Relationship of Gender, Interaction Type, and College Student Grades in Online Discussion Boards
One of the strongest influences on a college student's education has been a rise in the use of computer-mediated learning environments. Pedagogy has moved from the traditional classroom to technology being integrated into almost every aspect of learning. A way in which this is often done in the college environment is through the professor incorporating a web-based discussion board into their instructional repertoire and creating hybrid courses. The conversion from traditionally taught face-to-face courses to hybrid courses can lead to learning problems, as past research has shown that there are differences in how men and women communicate and interact in online environments. Past studies on gender and interaction in online classrooms have produced conflicting results, mostly due to a reliance on self-reported data and small sample sizes. This study examined the online discussion board posts of 310 and perceptions of 214 undergraduate students enrolled in two introductory level courses at a large research university. The study results showed that male and female students participated equally in the course discussion boards, had the same amount of learner-learner and learner-instructor interactions, and had the same amount of reply posts. Female students had a higher amount of initiated posts per student while male students had more words in their interactions. Students in the courses engaged in many Technical and Seeking Clarification interactions and very few Social and Reflecting interactions. Finally, this study found a significant relationship between gender and final course grade.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign