A Critical Analysis of Characteristics that Influence the Effect of Instructor Discussion Interaction on Student Outcomes

Teacher presence facilitates students’ social and cognitive presence in online courses. Instructor interaction in discussion forums, a widely adopted instructional strategy, establishes teacher presence but research on the optimal frequency and content of instructor interaction in discussion is unde...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rebecca Simon Hoey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Online Learning Consortium 2017-12-01
Series:Online Learning
Subjects:
Online Access:https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1075
_version_ 1797327792107421696
author Rebecca Simon Hoey
author_facet Rebecca Simon Hoey
author_sort Rebecca Simon Hoey
collection DOAJ
description Teacher presence facilitates students’ social and cognitive presence in online courses. Instructor interaction in discussion forums, a widely adopted instructional strategy, establishes teacher presence but research on the optimal frequency and content of instructor interaction in discussion is underdeveloped. This research evaluated 1625 instructor posts in 36 graduate-level courses in education to determine their impact on students’ perceptions of the quality of the instructor and course, students’ perceptions of their learning, and students’ actual achievement. Findings suggest the frequency of instructor interaction in discussion has no effect on student outcomes, but posts that are instructional improve students’ perceptions of their learning, and posts that are conversational improve students’ perceptions of instructor and course quality and their actual academic achievement. Implications for instructors and policymakers are addressed.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T06:43:38Z
format Article
id doaj.art-bf255ac560ef4add9076d828ee4f7da3
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2472-5749
2472-5730
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-08T06:43:38Z
publishDate 2017-12-01
publisher Online Learning Consortium
record_format Article
series Online Learning
spelling doaj.art-bf255ac560ef4add9076d828ee4f7da32024-02-03T08:25:31ZengOnline Learning ConsortiumOnline Learning2472-57492472-57302017-12-0121410.24059/olj.v21i4.1075A Critical Analysis of Characteristics that Influence the Effect of Instructor Discussion Interaction on Student OutcomesRebecca Simon Hoey0Northwestern CollegeTeacher presence facilitates students’ social and cognitive presence in online courses. Instructor interaction in discussion forums, a widely adopted instructional strategy, establishes teacher presence but research on the optimal frequency and content of instructor interaction in discussion is underdeveloped. This research evaluated 1625 instructor posts in 36 graduate-level courses in education to determine their impact on students’ perceptions of the quality of the instructor and course, students’ perceptions of their learning, and students’ actual achievement. Findings suggest the frequency of instructor interaction in discussion has no effect on student outcomes, but posts that are instructional improve students’ perceptions of their learning, and posts that are conversational improve students’ perceptions of instructor and course quality and their actual academic achievement. Implications for instructors and policymakers are addressed.https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1075online learninginstructional strategyinstructor engagementCommunity of Inquiryteacher presencediscussion
spellingShingle Rebecca Simon Hoey
A Critical Analysis of Characteristics that Influence the Effect of Instructor Discussion Interaction on Student Outcomes
Online Learning
online learning
instructional strategy
instructor engagement
Community of Inquiry
teacher presence
discussion
title A Critical Analysis of Characteristics that Influence the Effect of Instructor Discussion Interaction on Student Outcomes
title_full A Critical Analysis of Characteristics that Influence the Effect of Instructor Discussion Interaction on Student Outcomes
title_fullStr A Critical Analysis of Characteristics that Influence the Effect of Instructor Discussion Interaction on Student Outcomes
title_full_unstemmed A Critical Analysis of Characteristics that Influence the Effect of Instructor Discussion Interaction on Student Outcomes
title_short A Critical Analysis of Characteristics that Influence the Effect of Instructor Discussion Interaction on Student Outcomes
title_sort critical analysis of characteristics that influence the effect of instructor discussion interaction on student outcomes
topic online learning
instructional strategy
instructor engagement
Community of Inquiry
teacher presence
discussion
url https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1075
work_keys_str_mv AT rebeccasimonhoey acriticalanalysisofcharacteristicsthatinfluencetheeffectofinstructordiscussioninteractiononstudentoutcomes
AT rebeccasimonhoey criticalanalysisofcharacteristicsthatinfluencetheeffectofinstructordiscussioninteractiononstudentoutcomes