Online Classes and Student Engagement: Lowering Social Distance Barriers to Improve Self-Efficacy and Motivation to Learn

Students enrolled in asynchronous online college courses often report satisfaction with the flexibility and self-paced nature of their learning. However, many online learners also express concerns about limited opportunities to interact with peers and faculty, which can reduce their confidence in understanding the material and diminish their motivation to learn. In response to these challenges, a group of faculty members in a U.S. university designed and implemented a set of activities aimed at enhancing student engagement with the course content and their peers. The same faculty also taught identical courses without these engagement activities, creating a comparative control group. Students in both groups completed a validated self-efficacy survey to assess their learning experiences. Our results revealed significant differences between groups. Students who participated in the engagement activities showed improved understanding of the material, higher motivation, and greater academic effort than those in the control group.