Cohesiveness in Online classes
The most common misconception is that distant or online classrooms lack cohesiveness between learners and instructors, leading to a debate on whether online classes are capable enough. However, some strategies can be put in place by instructors to enhance cohesiveness among students Group cohesiveness is a measure of sense of belonging and togetherness that individuals have towards one another in a class. This paper will discuss some of the strategies instructors can apply in classrooms.
Firstly, the instructor should create group norms; group norms are set rules that instructors can implement to encourage the participation of learners and discourage passiveness during the online classes. Group norms are unwritten but are still useful (Satar & Sumru,170). Communication in online courses is mostly via text. It involves a lack of language cues and immediate feedback; it is necessary to have some standard rules that make every student feel comfortable and respected.
Secondly, online learning is still new to some institutions, and some students experience computer-mediated communication apprehension (CMCA), which is the student’s fear and anxiety associated with using computers as a medium for interaction. The instructor should encourage each student to participate and demonstrate personal interest to enable students to overcome this.
Thirdly, the instructor should demonstrate personal interest in each student by treating every student as an individual; instructors tend to ignore the less talkative and interactive students, especially now that communication is online. It is the instructor’s responsibility to ensure that no one fills left out during classes and that no one feels more favored than the rest by promoting collective ownership of the course.
Conclusively, the instructor plays the most crucial role in ensuring togetherness in online classes.
References
Satar, H. Muge, and Sumru Akcan. “Pre-service EFL teachers’ online participation, interaction, and social presence.” Language Learning & Technology 22.1 (2018): 157-183.