Comparison of emotional engagement in online learning environments: an online classroom investigation

Abstract

After 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.