Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Anymir Orellana

Committee Member

Karen Kimball

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

interactive qualities, interaction, community college, orientation course, student success, student perceptions, online learning

Abstract

In this study, the significance and implications for practice of the interactive qualities in online orientation courses were related to students’ success. It was expected that findings could inform the design and delivery of effective online courses. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the level of interaction of a community college online orientation course and students' success in the course. Participants were students who completed the freshman orientation course during the 2022-2023 academic year at a rural community college in Alabama. The Rubric for Assessing Interactive Qualities (RAIQ), developed by Roblyer and Wiencke (2004), was used to measure interactive qualities and determine the course’s level of interaction. The research questions focused on: (a) students' perceived levels of interaction in the online orientation course based on the RAIQ’s five interactive elements, and (b) the relationship between students' perceived levels of interaction and their success in the course.

A cross-sectional online survey design was carried out. Participants completed the online survey Student Perception of Interactive Qualities in an Online Orientation Course, which included three sections: demographics, general questions about the online orientation course, and the RAIQ.

Data analysis from 129 participants indicated that the majority of students (57.4%) rated the course as having high levels of interactive qualities. The high pass rate of 98.4% highlighted the success of the course’s instructional design and the student's ability to meet academic requirements. However, the Pearson correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant negative correlation (approximately -0.38) between students' perceived levels of interaction and their achieved grades, with a p-value of approximately 8.43 x 10^-6. This significant p-value, substantially lower than the standard alpha threshold of 0.05, allowed for the rejection of the null hypothesis, indicating a relationship between the perceived level of interaction and course success. These findings suggest that while interactive qualities are generally perceived positively, their impact on academic performance is complex and warrant further investigation.

Download
To access this thesis/dissertation you must have a valid nova.edu OR mynsu.nova.edu email address and create an account for NSUWorks.

Free My Thesis

If you are the author of this work and would like to grant permission to make it openly accessible to all, please click the Free My Thesis button.

  Contact Author

Share

COinS