Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / This research examined the nature of the patterns of communication of discussion board users who were enrolled in undergraduate level online courses. For purpose of analysis, this study used Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework (1992). Data were collected from discussion board posts of eight undergraduate online courses that were offered by a small, private, religiously-affiliated, liberal arts university. An examination of these data was further informed by Garrison, Anderson, & Archer (1999) Community of Inquiry model. Using Garrison et al.’s ideas, the researcher described the nature of the interactions between students and faculty with respect to social, cognitive, and teaching presence in online discussion boards. The findings of this research suggest that understanding the presence of social, cognitive, and teaching presence as well as the nature of the patterns of communication in the discourse is important in developing quality distance education discussion boards. More specifically, they showed that evidence of social and teaching presence was regularly present in an examination of the online discussion boards. Conversely, the data showed very few examples of cognitive presence. Based upon the findings of this research, ideas for how constituents of online education can continue with and improve upon the practices found here relative to social and teaching presence as well as how to re-envision and improve upon cognitive presence and overall-intention for discussion boards were also offered.

This is a multi-article dissertation that seeks to address the current state of online teaching evaluation processes in post-secondary institutions. The last two decades have seen a dramatic increase in enrollment in online courses at post-secondary institutions. Unfortunately, evaluating online instructors has been a neglected field of research leaving many post-secondary institutions to develop their own evaluation systems. A deeper analysis of the current practices of online instructor evaluation will help administrators to strengthen their evaluation processes, thereby providing more effective online teaching. The first article is a literature review that explores common practices of post-secondary institutions. By performing an extensive review of the literature, it is clear that very little research has been done to address online instructor evaluation beyond student evaluations. The second article compares different approaches to online instructor evaluation in various post-secondary institutions. By performing interviews with administrators, we found that many institutions are using a variety of types of evaluations and not just student evaluations to evaluate online teaching. The third article is a study that explores how well institutions that utilize a master course model evaluate online teaching competencies. This is done by performing a content analysis of their observational rubrics.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether variations in student achievement in college courses exist between high school students who took the courses as dual enrollment (DE) courses and academically comparable high school students (AIMS scholars) who took the courses upon matriculation to college. Additionally, the researcher explored whether differences exist in DE course grade for students by course environment (online, face-to-face at a high school, or face-to-face at a college.) The researcher used final course grades as determinants of student achievement. The study focused on DE student and AIMS scholar grades in English 111, Biology 101, Math 163, and History 101 courses that were taken between the 2009-2010 and 2013-2014 school years at a community college in Southwest Virginia. The population consisted of 429 AIMS scholars and 2,015 DE students. For this study 3,639 DE student grades and 706 AIMS student grades were used in calculations. The dependent variables in this study were final course grades; the independent variables were DE participation and course delivery environment. Welch’s t tests were used to examine the variations in final grades for DE and non-DE students; ANOVA procedures were used to examine variations in final course grades for DE courses based on delivery environment. The quantitative findings revealed that students who took English 111, Biology 101, Math 163, and History 101 as DE courses performed significantly better than academically comparable peers who had not taken the courses as DE. Additionally, findings indicated that students who took English 111 as a DE course on a college campus performed significantly lower than students who took English 111 as a DE course either online or face-to-face at high school. Similarly, students who took Math 163 as a DE course on a college campus performed significantly lower than students who took the DE course online or face-to-face at a high school. History 101 students who took the course online performed better than students who took the same course face-to-face at a high school. There were no significant differences in student achievement in Biology 101 based on DE course environment.

As part of a nationwide effort to increase the postsecondary educational attainment levels of citizens, colleges and universities have expanded offerings of courses and programs to more effectively meet the needs of students. Online courses offer convenience and flexibility that traditional face-to-face classes do not. These features appeal to students with family and work responsibilities that typically make attending classes on campus difficult. However, many of the students who tend to take courses in this instructional format have characteristics that place them at high-risk for academic failure. Because of the traditional mission of community colleges, they generally serve more students who fit this high-risk profile. The purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences existed in student success at the community college level in online courses as compared to face-to-face courses. In addition, the researcher investigated the relationship between selected demographic, academic, enrollment, and external environmental factors and student success in online courses. Success was demonstrated by the final course letter grades earned by students. The identification of factors associated with student success in distance education could help improve online course development, evaluation, instruction, student advisement, and support services. The study involved secondary data analysis of quantitative data relevant to students enrolled in course sections taught by instructors who taught both online and face-to-face sections of the same course within the same semester from fall 2012 through spring 2015 (excluding summer sessions). The target population included 4,604 students enrolled at a public 2-year community college located in southern Middle Tennessee. Results indicated there was a significant difference in success between students taking a course online and students taking a course face-to-face. Also, there was a significant difference in success based on instructional method when the following factors were considered: age group, gender, composite ACT score, student load, student classification, Pell Grant eligibility status, and marital status. There was no significant difference in success based on instructional method when first-generation college student status or dependent child status were considered.

As faculty we probably have strong feelings about online teaching and we certainly have pet peeves about our students. What if we were to ask our students what their pet peeves about us or our online classes are? (The student assessment of instruction at my own institution doesn’t include a question this direct). And yikes! once we ask, what do we do with that information? Whether you are new to online or an experienced online instruction, come join the conversation and together we will discuss ways to ‘tame the online beast.’

