC)
with its specifics and communicational limitations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T03:32:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-36bc4d5566d14fc5b11b4d9dff56b01e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2187-0594 2187-0594 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T03:32:17Z |
| publishDate | 2015-09-01 |
| publisher | The International Academic Forum |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IAFOR Journal of Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-36bc4d5566d14fc5b11b4d9dff56b01e2022-12-21T18:01:38ZengThe International Academic ForumIAFOR Journal of Education2187-05942187-05942015-09-0132126140Students-Enthusiasts in Online Classes: Their Contribution To the Educational ProcessAnna Toom0Touro College Graduate School of Education, United StatesIn this work, the phenomenon of student enthusiasm was explored in a population of 47 students of Touro Graduate School of Education who took the author's online psychology course. The purpose of the study was to find how students-enthusiasts differ from classmates in their communication style(s) reflected in group discussions on the Discussion Board (DB). The research methodology included graphical and statistical analysis of students’ discussions. It was found that, although the enthusiasts constituted a small part (6%) of the investigated population, their contribution to the virtual learning environment was the greatest – they were catalyzers of the educational process. Students-enthusiasts a) consolidated their group, transforming it from a disorganized mass without common interests to a team capable of collaboration; b) stimulated discussions by helping their classmates to develop "a sense of community"; c) unlike others, also competent as learners and computer users, the enthusiasts shared information with their less knowledgeable classmates concerning various aspects of the online study. Students-enthusiasts served as a model and support for their fellow learners and the instructor. The author concludes that such a contribution must be appreciated and maximally used in the virtual classroom (VC) with its specifics and communicational limitations.http://iafor.org/archives/journals/education/journal-of-education-august-v3-i2-contents/Toom.pdfteaching/learning psychology onlinevirtual classroomstudent enthusiasmlearning motivationteaching motivationcommunication styles |
| spellingShingle | Anna Toom Students-Enthusiasts in Online Classes: Their Contribution To the Educational Process IAFOR Journal of Education teaching/learning psychology online virtual classroom student enthusiasm learning motivation teaching motivation communication styles |
| title | Students-Enthusiasts in Online Classes: Their Contribution To the Educational Process |
| title_full | Students-Enthusiasts in Online Classes: Their Contribution To the Educational Process |
| title_fullStr | Students-Enthusiasts in Online Classes: Their Contribution To the Educational Process |
| title_full_unstemmed | Students-Enthusiasts in Online Classes: Their Contribution To the Educational Process |
| title_short | Students-Enthusiasts in Online Classes: Their Contribution To the Educational Process |
| title_sort | students enthusiasts in online classes their contribution to the educational process |
| topic | teaching/learning psychology online virtual classroom student enthusiasm learning motivation teaching motivation communication styles |
| url | http://iafor.org/archives/journals/education/journal-of-education-august-v3-i2-contents/Toom.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annatoom studentsenthusiastsinonlineclassestheircontributiontotheeducationalprocess |