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98
communities are spaces where participants interact and there is a sense of belonging and membership. Traditional, face-to-face classrooms provide an opportunity for students to meet before and after class to build community, but this is absent in online classrooms. Therefore, it is important for online students to have a space for “water cooler” discussions outside of instructional content (Wehler, 2018). This type of online social support offered by the college may not only provide a sense of belonging but increase the likelihood for a student to persist (Strayhorn, 2012).
Recommendation 3: Invest in Ongoing Online Faculty Training
The data from the study revealed that all online instructors are not the same. Participants shared a positive experience with faculty that were proactive in their class and employed strategies to enhance social presence in an online setting. However, some participants reported that their instructors had a minimal presence and felt the interaction was impersonal. It is also important for online instructors to be proactive and intrusive as an equity-minded practice, and not rely on the student to reach out (Wood & Harris, 2020). Online instructors play a critical role in fostering a strong sense of community through their teaching styles and care of students in an online environment (Rovai & Wighting, 2005). The evolving nature of online education necessitates ongoing professional development to meet the needs of online learners (Stumpf et al., 2005). Therefore, online instructors must stay abreast of the tools and data-driven strategies to improve and better support of African-American/Black students in asynchronous online learning environments. If the college does not have the capacity or expertise to provide this type of training, the Center for Organizational Responsibility and Advancement is an organization that provides community colleges with professional development opportunities focused on how
Object Description
| Title | African-American/Black students’ experience and achievement in asynchronous online learning environments at a community college |
| Author | Whitaker, Tammara |
| Author email | tammarawhit@gmail.com;tammaraw@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Educational Leadership |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2020-07-10 |
| Date submitted | 2020-08-05 |
| Date approved | 2020-08-06 |
| Restricted until | 2020-08-06 |
| Date published | 2020-08-06 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Tambascia, Tracy |
| Abstract | This qualitative study explored the experiences and perspectives of African-American/Black community college students in asynchronous online learning environments. This study was guided through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Despite the growing number of African-American/Black students enrolling in California community colleges and online courses, there is little known regarding the online learning experiences of this student population. Furthermore, African-American/Black students have poor academic outcomes in online courses in the California community colleges. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 15 African-American/Black students who completed at least one asynchronous online course at a community college in Southern California. The study found that African-American/Black students in asynchronous online learning environments had limited interaction with their peers in the course. Furthermore, the participants used many on-campus support services and were not aware or did not utilize the online support services offered by the college. The participants also highlighted the importance of family, faculty, and counselor support throughout their academic journey. The study offers recommendations to improve the online student experience of racially minoritized students, specifically African-American/Black students, in asynchronous online learning environments at a community college. |
| Keyword | distance education; online learning, asynchronous online learning; asynchronous online learning environments; community college; online learning experience; California community college; African American online student; ecological systems theory |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Whitaker, Tammara |
| Physical access | The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given. |
| Repository name | University of Southern California Digital Library |
| Repository address | USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-WhitakerTa-8891.pdf |
| Archival file | Volume13/etd-WhitakerTa-8891.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 108 |
| Full text | 98 communities are spaces where participants interact and there is a sense of belonging and membership. Traditional, face-to-face classrooms provide an opportunity for students to meet before and after class to build community, but this is absent in online classrooms. Therefore, it is important for online students to have a space for “water cooler” discussions outside of instructional content (Wehler, 2018). This type of online social support offered by the college may not only provide a sense of belonging but increase the likelihood for a student to persist (Strayhorn, 2012). Recommendation 3: Invest in Ongoing Online Faculty Training The data from the study revealed that all online instructors are not the same. Participants shared a positive experience with faculty that were proactive in their class and employed strategies to enhance social presence in an online setting. However, some participants reported that their instructors had a minimal presence and felt the interaction was impersonal. It is also important for online instructors to be proactive and intrusive as an equity-minded practice, and not rely on the student to reach out (Wood & Harris, 2020). Online instructors play a critical role in fostering a strong sense of community through their teaching styles and care of students in an online environment (Rovai & Wighting, 2005). The evolving nature of online education necessitates ongoing professional development to meet the needs of online learners (Stumpf et al., 2005). Therefore, online instructors must stay abreast of the tools and data-driven strategies to improve and better support of African-American/Black students in asynchronous online learning environments. If the college does not have the capacity or expertise to provide this type of training, the Center for Organizational Responsibility and Advancement is an organization that provides community colleges with professional development opportunities focused on how |
