Exploring the relationships between interaction measures and learning outcomes through social network analysis: the mediating role of social presence

• Published in: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 14 - 17
• Main Author: Lim, Jieun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2023; BioMed Central, Ltd; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Asynchronous online discussion; Colleges & universities; Communities of Practice; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Mediated Communication; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Cooperative Learning; Correlation; Data Analysis; Distance learning; Dynamic characteristics; Educational objectives; Educational Research; Educational Technology; Electronic Learning; Group Discussion; Higher Education; Humanities; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Instructional Materials; Interaction; Interaction Process Analysis; Law; Learner Engagement; Learning; Learning outcome; Learning Processes; Meta Analysis; Multiple Regression Analysis; Network Analysis; Online Courses; Outcome Measures; Outcomes of Education; Regression analysis; Research Article; Researchers; Social Influences; Social network analysis; Social network analysis (SNA); Social Networks; Social presence; Statistics for Social Sciences; Student Characteristics; Student Satisfaction; Student Surveys; Students; Success; Teaching Methods; Social network analysis (SNA); Social presence; Asynchronous online discussion; Learning outcome; Interaction
• ISSN: 2365-9440; 2365-9440
• DOI: 10.1186/s41239-023-00384-8

This research aimed to explore (1) the characteristics and patterns of student interactions on online discussion boards throughout a course using social network analysis (SNA) and (2) the mediating effect of social presence, as the underlying mechanism, on the relationship between these interactions and students' learning outcomes. Eighty-four college students from four classes of a single course responded to an online survey asking about their perceptions of social presence, perceived learning achievement, and course satisfaction. Students’ discussion threads were analyzed using SNA. The results confirmed that social presence mediates relationships between interaction measures and learning outcomes. This research also found that SNA can be a useful tool to monitor the dynamic characteristics and patterns of online discussion interactions among students and support instructors to implement immediate and relevant instruction.