Person-to-person interactions in online classroom settings under the impact of COVID-19: a social presence theory perspective

• Published in: Asia Pacific education review Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 371 - 383
• Main Authors: Wut, Tai-ming, Xu, Jing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.09.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; 교육연구소
• Subjects: Affective Objectives; Case Studies; Classroom Environment; College Faculty; College Students; Communicable Diseases; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Distance Education; Distance learning; Education; Educational Objectives; Educational Quality; Educational Research; Educational Technology; Electronic Learning; Higher Education; Influence of Technology; Information Networks; Laptop Computers; Online Courses; Online instruction; Outcomes of Education; Pandemics; Peer Relationship; Public Health; Qualitative research; Social interaction; Teacher Effectiveness; Teacher Student Relationship; University students; Virtual Classrooms; 교육학; COVID-19; Social presence theory; Online learning; Student-to-instructor interactions; Student-to-student interactions
• ISSN: 1598-1037; 1876-407X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12564-021-09673-1

The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled universities and higher education institutions to largely adopt online teaching to avoid face-to-face interactions. Instructors and students teach and learn through computers, laptops, and mobile phones with Internet connections. This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with 17 university students and 7 instructors. It found that student-to-instructor and student-to-student interactions cannot fully establish cognitive social presence and affective social presence. It then provided recommendations including encouragement, incentives, breakout rooms, and engagement techniques.