Class Size and Interaction in Online Courses - 1 - Nova ...

Class Size and Interaction
in Online Courses
Anymir Orellana, EdD
Nova Southeastern University
orellana@nova.edu
NSU’s Best Practices in Online Learning Forum
October 2006
Class Size and Interaction in Online
Courses
Why Class Size and Interaction?
Main Research Questions
Definitions: online course, interaction, interactive qualities
Methodology
Web-based based Questionnaire (CSIQ)
Demographics of Instructors
General Characteristics of Online Courses
Perceptions of Optimal Class Sizes
Average Class Sizes of Online Courses
Summary of Results
Highly interactive courses
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Why Class Size and Interaction?
Class size has been a concern in traditional education
for more than a century.
There is a lack of reported research addressing class
size in online education
Research suggests that interaction is important to the
development and delivery of distance education
The relationship between interaction and class size is
highlighted in policies, accreditation standards, and
best-practice guidelines for online courses
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Main Research Questions
What are instructors’ perceptions of optimal
class sizes for online courses with different
levels of interactive qualities?
What are typical class sizes of online courses?
What are typical levels of interactive qualities
of online courses?
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Online Courses
counted for credit towards a degree in a
bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral program from
some American higher education institution;
taught at a distance at least 80% of the time
using interactive telecommunications systems,
perhaps with occasional traditional face-to-face
activities;
taught by a single instructor sometime in the
past 5 years with no teaching assistant, or the
like.
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Interaction
“Communication or dialog that occurs between
instructors and learners or among learners. May be
time-delayed (asynchronous) or real-time
(synchronous)” (Schlosser & Simonson, 2002, p. 111).
Achieved “through a complex interplay of social,
instructional, and technological variables” (Roblyer &
Wiencke, 2003, p. 1).
Describes “a created environment in which both social
and instructional messages are exchanged among the
entities in the course and in which messages are both
carried and influenced by the activities and technology
resources being employed” (Roblyer & Wiencke, p. 81).
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Interactive Qualities
Features of interaction and interactivity of a
distance course
Level determined by five measurable and
observable indicators (Roblyer & Wiencke,
2003):
Social/rapport-building designs for interaction,
instructional designs for interaction,
interactivity of technology resources,
evidence of learner engagement, and
evidence of instructor engagement
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Methodology
Web-based based questionnaire
e-mails collected from conferences, journals, and
institutions’ Web sites
Participants were instructors that sometime in
the past 5 years had taught an online course as
defined in the study
211 replies (154 qualified and 57 self-reported as
unqualified), a 33.8% response rate
131 usable cases were analyzed
Instructors self-assessed their most recently
taught online course
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Web-based based Questionnaire (CSIQ)
Demographics of instructors
General characteristics of online courses
Rubric for Assessing Interactive Qualities in
Distance Courses (RAIQ):5 dimensions, 5
points maximum each; 25 points highest score
Optimal class size questions
According to course’s actual level (OCS)
If course had highest possible level (OCSL5)
Qualitative questions
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Demographics of Instructors (N = 131)
Most respondents
were female (61.8%),
had doctoral degrees (82.4%),
taught in the area of education (47.3%),
on average perceived themselves as very experienced in
online teaching (4.2 over 5)
and had received formal training in online teaching
(52.7%).
Most of respondents’ online courses were taught in
public (71.8%), doctoral-research research universities (68.7%),
and in graduate programs (53.4% master’s and 17.6%
doctoral).
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Demographics of Instructors (N = 131)
Characteristic Frequency %
Gender
Female 81 61.8
Male 50 38.2
Highest academic degree awarded
Doctoral 108 82.4
Master's 22 16.8
Bachelor's 1 0.8
Academic rank in faculty position
Associate professor 37 28.2
Assistant professor 31 23.7
Full professor 27 20.6
Instructor 17 13.0
Other or no rank 14 10.7
Lecturer 5 3.8
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Demographics of Instructors (N = 131)
Measure Min. Max. M SD
Age a 27 66 48.8 8.7
Years since last degree was awarded b 0 35 11.4 8.1
Years teaching in higher education 2 35 13.2 7.9
Years teaching online courses 1 18 5.0 2.7
Number of online courses taught
during the same term c 1 9 2.4 1.8
Level of expertise in online teaching d 1 5 4.2 0.8
Note. a n = 129. b n = 126. c n = 130, included the course examined in the CSIQ. d n = 130,
level of expertise in online teaching ranged from 1 (novice) to 5 (very experienced).
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Characteristics of Online Courses (N = 131)
Measure Min Max M SD
Actual class size 4 81 22.8 13.7
Number of
weeks
Interactive
level*
4 20 14.2 2.8
9 25 18.8 3.8
Semester credits 1 6 3.2 0.7
Note. *Sum of points for the five elements of interactive qualities in the RAIQ.
Low interactive level = 1 to 9 points; moderate interactive level = 10 to 17
points; high interactive level = 18 to 25 points.
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Interactive Qualities of Online Courses (N = 131)
1. Social/Rapport-Building Designs for Interaction: 3.76
(Level 4 - Above-average interactive qualities). In
addition to providing for exchanges of personal information
among students and encouraging communication and social
interaction, the instructor also interacts with students on a
social/personal basis.
