Answers: FAQ Solutions and Strategies

How a sense of community can be developed among students in an online environment: A review of literature

By Learning, Innovation & Research and the Learning Resource Centre at Michener Institute

In a classroom, a community is established through the development of a sense of belonging amongst members, a sense of agency, a sense of fulfilment of needs and the emotional connection amongst members (McMillan and Chavis 1986). However in the world of online or virtual education, the notion of community includes a) membership – a feeling of belonging to the virtual community, b) influence-individuals influencing others in the community, and c) immersion – the sense of flow during virtual community navigation.  influence of the people involved (Koh and Kim 2003). Development of a sense of trust and community is essential to maximize student involvement and engagement, and also is related to the perception of learning quality. Under the circumstances of COVID-19, education has been moved online to a large extent all over the world. To ensure that the quality of education and students experiences do not suffer due to the transition, it is critical to understand what factors influence the development of this sense of community.

This report briefly summarizes the recommendations discussed in current literature related to the development of a trust and community-building among students in an online educational environment.  This summary report is a position piece that is largely based on education literature over the past 5 years. The studies or articles centred around questions related to how the online learning environment is different from a face-to-face environment and what factors impact the experience of community and learning in the online environment.

Three overarching themes were prominent from this search about the online environment and its relationship with community and trust building. The first theme is one of difference: many articles discussed how there was a more ‘intellectual’ aspect to the online community. Another was the need for connectivity and structure, groups responded well to structured activities that forced them to engage with one another with ‘rules of engagement’. The final theme was that trust needed to develop in an open and respectful environment between fellow students as well as educators.

Key Takeaways:

Differences between online and in person environments

• Small groups with focused discussion was perceived as better (Akcaoglu and Lee 2016; Chen et al. 2017)
• Teachers role is far more complex and dynamic; the teacher must be a guide, conductor, participant (Haynes 2018)
• A community must transcend mere sets of fragmented individuals through discourse that are more than just talk. Routines become more important; inviting others, allowing dissent, giving ownership, considering possibilities and a commitment to respect and openness become more important (Haynes 2018)
• Create a warm and genuine atmosphere by offering help through message boards and online classrooms and follow through on these overtures creates a feeling of community and reciprocity (Garrison et al. 2010; Berry 2017)
• Non verbals communication training for instructors may become more important as it is important to note what participants don’t say as much as what they do say (Arasaratnam-Smith and Northcote 2017).
• In an online forum, as long as the individual is literate and able to articulate their ideas in written (typed) form, they have the opportunity to communicate ideas and interact with others without the hindrance of preconceptions based on appearance, smell, or mannerisms.
• Unlike in face-to-face communication, each individual has a certain measure of control in how his/her self is presented to the rest of the group; even socially awkward individuals can vocalize and assert opinions. 
• Students experience engagement connection and community when instructors use a wide variety of technical and pedagogical practices

Structured Engagement

• Having prescribed engagements with students with clear expectations and deadlines is key (Chen et al 2017).
• Use discussion boards with clear goals and due dates for responses, make engagement count for marks in order to give the discussion stakes (Chen et al. 2017)
• Smaller group sizes that remained consistent through the semester were perceived as better for group assignments and discussions, for developing positive relationships (A et al. 2016)
• Timeliness is extremely important, late participants can be extremely disruptive for group discussions or engagements (Akcaoglu and Lee 2016)
• Giving the groups shared and specific goals and setting deadlines of relevant tasks and emphasizing the need to adhere to deadlines is important to build trust and community among members (Arasaratnam-Smith and Northcote 2017).
• Using posting of comments or questions in a forum can be a useful way for students to engage but large volume of posts can be counterproductive as students perceive that their posts may remain unread (Akcaoglu and Lee 2016).
• Providing opportunities for intellectual connection where students can exchange and express ideas without feeling under-stimulated or over challenged is important to establish a sense of affiliation (Arasaratnam-Smith and Northcote 2017).
• Utilize technology to provide supportive feedback at every opportunity (Berry 2017)
• Link the various aspects of the learning experience, draw connections between a students submitted work and their discussion posts for instance (Berry 2017)

Develop an open and respectful environment

• You must engage with learners frequently, openly and with respect for their situations to develop a rapport and to help them connect with one another (all the citations basically agree on this)
• Trust is developed through caring: caring means being receptive to what another has to say and allowing them to say it. Instructors should practice this in their interactions but also make sure to monitor online conversations to make sure this principle is followed in the online environment (Haynes 2018)
• Allow students freedom, allow them to make mistakes but be there as a corrective support for when they don’t succeed (Haynes 2018). I see this as being in line with what Kerry and Nancy do – let the students have agency in a situation but be there for them when it does not go their way with feedback.
• Create a personalized learning experience, use videos of yourself to give students feedback, use technology in innovative ways to give them a more intimate experience (Berry 2017)
• Having a cognitive presence, along with social presence and teaching presence, is reported as being a required component of a community of inquiry, especially to ensure the community is purposeful and the learning is meaningful (Garrison & Cleveland-Innes 2005).

References

Akcaoglu, M., & Lee, E. (2016). Increasing Social Presence in Online Learning through Small Group Discussions. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v17i3.2293

Algahtani, A. M. (2016). Consumer motivations for social media usage and its impact on customers’ trust and long-term relationships [University of Hull]. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.754594

Arasaratnam-Smith, L. A., & Northcote, M. (2017). Community in Online Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities. Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 15(2), 188–198. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1141773.pdf

Archambault, S. G., & Masunaga, J. (2015). Curriculum Mapping as a Strategic Planning Tool. Journal of Library Administration, 55(6), 503–519. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2015.1054770

Aylward, K., Sbaffi, L., & Weist, A. (2020). Peer-led information literacy training: a qualitative study of students’ experiences of the NICE Evidence search Student Champion Scheme. Health Information and Libraries Journal. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hir.12301

Berry, S. (2017). Building Community in Online Doctoral Classrooms: Instructor Practices That Support Community. Online Learning, 21(2). http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1149348.pdf

Blayone, T. J. B., Barber, W., DiGiuseppe, M., Childs, E., & Others. (2017). Democratizing digital learning: theorizing the fully online learning community model. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 14(1), 1–16. https://www.biomedcentral.com/openurl?doi=10.1186/s41239-017-0051-4

Bordignon, M., Strachan, G., Peters, J., Muller, J., Otis, A., Georgievski, A., & Tamim, R. (2016). Assessment of Online Information Literacy Learning Objects For First Year Community College English Composition. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 11(3), 50–67. https://doi.org/10.18438/B8T922

Bowles-Terry, M. (2012). Library Instruction and Academic Success: A Mixed-Methods Assessment of a Library Instruction Program. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 7(1), 82–95. https://doi.org/10.18438/B8PS4D

Bryan, J. E., & Karshmer, E. (2013). Assessment in the One-Shot Session: Using Pre- and Post-tests to Measure Innovative Instructional Strategies among First-Year Students. College and Research Libraries, 74(6), 574–586. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl12-369

Buchanan, H., Webb, K. K., Houk, A. H., & Tingelstad, C. (2015). Curriculum Mapping in Academic Libraries. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 21(1), 94–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2014.1001413

Bury, S. (2016). Learning from faculty voices on information literacy. RSR. Reference Services Review. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/RSR-11-2015-0047/full/html

Carroll, A. J., Hallman, S. J., Umstead, K. A., McCall, J., & DiMeo, A. J. (2019). Using information literacy to teach medical entrepreneurship and health care economics. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 107(2), 163–171. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2019.577

Casiello, A. R. (2019). Adaptive Leadership Approaches in Online Education: A Study of Trust Creation and Change Management in Higher Education [Old Dominion University]. https://doi.org/10.25777/1hyw-x597

Chen, B., deNoyelles, A., Patton, K., & Zydney, J. (2017). Creating a Community of Inquiry in Large-Enrollment Online Courses: An Exploratory Study on the Effect of Protocols within Online Discussions. Online Learning, 21(1), 165–188. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1140258.pdf

