Examining direct and indirect effects of classroom procedural justice on online students’ willingness to talk

ABSTRACT

Interest in understanding what constitutes effective instruction online continues to grow as more universities adopt mediated formats for teaching. However, engaging students in productive, content-related conversation in online courses remains challenging. Several variables may influence student willingness to talk in online classes – procedural justice, affect towards the instructor, and perceived cognitive learning – each with probable direct and indirect effects on student inclinations for communicating in the classroom. This study proposes a model predicting student willingness to talk in online classes. Results indicate initial support for the proposed model, and practical implications for instructors teaching online courses are suggested.

KEYWORDS:

• Willingness to talk
• online education
• procedural justice
• instructional communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Renee Kaufmann

Renee Kaufmann (PhD, University of Kentucky, 2014) is an assistant professor in the School of Information Science in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky.

Nicholas T. Tatum

Nicholas T. Tatum (MA, Abilene Christian University, 2015) is an instructor in the Department of Communication and Sociology at Abilene Christian University and a PhD candidate in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky.