Abstract
<p class="3">A great deal of research has documented that interactions among students or between students and instructors are key to student success in an online learning setting. However, very little research has been statistically and systematically conducted to examine online instructors’ conscious and effortful use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions in online courses. The purpose of this research was to develop a scale assessing online instructors’ use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions. We employed a scale development method for the study. Exploratory factor analysis revealed one factor structure associated with instructors’ use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions in online settings. Confirmatory factor analysis conducted with a different group of online students indicated that the one-factor model fits the data well. In addition, significant correlations with social presence and classroom learning community scales further demonstrated convergent validity. The new scale of online instructors’ use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions demonstrated psychometrically sound validity and reliability.</p>
Highlights
Online interaction among students or between students and instructors is essential in fostering students’ positive learning experiences (An, Shin, & Lim, 2009; Cho & Kim, 2013; Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007; Kang & Im, 2013; Moore, 1989; Mullen & Tallent-Runnels, 2006). Kang and Im (2013) found that interactions between students and their instructor significantly explained both students’ perceived learning and their course satisfaction
A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with a different group of students who were enrolled in another university to investigate the stability of the unidimensionality that we found in the exploratory factor analysis
A total of 407 online students who were enrolled in 69 online courses offered by 11 departments in a large research university located in the Midwestern United States participated in the study
Summary
Online interaction among students or between students and instructors is essential in fostering students’ positive learning experiences (An, Shin, & Lim, 2009; Cho & Kim, 2013; Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007; Kang & Im, 2013; Moore, 1989; Mullen & Tallent-Runnels, 2006). Kang and Im (2013) found that interactions between students and their instructor significantly explained both students’ perceived learning and their course satisfaction. Online interaction among students or between students and instructors is essential in fostering students’ positive learning experiences (An, Shin, & Lim, 2009; Cho & Kim, 2013; Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007; Kang & Im, 2013; Moore, 1989; Mullen & Tallent-Runnels, 2006). Interaction is critical for determining students’ learning experiences in online learning environments. Students’ active interaction in online learning, does not occur automatically (Cho & Kim, 2013; Hrastinski, 2008). Many empirical studies have concerned the lack of students’ active interaction in online learning environments. When participation in online discussions was voluntary, students’ participation in discussion boards was extremely low (Hew, Cheung, & Ng, 2010). Even when posting messages and responding to others were required, Khine, Yeap, and Lok (2003) found that online students did not actively participate in online discussions and Fung (2004) found that online students participated in online discussion to meet the minimum number of postings required by their online instructors
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