Date of Conferral

5-25-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Ruby Burgess

Abstract

Research has revealed that online writing instructors use a variety of instructional methods in class to improve student learning experiences. However, current research has not addressed rural students’ learning experiences with connectivism in an online composition course. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore what, if any, experiences rural students have with connectivism in an online composition course at a 2-year college. Siemens and Downes’s theory of connectivism was the conceptual framework for this study, which is a learning theory that has been applied to instructional strategies in online courses in the new digital era. A basic qualitative study was employed to collect semistructured interview data from eight students who lived in rural areas when they completed an online composition course at a 2-year college in the Southern United States. Interview data were analyzed and hand coded. Data analysis yielded two themes about rural students’ learning experiences with connectivism in the online composition classroom: (a) collaborating with the online composition instructor and students and (b) utilizing technology. Findings contribute to the research on rural students’ learning experiences with connectivism in online writing courses at higher education institutions and help fill the gap in the literature about rural students’ instructional needs in those courses. This study has the potential for positive social change because instructors and administrators at 2-year colleges could use the results to integrate connectivism into instruction to help improve rural students’ class participation and possible completion of their programs, which can improve graduation rates.

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