Getting to Know You: Student-Faculty Interaction and Student Engagement in Online Courses

Abstract

Covid-19 presented many challenges to universities as brick-and-mortar courses were moved to an online format. This work is an unofficial study of learner-instructor interaction and student engagement in two 7- week online graduate-level courses conducted in Spring 2020, Fall 2020, and early Spring 2021. Research shows that instructor presence in online courses leads to increased student engagement, as well as motivation, well-being, and academic achievement. Student engagement is shown to have a direct impact on a student’s emotional, behavioral, and cognitive successes. This work proposes that increased learnerinstructor interaction in online courses using strategies lead to greater student engagement with the course, and greater student success in overcoming barriers and challenges to online learning.