Online collaborative learning activities: The perceptions of culturally diverse graduate students

Abstract

This exploratory study examined the perceptions of minority graduate students toward online collaborative learning activities. The participants were 20 minority graduate students from diverse cultural backgrounds (10 African Americans, 5 Hispanics, and 5 international students from Africa) enrolled in online graduate instructional technology and special education program at a university located in the Northeastern United States. A qualitative research design using semistructured interviews, focus group interviews, and a non-participant observation were employed to collect the data for the study. The analysis of the data identified six themes on the perceptions of the minority graduate students toward online collaborative learning activities: (a) knowledge building and construction, (b) preference to work in small-group over whole-group activities, (c) opportunities to share and lead discussion in cross-cultural online environment, (d) collaborative activities help meet their learning and communication styles, (e) challenges of dealing with cultural differences, and (f) lack of multicultural inclusion in the curriculum/course content. The findings of the study suggest that instructors who are tasked to teach online courses should take into account the benefits, preferences, and challenges of students from diverse cultural backgrounds as they participate in online collaborative learning activities.