The Relationship of Student-Teacher Transactional Distance and Student Self-Regulation, Community Presence, and Satisfaction in Online Courses

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between student perceptions of transactional distance between themselves and their teachers and their sense of community presence as measured by the Community of Inquiry Questionnaire (Arbaugh et al., 2008), use of self- regulated learning skills as measured by the Online Student Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ) (Barnard-Brak et al., 2010), and satisfaction with online courses using one section of the TDSRECH questionnaire (Weidlich & Bastiaens, 2018). The study used a mixed methods converging approach and consisted of a five-point Likert style survey and semi-structured interviews. The population of interest was undergraduate college students in three community colleges and one 4-year college in a university system in the pacific. A link to the survey was sent to teachers with at least one online course requesting that they share the survey with their students, resulting in a sample size of 203. Participants who provided emails for follow up interviews were contacted, and 12 semi structured interviews followed. Exploratory factor analysis and thematic analysis of interview transcripts showed that Learner-Teacher Transactional Distance was part of a larger construct labeled Learner-Teacher Engagement, and that Satisfaction was related to both Learner Teacher Engagement and Cognitive Engagement. No significant correlation was found between Learner-Teacher Transactional Distance and student self-regulation of learning , however self-regulation skills and engagement with the community of learners is critical for cognitive engagement.