Authors:
Viktor Magnusson
;
Åsa Devine
and
Michaela Sandell
Affiliation:
School of Business and Economics, Linnaeus University, Sweden
Keyword(s):
Affective Association, Blended Learning Environment, Community of Cohesion, Instructor Investment, Interaction Intensity, Knowledge, Experience, Social Prescence Model.
Abstract:
The ambition of this development study is to explore the opportunity to put the knowledge gained during the COVID-19 pandemic into practice in a blended, post-COVID, learning environment. The focus is to explore how a combination of digital and face-to-face activities may allow for fostering social presence among undergraduate students. The Social Presence model and the five elements of Affective Association, Community of Cohesion, Instructor Investment, Interaction Intensity, and Knowledge and Experience, encompass the theoretical framework of the study. The contextual setting is the first course of The Marketing Programme at Linnaeus University in Sweden, a bachelor program with a 50% Swedish intake and 50% international intake. Given the diverse background of the students in this course, challenges are typically encountered in relation to community building. Empirical data was collected during the fall of 2022 among the enrolled students using an online questionnaire. While the re
sults from this study should be seen as preliminary, they offer an inspiring glimpse of how to nurture social presence in a blended learning environment.
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