Successful Online Learning: What Does Learner Interaction with Peers, Instructors and Parents Look Like?

The student perspective in research of K-12 online and STEM education is largely absent but is important for understanding how both of these areas can come together to best serve students. This study used teacher ratings, school data and student interviews to investigate the perceptions students in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of online learning research 2020, Vol.6 (2), p.129
Main Authors: Keaton, Whitney, Gilbert, Andrew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asynchronous Communication
Educational Technology
Elementary Secondary Education
High School Students
Interaction
Online Courses
Parent Child Relationship
Parent Role
Private Schools
STEM Education
Student Attitudes
Student Experience
Student Role
Synchronous Communication
Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Role
Virtual Schools
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Summary:The student perspective in research of K-12 online and STEM education is largely absent but is important for understanding how both of these areas can come together to best serve students. This study used teacher ratings, school data and student interviews to investigate the perceptions students in online STEM courses have of their past and current educational experiences. Using an adaptation of Moore's Framework of Interactions (Moore, 1989), the academic and extracurricular behaviors of these students were examined in relation to their interactions with others, specifically instructors, parents, and peers. It was found that the interactions that students have with these stakeholders are different in this setting as compared to a traditional learning environment. Teachers in online schools serve the role of a facilitator that students felt was important to their success, but was not their only source of instruction. Parents took on many roles in this setting, including monitoring, motivating, instructing and organizing. Learner-learner interaction looked the most different compared to traditional schools because these participants generally had little interaction with peers due to time and distance constraints. Implications of these findings for students, schools, education, and research are given.
ISSN:2374-1473
2374-1473