Creating a learning environment that engages students requires intentional effort by faculty and is made more complex when the course is asynchronously taught in an online format (Luo & Kalman, 2018). Faculty are challenged with engaging students in this learning environment as well as learning how to use innovative technologies (Sechman, 2018). Because of this complexity, some faculty choose to use the basic features of the learning management system to engage student (Smadi, Parker, Gillham, & Mueller, 2019). Faculty teaching in an online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program sought to create an online learning environment that engaged students and resulted in course satisfaction. This podium presentation endeavors to share the MSN faculty’s journey in understanding the relationship between student engagement, teaching and social presence, and overall course satisfaction within their graduate student population.
Methods:
A correlational research design was used to study the impact of the use of faculty-created YouTube and Adobe Spark videos to provide weekly course announcements, general academic feedback, and social commentary (Teaching & Social Presence), when compared to the use of YouTube videos with only weekly announcements (Social Presence), and, no use of any videos with all announcements and feedback in written format (Control). The faculty sought to understand if the innovative use of these video technologies would result in students reporting a greater sense of teaching and social presence, resulting in student emotional and social engagement as well as student course satisfaction. Instruments used included the Student Course Engagement Questionnaire (SCEQ), The Community of Inquiry Questionnaire, and a Demographic Questionnaire.
Results:
A convenience sampling method was used; 64 students chose to participate, with 56 surveys being retained for analysis. Completed surveys for the groups were as follows: Teaching and Social Presence (n = 26, 46%), Social Presence group (n =19, 34%); and Control (n = 11, 20%).
The first research question considered if students reported a higher degree of engagement in the course indicated a subsequent increase in course satisfaction. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed no statistically significant difference between the sample groups when investigating their relationship between course engagement (SCEQ and satisfaction, p = .54). The second research question investigated the relationship between course satisfaction, social presence, teaching presence, and engagement between the sample groups. A one-way ANOVA revealed no statistically significant difference between the sample groups when investigating their relationship between course satisfaction (p = .83), social presence (p = .72), teaching presence (p = .83), and engagement (participation subscale p =.61; emotional engagement subscale p = .44).
Conclusion:
All three study groups experienced some element of engagement. The results of this study indicate that any level of active engagement by a faculty makes a difference in the student’s experience. This study offers evidence to support that weekly typed announcements are just as meaningful as video messages when considering student’s course satisfaction, engagement, and the impact of teaching and social presence in the online classroom. There should not be an “all or nothing” approach to connecting with the online student.