Does peer interaction in online tutorials impact the student experience?

• Project Team: Eimear O'ConnorKatie Rix
• Subject Discipline: Psychology and Counselling
• Theme: Online and blended tuition
• Project Aim: Enables more students to achieve their study goalsImproves and enhance the learning experience of students
• Status: Complete
• Date: March 2023 to December 2023

When studying distance learning, researchers often focus on improving the interaction between attendees (e.g. Bernard et al., 2009). However, this type of research is often based on the assumption that interaction is beneficial for all students. With regards to online tutorials, Hunter (2021) found almost a third of students surveyed did not attend online tutorials; he main reason given was that students felt uncomfortable doing so. This finding suggests that there is something about the idea of the online tutorial itself, rather than technological issues, that students find off-putting. Further, of those who attend online tutorials, 22.4% reported a significant or moderate level of anxiety in doing so. Almost half (49.2%) reported their anxiety stemmed from not knowing anyone else in the tutorial. Furthermore, ongoing research by Schofield and Gisby (in progress) has demonstrated the importance of the perceptions of others. For instance, whilst related to forum interaction, quotes such as “I feel like I’m not good/intelligent enough to contribute after reading others’ posts” and “I find the forums difficult to engage with because I don’t feel confident enough to join in discussion” demonstrate the important role of peers within the distance learning environment. These findings suggest that peers and peer interaction are factors in whether a student will attend and feel comfortable in an online tutorial setting meaning that there is scope to explore this further to improve student experiences.

We hope to further understand online learning environments by looking at whether peer interactions impact the student experience. Specifically, we are interested in asking students how the following impact upon their experiences and likelihood to engage in online tutorials:

• Number of attendees
• Familiarity with peers
• Unstructured contributions from peers
• Structured interactions with peers.

We hope our project impacts future tuition planning where online tutorials are designed with varying levels of interactivity among peers.

Reference list

Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Borokhovski, E., Wade, C. A., Tamim, R. M., Surkes, M. A., and Bethel, E. C. (2009) ‘A meta-analysis of three types of interaction treatments in distance education’, Review of Educational Research, 79(3), pp. 1243–1289. Available at: doi.org/10.3102/0034654309333844.

Hunter, J. (2021) ‘Understanding how social anxiety affects participation in online tutorials,’ FASSTEST Briefing Report available from: https://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/FASSTEST/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Project-46-Briefing-1.pdf

Schofield, C., and Gisby, A. (in progress) ‘An examination of motivation and engagement of students studying at different intensities’, FASSTEST Briefing Report available from: https://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/FASSTEST/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Project_70_Briefing1.pdf