Exploring connections in the online learning environment: student perceptions of rapport, climate, and loneliness

ABSTRACT

Online learning can be a lonely experience. Social presence and interaction are a few proposed ways to combat students’ feelings of loneliness from peers and their instructor. Given that online course popularity and opportunities continue to grow, it is necessary to examine possible ways to alleviate perceptions of loneliness, especially given its negative outcomes on students’ learning experiences. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore how connections with those in the course (i.e. rapport and climate) may alleviate perceptions of loneliness in an online classroom, if at all, using rhetorical and relational goals as a theoretical perspective. The results from this study exemplify the importance of the instructor's role in building and maintaining rapport and climate. Practical implications for online instructors are presented in the discussion.

KEYWORDS:

• Online learning
• instructional communication
• loneliness
• climate
• rapport

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Renee Kaufmann

Renee Kaufmann (Ph.D., University of Kentucky) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky.

Jessalyn I. Vallade

Jessalyn I. Vallade (Ph.D., West Virginia University) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky.