Student Interaction in Small Private Online Courses

Abstract

Introduction: Social interaction is key in educational success. In online education, the creation of social interaction may be a challenge. This observational study evaluated to what extent social interactions occur during small private online courses (SPOCs). Methods: Discussion forums of four courses of the UMC Utrecht’s international Master’s Program Epidemiology were assessed and posts were categorized as either content specific, functional/technical, or social. Results: SPOCs at University Medical Center Utrecht showed substantial social interaction, creating involvement and student coherence, combined with students discussing and explaining content to each other. Interactions play a major role in SPOCs. Our results show that 43% of all discussion posts were social; 90% of social posts were initiated by students; and 94% was aimed at students. Conclusion: SPOCs appear to provide a sustainable answer to the increased demand for online higher education, with an environment suitable for students to learn, in agreement with the need for social interaction in higher education.