This study was designed to look at K-12 teacher beliefs about the role that community plays in their online learning classes and how instructors use communication, technology and pedagogical methodologies to form class communities. This study sought to answer three major questions: 1) What are instructor beliefs about the role that community plays in online learning and what are the challenges to forming those communities? 2) Which methodologies and technologies do instructors use to promote a feeling of community for their online students? 3) Which artifacts of teaching provide evidence of the formation and continuation of digital distance education communities? This study used a qualitative multi-case research methodology which included teacher interviews and teaching artifact observations from eight online instructors who taught high school online credit classes. Findings from the study indicated that among the sample population, teachers who believed in the value of community, integrated community building features into their courses. Secondly, technologies which permitted interactive online classes produced the highest operating online learning communities. Finally, institutional support of online educational communities, including technology availability and high expectations, produced the highest operating communities. This study is important because community features such as trust, interdependence and feelings of connectedness have been associated with student persistence in online higher education and this study demonstrates these features have been found to be important in K-12 education too. Also, significant shifts of educational delivery are expected to include more digital distance education and future course designers can utilize this information as they build new K-12 online learning communities.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Literacy Education
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.