Faculty-student interaction components in online education: What are the effects on student satisfaction and academic outcomes

Much previous research has presented "interaction" as a pivotal factor for success in the online environment (Boettcher & Conrad, 1999; Shin, 2003), though interaction itself has not been evaluated in a consistent manner across the broad base of literature available in the field of distance education. To test this assumption, this study employed a correlational design to investigate the effects of interactive components in the online learning environment on the learning outcomes of 240 higher education students and 17 instructors across 17 separate online courses at a southeastern university. Further, unique student and instructor variables thought to influence the effects of interaction as well as student outcomes were examined. Two primary student criterion variables of final course grade and course satisfaction were analyzed in conjunction with predictive instructor and student variables assessed through secure online questionnaire administration. These predictive variables were assessed through validated questionnaires examining student learning approach, instructor teaching style, student-perceived interaction, and instructor-perceived interaction in the online class. The results of this research found significant relationships between several student-instructor interaction predictor variables, with individual and/or collaborative interact with the student outcomes, principally, with course satisfaction more so than final received grades. These findings are consistent with previous research on student-instructor interaction present within online courses (McDaniel, 2003; Roblyer & Wiencke, 2003), yet yield some interesting considerations that add to the body of literature. Further discussion of findings of this research, along with a host of recommendations for further research in this field are then presented for consideration.