European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning

Online communication forums allow students to collaborate and construct understandings of course material together, but little is known about students’ discussion participation across online and blended (hybrid) classroom environments. This study begins to address this research gap by examining students’ asynchronous discussions (number and length of “initial” and “subsequent” discussion posts) that took place in three online and two blended courses offered at two different universities. Students in each of the online and blended learning environments produced over two pages (>500 words) of posts for each of three topic discussions (called “conferences” for each course), and mean word counts were compared. In this exploratory study, “course format” as a variable did not influence the amount of students’ asynchronous talk in any predictable way. Although more comparisons are needed to draw conclusive results, these preliminary findings reveal no pattern of participation across course types (i.e., online and blended) and thereby reinforce the constructive nature of classrooms as well as the importance of student place, group size, and subjectivities. We argue that students’ experiences across course formats are infused with social dynamics and relational performances that may mitigate cross-format research endeavours and also that might challenge assumptions practitioners make about classroom environmental design. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) among students as a part of formal classroom time has become familiar part of the contemporary educational experience. Whether a course is offered completely online, in a blended (sometimes called “hybrid”) format, or in a face-to-face classroom, students interact with others via computers. Of interest for researchers and practitioners in areas such as education, sociology, and communication is how students use these online opportunities to engage with others in their classes. Indeed, scholars have emphasized the importance of student-student talk in online learning contexts (e.g., Ertmer et al., 2007), and previous studies have compared the online communicative experiences of students in different classroom formats (e.g., Rovai & Jordan, 2004; Sullivan & Pratt, 1996; Vess, 2005). However, few researchers have examined online participation across online and blended (or hybrid) environments. This study fills this gap by assessing students’ asynchronous discussions (number and length of discussion posts) stemming from teacher-posed questions across multiple online and blended courses. Specifically, this study examines college students’ discussions that took place in three online courses (one a face-to-face campus, two at a virtual institution) and two blended classes (both on a face-to-face campus). The instructor, course level (upper-division undergraduate college), and content were the same across all courses included in this analysis, but student-group size, assignment worth, and geographical location varied. Therefore, this research is preliminary in nature, but raises the possibility that a number of important factors (e.g., student group size, course location, and institutional mission) vary along with classroom format (i.e., online versus blended) and will likely influence student participation in online discussions with their peers. The following section begins with a discussion of the role of student-student communication in the learning process and how the availability of online environments has altered the dynamics of instructional interactions. Next, we discuss how students experiencing different course formats have varying opportunities to engage themselves in with others in their classes. In doing so, we identify the broad range of literature that begets a need for comparison of students’ discussions across online and hybrid courses. Third, we present the research question guiding this investigation and we delineate our methods by describing the course sections as well as the participants involved in this study. Ultimately, we offer our results and discuss the study limitations as well as ideas for future research. In our conclusion, we highlight the implications for teachers and administrators. Student-Student Interaction A long tradition of research on interaction has highlighted the importance of communication in social contexts such as classrooms (see for review Mehan, 1998). Knowledge, meanings, roles, and relationships European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning http://www.eurodl.org/?p=current&sp=full&article=490 1 of 8 2012.03.27. 17:10 are constructed and maintained within classrooms through interaction (Mehan, 1979; Sperling, 1995). In fact, Vygotsky (1962; 1978) theorized the importance of communicating with others in learning contexts and proposed that “higher mental processes in the individual have their origin in social processes” (Wertsch, 1985, p. 14). Classroom interaction, then, is central to the learning process and is an important point of interest for researchers from a multitude of disciplines and methodological origins. While Vygotsky and others (e.g., Wenger, 1998) assert the importance of a teacher, an expert, or a more knowledgeable peer in educational contexts, peer-peer communication has also been recognized as an influential factor in students’ learning processes and personal development (Bielaczyc & Collins, 1999; Brooks & Brooks, 1999; Hiltz & Wellman, 1997; Johnson & Johnson, 1994; Wegegrif, 1998). Though research supports the importance of learner-learner interaction (Hiltz & Wellman, 1997; Wegegrif, 1998), teachers typically ask most of the questions in American classrooms and students often respond in ritualized ways (Cazden, 2001). Indeed, students tend to have few opportunities to interact with and question each other in most classrooms (Brooks & Brooks, 1999). Teachers can encourage students to discuss course material with one another by posing thoughtful