The Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University completed a series of studies that examined 23 high-demand, entry-level online courses at two community colleges. The researchers observed the online courses, reviewed course materials, and interviewed course instructors and 46 students enrolled in at least one of the courses.

These studies highlight a link between an engaged, caring instructor and student success. Students in the study stressed the value of interacting with their instructors and the study found that higher levels of interpersonal interaction were correlated with higher grades in online courses. Consequently, students who participated in the studies felt that their connection to their instructor was weaker in online courses than in their on-campus courses. When students sense a lack of "caring" from their online instructors, they reported feeling isolated and like they had to "teach themselves."

This study suggests that online instructors, more so than face-to-face instructors, should be mindful about being present in their classes. When instructors teach face-to-face classes, their human presence is baked into the teaching process and their interactions with students are part of the flow of facilitating a class. When teaching online, this presence must be conscientiously developed.

Image text: "My instructor cared about my learning," community college online students who are more likely to succeed. Jaggars, S.S. & Xu, D. (2013) Predicting Online Outcomes from a Measure of Course Quality.

Source: "What We Know About Online Course Outcomes," Research Overview, Community College Research Center (Teachers College, Columbia University), April 2013, www.achievingthedream.org/sites/default/files/resources/Online-Learning-Practitioner-Packet.pdf. Accessed 7 July 2019.

This page is from the @ONE course, Humanizing Online Learning