Student Perceptions of Online Learning: Discussion Board Assignments

Background: Online education has experienced unparalleled online expansion in recent years. Quality design and course preparation has become increasingly important with the growth of technology-enriched instruction. Purpose: The study’s purpose was to increase understanding about what students perceive to be worthwhile discussion board assignments to improve both teaching strategy and instructional design for online courses. Methods: Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze student responses to three openended questions about discussion board assignments. Data were collected through an online survey (N = 45) during three different semesters. Results: Student participants reported the importance of sharing, peer insight, and topic relevance. Student-student and student instructor interaction within the discussion board assignment were also important. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate the importance of continued educational research regarding specific teaching strategies, facilitation techniques, teaching presence and student perceptions of meaningful discussion in asynchronous online discussion board forums

Student Perceptions about Online Collaborative Coursework

Objective: Collaborative coursework may improve student engagement but is often viewed as problematic by both students and faculty, particularly in the online classroom. The aim of this research is to present results of a retrospective, qualitative content analysis of student related perceptions about group work in the online classroom. Methods: Data analysis was completed with the use of qualitative content analysis (QCA), a valid research method for describing the meaning of qualitative data in a systematic way. QCA was used to inform the following research question: What perceptions do students have about working with a group in the online classroom? Data were collected through a retrospective analysis of student responses posted to discussion board forums. Responses of students (N = 192) enrolled in three different courses, over two semesters were analyzed by a team of two researchers. Results: Findings included student reflections about group work being a stressful, negative experience, with the asynchronous environment of the online classroom increasing student anxiety about group work. Students reported different academic goals and lack of participation among group members as common issues. In addition, students reported concern with group management or organization and the fairness of group work grading practices. Conclusions: These results inform a discussion of best practices, skills and technology faculty can use to transform online group work into a positive learning experience for all students. Online education needs to be meaningful and responsive to meet students’ needs. Research has shown group work can improve student engagement and facilitate accomplishment; however, the negotiation of group work processes can be stressful for students and faculty, particularly in the online classroom

A Review of Clinical Informatics Competencies in Nursing to Inform Best Practices in Education and Nurse Faculty Development

AIM The aim of this literature review was to determine the state of the science related to clinical informatics competencies of registered nurses and to determine best practices in educational strategies for both nursing students and faculty. BACKGROUND Continued emphasis on the provision of evidence-based patient care has implications for requisite informatics-focused competencies to be threaded throughout all levels of nursing educational programs. METHOD Whittemore and Knalf’s five-step integrative review process guided this research. An extensive search yielded 69 publications for critical appraisal. RESULTS Results suggest nursing educational programs do not adhere to standardized criteria for teaching nursing informatics competencies. Another identified literature gap was the scarcity of research related to informatics training requirements for nurse educators. CONCLUSION Findings support the need for continued research to provide clear direction about the expected clinical informatics competencies of graduate nurses and what training faculty need to facilitate student learning

Instructor Communication, or Academic Coaching, to Facilitate Student Engagement

This presentation will describe the results of a posttest-only control group study (N = 173) examining the effect of instructor communication, or academic coaching, on social, cognitive, and teaching presence within a large online course, as measured by the Community of Inquiry Survey (Arbaugh et al., 2008