The nature of adolescent learner interaction in a virtual high school setting

Abstract

This study used survey data to measure the effect of learners' reported interactions with content, peers, and instructors on several course outcomes in two virtual high school courses that emphasized interactive learning. Surveys found that the large majority of students viewed all investigated types of interaction as educational and motivational. Students perceived learner–instructor and learner–content interactions to have significantly higher educational value (α < 0.01) than learner–learner interactions, and viewed learner–instructor interaction to be significantly more motivational (α < 0.01) than learner–content interaction. Furthermore, nine significant correlations were found involving the time students reported spending on human interaction and course outcomes. Seven of the significant correlations were related to the time students reported spending in human interaction and the more affective outcomes, such as course satisfaction and disposition towards the subject area. Outcomes also indicate that learner–learner interaction had higher correlations with course outcomes than learners' interactions with the content or their instructor. Students' perceived learning was not significantly correlated with any type of interaction, and only students' total reported time spent on learner–learner interaction and students' social learner–learner interaction were significantly correlated with their grade.

Interactions and learning outcomes in online language courses

“…As a result, a total of 466 (ie, 29%) of the survey respondents were eligible for analysis in this study. This response rate was similar to that of other studies conducted in virtual schools (Borup et al ., ; Oliver et al ., ).…”

“…() documented that desire for learner‐learner interaction among high‐school students in North Carolina Virtual Public School was potentially beneficial for their learning processes. Students in the Open High School of Utah perceived that learner‐learner interaction was educationally and motivationally valuable (Borup et al ., ). Some studies also discussed the consequences of the absence of learner‐learner interaction.…”

“…Interaction is recognized as a fundamental component not only of traditional classrooms, but of distance education as well (Gunawardena & Zittle, ; Hillman, Willis, & Gunawardena, ; Moore, ; Swan, ). Given that interactions among students, teachers and content occur in all types of education, regardless of delivery method, it is perhaps unsurprising that many scholars of online learning have unequivocally asserted the importance of interaction in online education in both postsecondary (Kuo, Walker, Schroder, & Belland, ) and K‐12 settings (eg, Borup et al ., ; Cavanaugh et al ., ).…”

“…The primary purposes of offering online courses for K‐12 students are to expand educational access, provide curricular choices, offer high‐quality learning opportunities and achieve administrative efficiency (Barbour & Reeves, ; Berge & Clark, ; Cavanaugh & Blomeyer, ). During the past decade, a growing body of research has examined these potential benefits, focusing on teacher practices and teacher perceptions (eg, Lin & Zheng, ; Borup, Graham, & Davies, ; DiPietro, ; DiPietro, Ferdig, Black, & Preston, ; Murphy & Rodriquez‐Manzanares, 2009), various types of online interactions (eg, Borup, Graham & Drysdale, ; Hawkins, Barbour, & Graham, ; Oliver, Osborne, & Brady, ), social presence in online settings (eg, Nippard & Murphy, ), affordances for students (eg, Oliver & Kellogg, ) and students’ learning outcomes (eg, Kim, Park, & Cozart, ; Roblyer, ). However, due in part to the innate complexity of virtual schooling, these studies vary greatly in terms of both contexts and instructional models.…”

The Effect of Online Collaboration on Adolescent Sense of Community in Eighth-Grade Physical Science

“…While a multitude of studies examine various aspects of learner-to-learner interactions in the K-12 classroom (e.g., Borup et al 2012;Reich 2010;Schulte et al 2003), the majority of studies have focused on refugees and students of diversity (Kelly 2011;Roxas 2011) and student transitions (Sancho and Cline 2012). Few studies examine sense of community in the adolescent science classroom (Anderson 2007;Fraser 2007;Lunetta et al 2007) despite overwhelming evidence that sense of community influences student learning outcomes and the growing need to enhance students' science learning as targeted by current science education reform efforts (NGSS 2013).…”