The Influence of Social Presence in Online Classes Using Virtual Conferencing: Relationships between Group Cohesion, Group Efficacy, and Academic Performance

Junghoon Leem,Pilhyoun Yoon

doi:10.3390/su13041988

Junghoon Leem, Pilhyoun Yoon

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041988

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Abstract

One of the important issues that computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) and human-computer interaction (HCI) researchers want to solve through cooperative system design is the improvement of performance. The same is true for virtual learning environments. The role and importance of technology in education have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the need to explore factors that influence social and academic efficacy in virtual environments has increased based on the explosion in online virtual teaching environments and virtual conference apps. Based on the theoretical description of group cohesion for the purpose of enhancing further collaboration, this paper asks what role group cohesion plays and how significant it is to group efficacy and performance in virtual learning environments, and also whether a sense of social presence in a virtual learning environment plays a significant role in optimizing group cohesion and, thus, group performance. Experimental studies were conducted on a total of 121 people consisting of 35 virtual learning groups. Results show that a sense of social presence has a positive effect on group efficacy, and that the adjustment effect of social presence has significant positive effects on group cohesion and group efficacy. This study provides a theoretical and empirical basis for the design of methods that can maximize positive effects in support of group learning and collaboration in virtual learning environments.

Highlights

Researchers in computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) and human-computer interaction (HCI) communities have become interested in designing cooperation, collaboration, and interaction methods for e-learning because the cognitive development of students varies with the degree of social interaction they are exposed to [1,2,3,4,5,6]
This study demonstrated that a high level of social presence has a positive effect on group cohesion and that group cohesion and a sense of social presence have a positive effect on group efficacy and academic performance
It was suggested that social presence in virtual conferencing (VC) can have a positive effect on group efficacy and performance by amplifying group cohesion

Summary

Introduction

Researchers in computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) and human-computer interaction (HCI) communities have become interested in designing cooperation, collaboration, and interaction methods for e-learning because the cognitive development of students varies with the degree of social interaction they are exposed to [1,2,3,4,5,6]. E-learning still presents limitations in interactions between teachers and students and between participating students [7,8]. It is quite difficult to pursue active (in-person educational) interaction between e-learning teachers and students where learning content is primarily delivered unilaterally and while face-to-face encounters between teachers and students are limited. These problems are greatly exacerbated during a pandemic in which face-to-face interaction is avoided [9,10]. COVID-19 social distancing regulations make it very difficult to exploit the beneficial effects and enhancements of social presence, which need to be compensated for through improved e-learning methods and environments. Some studies show that these effects are especially beneficial to improving the performance of students with below av-

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