An examination of social presence in an online learning environment.

The distance education literature is lacking studies investigating the construct of social presence, the value placed on it by online learners, and whether its existence in text-based environments is necessary for learning, satisfaction, and contributing to course retention. The purpose of this study was to explore learner perceptions and experiences of the learning process within the Web-based online learning medium in terms of social presence. More specifically, it examines the relationship among learners\u27 perceptions of social presence in asynchronous online courses and how it relates to satisfaction with learning, whether course activities perceived as having high levels of social presence also have high levels of satisfaction and quality of learning, and whether perceptions of social presence and satisfaction with learning affects their likelihood of enrolling in future online courses. The research design of this study utilized an online survey administered to 280 students enrolled in online courses of nine disciplines; both undergraduate- and graduate- level at a large urban university. Open-ended questions from the online survey were examined as well to help inform and support the findings from the quantitative data. Data were analyzed using correlations, ANOVAs, and hierarchical regression analysis. The findings demonstrated that students\u27 perceived social presence was statistically, significantly, and positively related to their overall perceived satisfaction with learning in online courses. Furthermore, students\u27 perceived social presence was statistically, significantly, and positively related to their perception of quality of and satisfaction with learning for each of the five course activities examined in this study. The hierarchical regression analysis suggested that perceived social presence contributed substantially more incremental variance to the decision to enroll again in an online course than the satisfaction with learning variable. Overall, the theoretical model including social presence and satisfaction with learning explained 18 percent of the variance in the dependent variable. The potential implications for theory and practice for online course designers and instructors are provided

Characterizing performance via behavior co-occurrences in a 3D collaborative virtual learning environment : an exploratory study of performance and design

The iSocial 3D CVLE is an innovative design for addressing special needs at a distance that require social and active learning. This exploratory retrospective case study explored innovative methods of analyzing co-occurrences of behavior to gain insight into understanding and evaluating student performance and 3D CVLE design. Visualization techniques were employed to model student behavior within similarly structured activities. Linear mixed models revealed that student performance significantly differed across environments. In addition, environmental design attributes were identified through qualitative memos. General behavior patterns were associated with design environment attributes, warranting further study.Includes bibliographical references (pages 258-272)

Modeling Temporal Interaction Dynamics in Organizational Settings

Most workplace phenomena take place in dynamic social settings and emerge over time, and scholars have repeatedly called for more research into the temporal dynamics of organizational behavior. One reason for this persistent research gap could be that organizational scholars are not aware of the methodological advances that are available today for modeling temporal interactions and detecting behavioral patterns that emerge over time. To facilitate such awareness, this Methods Corner contribution provides a hands-on tutorial for capturing and quantifying temporal behavioral patterns and for leveraging rich interaction data in organizational settings. We provide an overview of different approaches and methodologies for examining temporal interaction patterns, along with detailed information about the type of data that needs to be gathered in order to apply each method as well as the analytical steps (and available software options) involved in each method. Specifically, we discuss and illustrate lag sequential analysis, pattern analysis, Statistical Discourse Analysis, and visualization methods for identifying temporal patterns in interaction data. We also provide key takeaways for integrating these methods more firmly in the field of organizational research and for moving interaction analytical research forward

The Link between the Marital Bond and Future Triadic Family Interactions

This study examined how the marital bond, as indexed through the Oral History Interview (OHI), is related to future triadic family interactions. Families (N = 108), with a 7 – 9 year old child, participated in a longitudinal study (the Family Health Project) examining children’s emotional development throughout the transition to adolescence. Parental cohesion and family cohesion, warmth, structure, and problem solving were assessed via behavioral observation during family problem solving discussions and parent-child teaching interactions 18 – 24 months after the OHI. Results indicated that the marital bond was predictive of parental cohesion, family cohesion, warmth, and structure during teaching interactions. The marital bond was not significantly predictive of family problem solving or parental cohesion in problem solving interactions

Emotion-related parenting and young adults\u27 emotion-related self-talk

The purpose of this study was to investigate self-talk as an emotion-regulation strategy and to test the emotion-related parenting model (Eisenberg et al., 1998) with young adults. It was hypothesized that a higher ratio of positive to negative self-talk would predict less emotion-regulation difficulties. Moreover, it was predicted that higher emotional expressiveness in the family and positive emotion-related parenting would predict a higher ratio of positive to negative self-talk and fewer emotion-regulation difficulties above and beyond age, gender, and affect intensity. One hundred and twenty nine undergraduates participated in this study. Of these, 33 females participated with their mothers. Participants completed self-report questionnaires. A higher ratio of positive-to-negative self-talk was found to predict fewer emotion regulation difficulties, which supported the first hypothesis. Hypotheses 2 was tested using affect intensity, mothers\u27s self-expressiveness, and young adults\u27 self-expressiveness as predictors. The overall model was significant and the results partially confirmed the hypothesis, with mothers\u27 self-expressiveness being a significant predictor of total difficulties in emotion regulation. Hypothesis 3 was tested using mothers\u27 self-expressiveness, young adults\u27 age and affect intensity as predictors. It was not confirmed since the overall model was not significant. The results are discussed in relation to theory and research on emotional functioning and parenting

Learner-to-Learner: Refocusing the Lens of Educational Immediacy

As the current body of instructional communication research focuses primarily on the relationship between teacher and learner, three studies investigating the relationship between learners were completed in order to better understand how student motivation and learning are influenced by learner-to-learner immediacy behaviors within the college classroom environment. Study I resulted in an extensive list of both positive and negative verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors commonly used by learners. Study II required the comparison of the behaviors identified in study one to existing measures of teacher to learner immediacy behaviors, producing a new measure focusing on learner-to-learner immediacy. Following a pilot survey, the reliability of this new measure was determined through face validity and factor analysis, producing the Learner-to-Learner Immediacy Behavior Scale. In Study III, the Learner-to-Learner Immediacy Behavior Scale was combined with Christophel's 1990 Immediacy Behavior Scale, Cognitive Learning Scale, Affective Learning Scale, and Trait and State Motivation Scales and administered to 273 undergraduate students to test the affects of common learner-to-learner immediacy behaviors on student state motivation, affective learning, and perceptions of cognitive learning loss. Multiple regression analyses indicated learner-to-learner immediacy as functioning similarly to teacher-to-student immediacy when mediated through state motivation in its influence on student affective learning and perceptions of cognitive learning loss