Clark, M., Coward, C., Rothschild, C., Reynal, L. de, & Richter, B. (2017). Towards a mobile information literacy framework: Rethinking information literacy in a mobile era. iConference 2017 Proceedings. https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/96782

Cronin, C., Cochrane, T., & Gordon, A. (2016). Nurturing global collaboration and networked learning in higher education. Research in Learning Technology, 24. https://doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v24.26497

Czerkawski, B. C. (2016). Blending formal and informal learning networks for online learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 17(3), 138–156. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/irrodl/1900-v1-n1-irrodl05024/1066228ar/abstract/

Du, J., Wang, C., Zhou, M., Xu, J., Fan, X., & Lei, S. (2018). Group trust, communication media, and interactivity: toward an integrated model of online collaborative learning. Interactive Learning Environments, 26(2), 273–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2017.1320565

Erlinger, A. (2018). Outcomes Assessment in Undergraduate Information Literacy Instruction: A Systematic Review. College and Research Libraries, 79(4), 442. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.79.4.442

Flywel, D., & Jorosi, B. N. (2018). Information Literacy Skills Among the Undergraduate Students at the University of Livingstonia, Malawi. International Journal of Library and Information Services (IJLIS), 7(2), 43–56. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJLIS.2018070104

Fretwell, N., Osgood, J., O’Toole, G., & Tsouroufli, M. (2018). Governing through trust: Community-based link workers and parental engagement in education. British Educational Research Journal, 44(6), 1047–1063. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/berj.3478

D. Randy Garrison & Martha Cleveland-Innes (2005) Facilitating Cognitive Presence in Online Learning: Interaction Is Not Enough, American Journal of Distance Education, 19:3, 133-148, DOI: 10.1207/s15389286ajde1903_2

Gainey, M., Bharti, N., Marsteller, M., Wang, H., Young, S., & Melville, M. (2019). The Evolution of Information Literacy Outcomes in Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Science Courses. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, 93. https://doi.org/10.29173/istl21

Haynes, F. (2018). Trust and the community of inquiry. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 50(2), 144–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2016.1144169

Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. Educause Review, 27. https://medicine.hofstra.edu/pdf/faculty/facdev/facdev-article.pdf

Hsu, C., Chiang, Y., & Huang, H. (2012). How experience‐driven community identification generates trust and engagement. Online Information Review, 36(1), 72–88. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521211206971

Joon Koh, Young-Gul Kim & Young-Gul Kim (2003) Sense of Virtual Community: A Conceptual Framework and Empirical Validation, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 8:2, 75-94, DOI: 10.1080/10864415.2003.11044295

Kamau, G. W., & Adika, F. O. (2018). Collaboration Between the Faculty and Librarians to Improve Students’ Information Literacy Skills at Strathmore University. Regional Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, 3(2), 1–19. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Grace_Kamau5/publication/334446224_Collaboration_Between_the_Faculty_and_Librarians_to_Improve_Students_Information_Literacy_Skills_at_Strathmore_University/links/5d29db8ba6fdcc2462daf5ad/Collaboration-Between-the-Faculty-and-Librarians-to-Improve-Students-Information-Literacy-Skills-at-Strathmore-University.pdf

Lohr, K. D., & Haley, K. J. (2018). Using Biographical Prompts to Build Community in an Online Graduate Course: An Adult Learning Perspective. Adult Learning, 29(1), 11–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045159517735597

McMillan, D.W. and Chavis, D.M. (1986), Sense of community: A definition and theory. J. Community Psychol., 14: 6-23. doi:10.1002/1520-6629(198601)14:1<6::AID-JCOP2290140103>3.0.CO;2-I

McLoughlin, C., Patel, K. D., O’Callaghan, T., & Reeves, S. (2018). The use of virtual communities of practice to improve interprofessional collaboration and education: findings from an integrated review. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 32(2), 136–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2017.1377692

Mercer, K., Weaver, K., & Stables-Kennedy, A. (2019). Understanding Undergraduate Engineering Student Information Access and Needs: Results from a Scoping Review. https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/14781

Molteno, O. (2016). How to Build an Engaged Online Learning Community. Development . https://www.getsmarter.com/blog/research-hub/how-to-build-an-engaged-online-learning-community/