questions and by guiding conversation in ways that can “help learners to internalize and reshape, or transform, new information” (Brooks & Brooks, 1999, p. 15). The advent of online environments for formal use in classrooms provides new avenues for encouraging student-student interaction. These new instructional tools, however, raise questions about the day-to-day use of these technologies and about how students involve themselves in online discussions with their peers. While online collaborative learning has been the focus of an ongoing body of research (Alavi, 1994; Curtis & Lawson, 2001; Henri, 1991; Jonassen, Davidson, Collins, Campbell, & Haag, 1995), students across classroom formats (i.e., fully online or blended) are likely to use these learning opportunities differently. The Potential Influence of Course Format Online or distance education courses have become more common on college campuses in recent years. In addition, many institutions are “experimenting with ‘hybrid’ or ‘blended’ models of teaching that replaces some in-person meetings with virtual sessions” (Young, 2002, p. A33). While both blended and fullyonline classroom designs have advantages and disadvantages for students (Mansour & Mupinga, 2007), few scholars have attempted to draw comparisons across the two formats. Because classroom communication is so critical to the learning process, students’ participation in dialogue with their peers remains the focus of this research. Several factors might bring about differences in how online conversations are carried out among students enrolled in blended or fully-online college courses. First, students may take on differing roles in the learning process, engaging themselves actively or passively, depending how different communicative environments are utilized. Some students may feel more comfortable taking on an active role online while others may feel more at ease communicating with others in physical classrooms. Students in online courses, for example, may engage in more student-student social interaction online than students in blended courses because they lack a face-to-face environment. Online courses, when compared to blended courses, might also function as more student-centred environments, requiring students to be more self-directed in their learning and eliciting more engagement in discussion with their classmates (Heckman & Annabi, 2005; Vess, 2005). Indeed, the ways in which students view and engage themselves as active or passive learners might shift with the course formats those students are experiencing. Second, research suggests there are differences in the way students connect and interact across course types. For example, students in blended learning contexts report a greater sense of community than in courses held completely online or in face-to-face classrooms (Rovai & Jordan, 2004). Also, prior comparisons of students in online and blended courses (Bippus & Brooks, 2006) found differences in length of initial posts in response to a teacher’s questions and also that blended students significantly surpassed fully online students in the number and length of subsequent posts. Vess (2005) found that a mix of communication environments (online and face-to-face) impacted students’ communicative practices, asserting that students in her hybrid courses reported that the face-to-face meetings enhanced their participation in the online portion in class, and though to a lesser degree, vice versa. Students’ social engagement with peers, then, is influenced by the mix of communicative spaces afforded them in their class. In addition to some of the research comparing social practices across class formats, one can assume that student characteristics will vary across campuses and classroom types. That is, there may be a self-selection factor occurring in which students’ choices to enrol in certain courses stem from personal interests. For example, students enrolled in online courses might be motivated by a lower desire for the social experience of the face-to-face classroom, or a belief that the format is better suited to their skill set (Caplan, 2005). Mattes, Nanney, and Coussons-Read (2003) found that students who enrol in online courses tend to be more comfortable with computers and less socially bold than students enrolling in traditional classes. Students enrolled in online programs tend to be older (Allen & Seamn, 2006; Mattes, et al., 2003), with the greater family and work responsibilities; indeed, such programs are often designed to assist non-traditional or adult learners and those students constrained by work or family-related stressors (Lefor, Benke, and Ting, 2001; Lefor, Benke, and Ting, 2003). Online and blended courses may thus uniquely appeal to particular students which may elicit differential patterns of student interaction. That is, the very factors that European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning http://www.eurodl.org/?p=current&sp=full&article=490 2 of 8 2012.03.27. 17:10 cause students to self-select into particular course formats may also affect their participation in those courses. Perceived active or passive roles, opportunities for social connection, and student characteristics have the potential to impact communication among students enrolled in different types of courses. Of interest to teachers and others involved in the design of classroom of experiences is whether or how students might respond to computer-based forums for interaction. Practitioners can only benefit from an enhanced understanding of how peer-peer discussion participation might be predictably impacted by the inclusion of or reliance on online forums for discussion. To that end, this study seeks to offer teachers a strong sense of how instructional designs might influence communicative behavior in their classes. Because research has led us to assume that students’ experiences are directly impacted by classroom format or environmental design, this study compares online discussion participation across online and blended courses.