All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Impact of Digital Courseware Use on Online Student Sense of Belonging and Potential for Building an Online Community of Inquiry

Kat Klement, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Abstract

Though interest in online education is rising, online programs have a lower retention rate than do in-person programs and a correspondingly higher dropout rate. One factor that drives online student retention is the degree to which students feel a sense of belonging in their online courses. As more interest in online education leads to larger course sizes and more online sections, instructors may turn to digital courseware offered by publishing companies to increase student engagement and provide formative assessment. Yet research shows little consistency in the impact of digital courseware use on course grades. The studies in this thesis explored the extent to which student belongingness and potential to build a Community of Inquiry (a framework designed to foster student connections and critical thinking) was affected by the use of digital courseware. In Study 1, students reported their level of belongingness with classmates and their faculty in a past online course. In Study 2, archival data analysis of online course syllabi posted on the internet explored the potential for each course to develop a Community of Inquiry. No hypotheses were supported; presence of courseware in an online course did not affect students’ level of belongingness with their classmates or faculty (Study 1), nor did it impact the potential to build a Community of Inquiry in online courses (Study 2). Though the hypotheses were unsupported, exploratory analyses indicate additional sites of inquiry, including the separate impacts of belongingness among classmates and faculty and the role of synchronous instruction in online courses.

Advisor

Amy Scheuermann

Committee Member

Kerrigan Mahoney

Date of Degree

2025

Language

english

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Program of Study

Teaching and Learning

Department

K-12 and Secondary Programs

College

Education

Recommended Citation

Klement, K. (2025). Impact of digital courseware use on online student sense of belonging and potential for building an online community of inquiry [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1573/