Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Exploring the impact of remote learning on student engagement and communication in science and other classes(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Gamache, Dylan William; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, students pivoted from one learning model to the next, switching between remote, hybrid, and in-person schedules. Students and teachers were surveyed and interviewed to explore how remote learning impacted student engagement and communication in the classroom during the 2020-2021 school year. Qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis to gain insight into the student experience from both students' and teachers' perspectives. Four recurring themes were referenced throughout responses from each research population; for students, technology, social and academic interactions, autonomy, and health were commonly mentioned; for teachers, technology, student involvement, relationships and support systems, and evaluating student progress were commonly discussed. The results suggested that students were less engaged in their academic work and communicated less meaningfully with their peers and teachers.Item Comparison of emotional engagement in online learning environments: an online classroom investigation(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Ryan, Katie Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesAfter the COVID-19 pandemic, there were more online educational opportunities for both families and teachers. Each unique opportunity varied in the amount of emotional engagement for students, specifically social engagement, and teacher presence. The purpose of this study was to look at the effects on emotional engagement of students between synchronous and asynchronous online education. Situation A had a virtual teacher interact with a classroom of students on a daily basis, where Situation B had an asynchronous class structure with the option for teacher interaction. At the end of first semester, Likert-Scale and free response survey questions were distributed to students, and teacher reflections were collected for a month. From the data collected, it was seen that students in a synchronous format did not believe their online education was supporting them, while students in the asynchronous did. It was also seen that when students felt that their ideas were being valued in a class, they were more likely to feel comfortable asking for help. Based on limited participation numbers, it was hard to make stronger claims about which situation supports students more successfully. It seems that although a synchronous situation lends itself to more student/teacher interactions, students still show variation in their perceptions of connection and support.