Relationship Between Attitude Toward Collaborative Learning and Sense of Community in Online Learning Environments

• In Event: Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Research on Cooperative Learning

Abstract

As online courses become increasingly common, students in the online learning must experience a nurturing sense of community. In this study, as collaboration increased, students’ sense of community increased proportionally. Pearson’s product-moment correlational coefficient was, r(198)=0.672, p<0.01. The degree of correlation between sense of community and collaborative learning was higher among graduate students compared to undergraduate students. Furthermore, a higher degree of correlation existed between positive attitude towards collaborative learning and sense of community when compared to negative attitude towards the same. The findings of this study will aid educators and instructional designers to rethink the design of online courses to incorporate elements of collaborative learning and strategies to develop a sense of community, for a meaningful online learning experience.

Authors

• Ritushree Chatterjee, Iowa State University

• Ana-Paula Correia, Iowa State University