The current study compared the effects of discussion forum and interteach activities on quiz performance in an asynchronous master's level course using an alternating treatments design. The study included five participants. Participants engaged in interteaching in half of the weeks, and in the alternate weeks, they contacted the discussion forum…

Higher education has experienced a frenzy of change in the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The agitation of shifting traditional face-to-face classes entirely online, followed by repositioning to blended instruction, forced institutions to transform classrooms and purchase adaptable learning technologies within weeks. Faculty were…

The purpose of this study was to examine graduate students' perceptions of online synchronous and asynchronous courses in peer engagement, teacher presence, and course design and materials. It further compared differences in synchronous and asynchronous courses, and whether graduate students' perceptions differed due to student age, number of…

Although enrollment in online courses continues to accelerate, challenges exist in online learning. A failure to experience collaboration and interaction can impact student retention and success. While peer review activity provides student interaction and the development of a collaborative community of learners, higher education environments have…

This study, in the context of peer-facilitated asynchronous online discussion, explored the characteristics and patterns of students' cognitive presence, and examined the practices that aim to enhance cognitive presence development. Participants were 53 students from a graduate-level online course that focused on the integration of educational…

Research indicates that online education is becoming a more prominent platform for higher education. Using a constructivist pedagogical lens, this qualitative phenomenological study was designed to explore students' learning experiences within an online masters program. The study examined the extent to which effective engagement was facilitated by…

Interaction in online learning (OL) has been extensively studied over the past few decades. Today, courses following social constructivist (Vygotsky, 1997) based designs are widespread throughout higher education. These course designs place an emphasis on interpersonal interaction, which is largely viewed as beneficial to online learners, as a…

Face-to-face, hybrid, blended, and online learning have all provided adult students flexibility in how they participate. However, these courses are constructed in a manner where the instructor dictates the mode of instruction. Student choice and flexibility are important for adult students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to…

People are self-learning on the Internet and the various eLearning freeware tools of the 21st century diffuses a whole new pedagogy; yet, generational trends from organizations, corporations, and academic institutions minimally show implementation of various blended learning approaches online into their organizational culture and climate. The…

The purpose of this study was to examine non-native English speaking students' activity in face-to-face versus online learning environments. The amount of foreign students in the United States increased by 3% in the academic year 2009-2010 (Open Doors, 2010). Adding close to $20 billion to the USA economy, "higher education is among the…

An increasing number of university programs, particularly at the graduate level, are moving to an accelerated, time-compressed model for online degree offerings. However, the literature revealed that research in distance education effectiveness is still confounded by many variables, including course design and student approach to learning.…

College students act on their professors' feedback less often and less completely than their professors would like. The problem this study addressed is that the relative predictive value of factors concerning graduate students in online courses acting on their professors' feedback is unknown. By focusing on graduate students in…

Asynchronous discussion boards are an important element of online courses in higher education settings. Currently, questions persist about the quality of online interaction and discussions in which students are engaged. In addition, online instructors may not be utilizing instructional strategies that are appropriate for web-based learning…

In order to prepare new online students to be successful in the virtual classroom, many institutions opt to provide them with an orientation course. Academic institutions must understand the needs of their students in order to develop an orientation course that is best suited to prepare their students for success. In this study, online graduate…

With the advent of and continual adaptations related to distance learning, there is a recognized need for up to date research in the area of effectiveness of online education programs. More specifically, assessing the capacity to attain academic goals by use of asynchronous and synchronous learning management systems (LMS) that power distance…