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As part of a nationwide effort to increase the postsecondary educational attainment levels of citizens, community colleges have expanded offerings of courses and programs to more effectively meet the needs of students. Online courses offer convenience and flexibility that traditional face-to-face classes do not. These features appeal to students with family and work responsibilities that typically make attending classes on campus difficult. However, many of the students who tend to take courses in this instructional format have characteristics that place them at high-risk for academic failure. Because of the traditional mission of community colleges, they generally serve more students who fit this highrisk profile. Despite the promise and potential of online delivery systems, studies have associated distance education with higher student withdrawal rates. In addition, research has indicated that online students tend to earn lower grades than students in comparable face-to-face classes. The existence of contrasting findings in the literature exposes the need for additional empirical research relative to the overall success of students in online courses, as well as on factors associated with success in distance education. This is especially true for community college students. The purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences existed in student success at the community college level in online courses as compared to face-to-face courses. In addition, the researchers investigated the relationship between selected demographic, academic, enrollment, and external environmental factors and student success in online courses. The study involved secondary data analysis of quantitative data relevant to students enrolled in course sections taught by instructors who taught both online and face-to-face sections of the same course within the same semester from fall 2012 through spring 2015. The target population included 4,604 students enrolled at a public 2-year community college located in Tennessee. Results indicated there was a significant difference in success between students taking a course online and students taking a course face-to-face. Also, there was a significant difference in success based on instructional method when the following factors were considered: age group, gender, student academic classification, and Pell Grant eligibility status. There was no significant difference in success based on instructional method when first-generation college student status was considered.

Although a relatively small number of K-12 students are currently enrolled in online classes, the dramatic growth in online enrollments in recent years suggests that online education will play a significant role in the future landscape of public education. While our understanding of online teaching and learning continues to grow, relatively little is known about the experiences of teachers as they engage in online teaching. In particular, very little is known about the concerns of teachers as they navigate their teaching roles and responsibilities in an online teaching environment. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, this qualitative study explored the concerns of seven online K-12 teachers through video interviews and bi-monthly journal entries. The findings in this study resulted in six themes with associated sub-themes. These themes suggest that online teachers are highly concerned about themselves, their roles, and their students, along with concerns found at the intersections of these areas. Additionally, this study reveals that the political, educational, and organizational contexts surrounding these online learning environments significantly influence the development and degree of teachers' concerns. The implications of this research encourages greater dialogue between teachers and online educational leaders to better understand teacher concerns and mitigate the negative impact of these concerns on online teachers.

Students' motivation has been identified as a critical factor for meaningful engagement and positive academic achievement in various educational settings. In particular, self-regulation strategies have been identified as important skills in online learning environments. However, applying self-regulation strategies, such as goal setting, strategic planning, and reflect performance takes significant effort. Without motivation, students will not enact these types of strategies. Autonomous self-regulation has been investigated in traditional classroom settings and there is ample empirical evidence of a significant relationship between autonomous self-regulation and engagement and academic achievement. However, such research was limited in online learning environments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that affected students' autonomous or self-determined forms of regulation as defined in self-determination theory (SDT). The study examined the relations between students' self-regulated motivation and four other variables (students' interests in the course, students' perception of their instructor's interaction type, students' technology self-efficacy, and students' perception of the degree to which their online learning environment used constructivist-based pedagogy), and the interactions among these variables in college online courses. In addition, the study examined the relationship between students' autonomous forms of regulation and their engagement, learning achievement, interaction behaviors, and satisfaction in the online course. For students' interaction behaviors, the total number of authored and read messages, the total number of visits to the content page, the total number of visited topics in the content page, and total duration spent in the content page were examined. One hundred forty students in 19 online courses participated in this study. The results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed: (a) Both environmental factors, instructors' autonomy-supportive interaction and learning environments using constructivist-based pedagogy predicted students' autonomous self-regulated motivation (b) Students' autonomous self-regulated motivation predicted students' self-reported engagement, achievement, and satisfaction (c) Two personal factors, interest in the course and technology self-efficacy did not predict students' autonomous self-regulation (d) Students' autonomous self-regulated motivation did not predict any interaction behaviors. The findings from this study are largely congruent with prior theory and research in the fields of academic motivation, self-determination, and online learning, which note that environmental factors, instructors' autonomy-supportive interaction and constructivist-based pedagogy significantly affect students' autonomous self-regulation in online learning environments.

This study examined the electronic discourse in an online course to investigate if culture exhibited itself in the communication of students. The researcher also sought to find out if a third culture was built in this course and if so, what design features facilitated the emergence of this third culture. A graduate-level online course at a Southwestern university was examined in a case study. Computer-mediated discourse analysis was used as the method. The students were administered an online demographic survey to collect information about their background. The online communication of the students, the instructor, and the assistants were analyzed. A semantic analysis matrix was developed based on the pilot study that was used to investigate the content of the messages posted in the discussion conferences. The results showed that culture did not exhibit itself in the discourse. A third culture, however, was formed by the students. The discourse characteristics of this third culture are producing timely and intelligent comments and equal levels of participation; use of materials from both cultures; constant interaction among participants; creating a side conversation between two different cultures; a common discourse accent; words, expressions, acronyms created in the course; curiosity, sensitivity, openness towards otherness, critical engagement with others; and ability to understand and tolerate different perspectives and cultural phenomena. The design features of the particular online course were discussed. The design features that may have helped create a third culture among students are face-to-face meetings and introductions conference in the course; instructor’s teaching strategies such as creating expectations for participation and her scaffolding and mentoring throughout the course; and features of the course communication platform such as the ability to embellish the thoughts through the use of fonts, colors, and quoting.