Nicol, D., Minty, I., & Sinclair, C. (2003). The social dimensions of online learning. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 40(3), 270–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/1470329032000103807

Oliphant, T., & Branch-Mueller, J. (2016). Developing a sense of community and the online student experience. Education for Information, 32(4), 307–321. https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-160979

Orcutt, J. M., & Dringus, L. P. (2017). Beyond Being There: Practices That Establish Presence, Engage Students and Influence Intellectual Curiosity in a Structured Online Learning Environment. Online Learning, 21(3), 15–35. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1154155.pdf

Panigrahi, R., Srivastava, P. R., & Sharma, D. (2018). Online learning: Adoption, continuance, and learning outcome—A review of literature. International Journal of Information Management, 43, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.05.005

Pérez-Macías, N., Luis, F.-F. J., & Antonio, R. V. (2019). Entrepreneurial intentions: trust and network ties in online and face-to-face students. Education + Training, 61(4), 461–479. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-05-2018-0126

Phirangee, K., & Malec, A. (2017). Othering in online learning: an examination of social presence, identity, and sense of community. Distance Education, 38(2), 160–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2017.1322457

Rockinson-Szapkiw, A. J., Spaulding, L. S., & Spaulding, M. T. (2016). Identifying significant integration and institutional factors that predict online doctoral persistence. The Internet and Higher Education, 31, 101–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2016.07.003

Schroeder, S., Baker, M., Terras, K., Mahar, P., & Chiasson, K. (2016). Students’ Desired and Experienced Levels of Connectivity to an Asynchronous, Online, Distance Degree Program. Online Learning, 20(3), 244–263. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1113350.pdf

Scott, R. E. (2017). Part 1. If We Frame It, They Will Respond: Undergraduate Student Responses to the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The Reference Librarian, 58(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2016.1196470

Sobaih, A. E. E., Moustafa, M. A., Ghandforoush, P., & Khan, M. (2016). To use or not to use? Social media in higher education in developing countries. Computers in Human Behavior, 58, 296–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.01.002

Stonebraker, I. R., & Fundator, R. (2016). Use It or Lose It? A Longitudinal Performance Assessment of Undergraduate Business Students’ Information Literacy. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 42(4), 438–444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2016.04.004

Sun, A., & Chen, X. (2016). Online education and its effective practice: A research review. Journal of Information Technology Education, 15. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anna_Sun4/publication/310503884_Online_Education_and_Its_Effective_Practice_A_Research_Review/links/5dea533d299bf10bc3452ad4/Online-Education-and-Its-Effective-Practice-A-Research-Review.pdf

Talikka, M., Soukka, R., & Eskelinen, H. (2018). Effects of Brief Integrated Information Literacy Education Sessions on Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Interdisciplinary Research. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 24(1), 48–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2017.1365735

Tewell, E. C. (2018). The Practice and Promise of Critical Information Literacy: Academic Librarians’ Involvement in Critical Library Instruction. College and Research Libraries, 79(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.79.1.10

Trespalacios, J., & Perkins, R. (2016). Sense of Community, Perceived Learning, and Achievement Relationships in an Online Graduate Course. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 17(3), 31–49. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1106347.pdf

Tsunekage, T., Bishop, C. R., Long, C. M., & Levin, I. I. (2019). Integrating information literacy training into an inquiry-based introductory biology laboratory. Journal of Biological Education, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2019.1600569

Tu, C.-H., Yen, C.-J., Blocher, M., Sujo-Montes, L., Moore, E., Armfield, S., & Sealander, K. (2016). Integrate social tagging to build an online collaborative learning community. International Journal of Innovation in Education, 3(2-3), 156–171. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJIIE.2016.081551

Yell, S., Duffy, M., & Others. (2018). Community empowerment and trust: Social media use during the Hazelwood mine fire. Australian Journal of Emergency Management, The, 33(2), 66. https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=589223208133521;res=IELAPA

Zald, A. E., & Gilchrist, D. (2008). Instruction and program design through assessment. http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1145&context=lib_articles