Factors Influencing Student Engagement in an Online Asynchronous Discussion Forum Measured by Quantity, Quality, Survey, and Social Network Analysis
Open Access
Author:
Garbrick, Amy Hughes
Graduate Program:
Learning, Design, and Technology
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
December 07, 2017
Committee Members:
Roy Clariana, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Roy Clariana, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Kyle Peck, Committee Member Simon Richard Hooper, Committee Member Peter Kent Forster, Outside Member
Keywords:
Discussion Forum Social Network Analysis Push Notification Engagement Asynchronous Distance Education Modularity Interaction Mobile Apps Technology Learning Management Systems Online Learning Content Analysis
Abstract:
This iterative study examined factors that influence student engagement in an online asynchronous discussion forum (DF), which is a standard feature of most learning management systems (LMSs) and thus of most online courses at the university level. DFs are a principle way to enable online participation and interaction on a student-to-student and student-to-instructor basis. It often is assumed that more interaction—more posts, more replies, and more replies to replies—indicates more learning.
This investigation examines factors that positively influenced student engagement in DFs as measured by the quantity and quality of posts, interviews and surveys regarding preferences, and social network analysis (SNA) results. Overall, the findings indicate a variety of measures that result in more student engagement; for example, push notification (PN) processes can be used to send automatic notifications to members in order to encourage continued interactions. Some participants said that PNs influenced them, while some participants said that they did not like PNs. Additionally, members themselves can influence engagement through the “friendliness” of their posts, and members who post early receive privileged engagement. In addition to these findings, SNA indicates increased modularity for cohorts that have more and deeper engagement; thus, modularity may be a useful group-level proxy measure for engagement when SNA metrics become a standard feature of LMS discussions.