2. Instructional Designs for Interaction: 3.84 (Level 4 -
Above-average interactive qualities). In addition to the
requiring students to communicate with the instructor,
instructional activities require students to develop products
by working together cooperatively (e. g., in pairs or small
groups) and sharing feedback.
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Interactive Qualities of Online Courses (N = 131)
3. Interactivity of Technology Resources : 3.09 (Level 3 -
Moderate interactive qualities). In addition to
technologies used for two-way way asynchronous exchanges of
information, chat room or other technology allows
synchronous exchanges of primarily written information.
4. Evidence of Learner Engagement : 4.04 (Level 4 -
Above-average interactive qualities). By end of course,
most students (50-75%) are both replying to and initiating
messages when required and voluntarily; messages are
detailed and responsive to topics, and usually reflect an
effort to communicate well.
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Interactive Qualities of Online Courses (N = 131)
5. Evidence of Instructor Engagement : 4.03
(Level 4 - Above-average interactive qualities).
Instructor responds to all student queries; responses
usually are prompt, i.e. within 24 hours; feedback
always offers detailed analysis of student work and
suggestions for improvement.
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Instructors’ Perceptions of Optimal Class Sizes
Measure Min. Max. M SD
OCS 7 80 18.9 9.1
OCSL5 5 50 15.9 6.6
CS 4 81 22.8 13.7
CS = actual class size of online course;
OCS = optimal class size of online course according to its actual
interactive qualities;
OCSL5 = optimal class size if online course had the highest level
of interactive qualities in the RAIQ.
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Average Class Sizes of Online
Courses
Per level of interactive qualities
Per academic level
Per type of institution
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Average class sizes of online courses
per level of interactive qualities
Average Class Size
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Actual class size
Optimal class size
Optimal class size for highest interaction
25.8
20 21.1 21.6
17.7
14
15.6 16.1
10.5
Low Moderate High
Level of Interactive Qualities
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Average class sizes per academic
level of online courses
Average Class Size
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Actual class size
Optimal class size
31.5 Optimal class size for highest interaction
25.3
19.3 19.7
17
18
14.8 14
13.5
Bachelor’s Master’s Doctoral
Academic Level of Online Course
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Average class sizes of online courses
per type of institution
Average Class Size
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
24.4
20.2
16.6
Public
Actual class size
Optimal class size
Optimal class size for highest interaction
18.4
20.3
17.0
15.5 15.9
13.9
13.9 15.0 14.3
Private Nonprofit
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Private Forprofit
Type of Institution
Other
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Summary of Results
On average, respondents perceived that their
online courses were highly interactive (18.8 over
25)
Online courses had a) above-average average levels of
social/rapport-building designs for interaction,
instructional designs for interaction, evidence of
learner engagement, and evidence of instructor
engagement; and b) moderate level of
interactivity and of technology resources.
Most courses were taught in public (71.8%)
doctoral-research research universities (68.7%) and in
graduate programs (71%).
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Summary of Results
The average actual class size of respondents’
online courses was 22.8.
On average, larger class sizes were indicated for
courses in bachelor’s programs, taught in
doctoral-research research universities, taught in public
institutions, and with a moderate-interactive
level.
The average optimal class size was 18.9
The average optimal class size for the highest
level of interaction in the RAIQ was 15.9.
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Summary of Results: Correlations
A very low correlation (r = .25) between interactive
levels and instructor’s level of expertise resulted.
A very low negative correlation (r = -.18) between
interactive level and optimal class size resulted.
Low negative correlations resulted between
respondent’s age and actual class size (r = -.25),
between age and optimal class size (r = -.19), and
between age and optimal class size for the highest level
of interaction (r = -.20).
No statistical relationship was found between actual
class size and interactive levels of respondents’ online
courses.
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What does an online course with the
highest interactive qualities in the
rubric look like (25 over 25 points)?
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Interactive Qualities of Online Courses
Level 5 - High level of interactive qualities
1. Social/Rapport-Building Designs for
Interaction: In addition to providing for exchanges
of personal information and encouraging student-
student and instructor-student student interaction, the
instructor provides ongoing course structures
designed to promote social rapport among students
and instructor.
2. Instructional Designs for Interaction: In addition
to the requiring students to communicate with the
instructor, instructional activities require students to
develop products by working together cooperatively
(e.g., in pairs or small groups) and share results and
feedback with other groups in the class
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Interactive Qualities of Online Courses
Level 5 - High level of interactive qualities
3. Interactivity of Technology Resources : In
addition to technologies to allow two-way way exchanges
of text information, visual technologies such as two-
way video or videoconferencing technologies allow
synchronous voice & visual communications
between instructor and students and among
students.
4. Evidence of Learner Engagement: By end of
course, all or nearly all students (90-100%) are both
replying to and initiating messages, , both when required
and voluntarily; messages are detailed, responsive to
topics, and are well-developed communications.
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Interactive Qualities of Online Courses
Level 5 - High level of interactive qualities
5. Evidence of Instructor Engagement :
Instructor responds to all student queries;
responses are always prompt, i.e. within 24
hours; feedback always offers detailed analysis of
student work and suggestions for improvement,
along with additional hints and information to
supplement learning.
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Thank You!!!
Questions
Comments
Suggestions
Feedback
Source:
Orellana, A. (2006). Class size and interaction in online
courses. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 7(3), 229-
248.
orellana@nova.edu
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