Date of Degree
2024
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Director
Nyunt, Gudrun
Committee Members
Mac, Jacqueline; Miskovic, Maja
Keywords
Higher education, community college, online learning, discussion forums, adult students, asynchronous online courses, student engagement, student connections
Abstract
COMMUNITY COLLEGE LIBRARY TECHNICAL ASSISTANT STUDENTS’
EXPERIENCES WITH STUDENT-TO-STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN
ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE COURSES:
A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY
This dissertation examined how community college students connect and engage with their peers via discussion forums in online asynchronous courses. Asynchronous online student interaction and knowing each other as more than a name on their screen is an important part of online learning. Examining how students can form peer connections in asynchronous online courses can help them to have a more meaningful learning experience. Using a case study approach and the Community of Inquiry model framework, the purpose of this study was to explore how community college students enrolled in an asynchronous online library science program experience social connections and engagement with classmates via online discussion forums. . Interviews were conducted with 11 students enrolled in a library technical assistant program at a large suburban Midwestern community college. Four themes emerged from the interviews: participants value learning from their peers through discussion forum use, peer behavior limited participant participation in discussion forums, participants valued instructor participation in discussion forums, and supplemental methods for engagement may increase student engagement. Participant responses guided recommendations for instructors on how to help students form deeper connections with their peers.
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Musacchio, Amanda, "Community College Library Technical Assistant Students’ Experiences with Student-to-Student Engagement in Asynchronous Online Courses: A Qualitative Case Study" (2024). Dissertations of Practice. 11.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/11
