Exploring First-Year High-Achieving College Students' Beliefs About Online Courses

• In Event: Learning in Technology-Based Environments

Abstract

This longitudinal mixed-methods study explored incoming college honors students’ beliefs about online courses and how beliefs changed after the first semester. Beliefs were studied using the Community of Inquiry framework and questionnaire (n=51), and semi-structured interviews (n=7). The findings identify Teaching Presence as the factor with the greatest influence on beliefs. Gender differences were found, with females reporting higher expectations of online courses. Additionally, this study found a significant link between Social Presence and online course retention. Overall, beliefs about online courses improved across measures after the first college semester. This study provides evidence that high-achieving students’ beliefs about online courses can be influenced by the quality of the educational experiences afforded in online courses.

Authors

• Kristy Spear, University of Florida

• Pasha Antonenko, University of Florida