An Exploratory Study on Instructor Conduct and Characteristics in the Online Classroom as Predictors of Student Participation

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the relationship between instructors’ defining characteristics (including conduct, personality traits, and past experiences of ingratitude) and student participation in online asynchronous course discussions. Data on traits and experiences were collected from 165 instructors in a variety of disciplines, and analyses of conduct exhibited by instructors and students in mandatory discussion forums were performed. In this study, the amount of time an instructor spent in discussion forums was positively correlated with the amount of time students spent in the course. Manner of relating to students was positively correlated with the number of student replies to the instructor. An instructor’s openness to experience was related to students’ overall response rates. This distinctive pattern fosters further inquiry into the unique aspects of the pedagogy of asynchronous online learning.