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Interaction in asynchronous discussion boards: a campus-wide analysis to better understand regular and substantive
Crystal Gasell1, Patrick R Lowenthal2, Lida J Uribe-Flórez2
1University of Colorado Denver, 1201 Larimer Street, Denver, CO 80204 USA.
Education and Information Technologies
|October 4, 2021
Summary
Instructor engagement in online course discussion boards is infrequent, with 23% of courses showing no instructor posts. Most interaction occurs early in the semester, and student satisfaction is unrelated to post volume.
Area of Science:
- Educational Technology
- Online Learning
- Learning Analytics
Background:
- Discussion boards are crucial for assessing regular and substantive interaction in online courses.
- Learning analytics and technological advancements provide rich data on instructor-student engagement within learning management systems (LMS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the frequency and patterns of instructor-student interaction on discussion boards in online courses.
- To investigate the relationship between instructor activity, student participation, and student satisfaction.
Main Methods:
- Utilized learning management system (LMS) data from 415 online courses across two semesters.
- Quantified instructor and student post frequency, instructor-to-student post ratios, and timing of interactions.
Main Results:
- The average instructor posted 32.9 times per course (1.49 posts per student); 23% of courses had zero instructor posts.
- Students averaged 470 posts per course (19.9 posts per student), with peak activity in the first two weeks.
- No significant correlation was found between overall post count and student satisfaction.
Conclusions:
- Instructor presence in online discussion forums is often minimal, despite its importance for interaction.
- Current metrics of discussion board activity may not fully capture the nuances of effective online pedagogy.
- Further research is needed to understand the impact of different interaction patterns on learning outcomes and student experience.
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