Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Motivating Factors of Online Class Discussions

Joohi Lee,Leisa Martin

doi:10.19173/irrodl.v18i5.2883

Abstract

<p class="3">One of the goals of teacher education is to prepare our citizens to communicate in a variety of ways. In our present society, communication using digital media has become essential. Although online discussions are a common component of many online courses, engaging students in online discussions has been a challenge. This study queried 86 educators in a math/science teacher education graduate program to examine their perceptions on the factors that motivate them to participate in online discussions.</p><p class="3">The results revealed a pragmatic outlook on online education. In terms of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, the participants’ main motivation to participate in online class discussions was extrinsic (85.88%), specifically so that they could earn an acceptable participation grade. With regards to discussion grouping formats, they preferred small group discussions (81%) which could facilitate their ability to develop rapport with a small group of fellow classmates over whole class discussion (38.83%). With respect to discussion facilitation, they focused on the practical need to have the instructor to answer their questions about course assignments (67.06%) over online open discussion without a given topic (35.72%). Next, when asked about discussion question types based on Bloom’s taxonomy, their strongest preference reflected a desire for application (89.54%) questions which would facilitate their ability to use theories discussed in class in their daily work as educators. Through collaboration with twenty-first-century learners, online education can use data-driven decision making to help transform online discussion from being the least desirable component of online courses to a more relevant, instructional medium. </p>

Highlights

While higher education in the United States has traditionally focused on face-to-face instruction, a growing body of research has been devoted to online education
Grades were more important than their intrinsic desire to learn more about a content area. This tendency was seen in previous findings by Yeh and Buskirk (2005), Pena-Shaft and Nicholls (2004), and An, Shin, and Lim (2009), in which students valued grades more than the opportunity to engage in carefree online class discussions with their classmates
While Maurino (2006-2007) found that higher level thinking during online class discussions was uncommon, our study showed that 78.83% of the participants were interested in analysis and 78.82% were interested in synthesis

Summary

Introduction

While higher education in the United States has traditionally focused on face-to-face instruction, a growing body of research has been devoted to online education. Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Motivating Factors of Online Class Discussions Lee and Martin took at least one online course in 2012, and this number increased to 7.1 million in 2013 (Allen & Seaman, 2013). This reflects current trends showing the rapid growth of online enrollment in higher education. Considering the current growth of online learning, the major concern in the field of online education is how to provide students with a quality online education experience. In response to this issue, it has become critical to closely examine components of online education such as online course design and online course discussion

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