How Can Effective Online Interactions Be Cultivated?

Hwangji Lu

(Ashford University, San Diego, CA, USA)

Abstract: Social interaction is the essence of learning. Such an interaction can be designed and facilitated in the online classroom to enhance student’s learning experience. The objective of this study was to investigate the usefulness of a redesigned online course in a master’s program. The theoretical framework supported this research is Moore’s model of interaction. The data were compared between the old and new version of this studied course. One-way analysis of variance was used to discover the differences between two different versions concerning students’ academic performance, engagement, and satisfaction. The results of this evaluation study demonstrated favorable outcomes in the revised course. This empirical study also validated previous research findings that instructors have a strong influence on students’ perceived learning and satisfaction. This study suggested that higher education institutions might consider providing faculty development opportunities to strengthen the instructors’ capability of facilitating interactions and developing the learning community that is promising for increasing the retention rates in the online learning.

Key words：course redesign, online learning, attrition rate, student satisfaction, student-instructor interaction.