ERIC Number: EJ1411937
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-1812-9129
The Use and Functions of Students' Personal Stories in Online Discussion Forums
Nicole Alea; Sydney Jawitz; Payton Adams; Pauline Yang
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, v35 n1 p101-114 2023
Personal stories serve learning and socioemotional functions in teaching. Instructors share personal stories with students to promote engagement, foster learning, and create a sense of community. Students may also share personal stories with each other for similar reasons. Thus, the current study explored how often, and why, students (N = 79) shared personal stories as well as responded to other students' stories in online discussion forums (ODFs) that were part of a remotely taught adult development and aging class. The students ODF posts (f = 1,354) were content-coded for: (i) whether they contained a personal story, (ii) were a direct response to another students' personal story, and (iii) whether they served a teach and inform, empathic, or social-bonding function. Twenty-two percent of the posts made in the ODFs were personal stories, and almost half served a teach and inform function. Ten percent of students' posts were responses to other students' personal stories, and primarily served empathic and social-bonding functions. Results highlight the possibility that students can engage with one another to foster the pedagogical benefits of personal stories and provide insights into how personal stories can be infused into teaching and learning. [Note: The page range (101-112) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 101-114.]
Descriptors: Group Discussion, Discussion (Teaching Technique), Personal Narratives, Electronic Learning, Student Reaction, Interpersonal Relationship, Social Emotional Learning, College Students, Asynchronous Communication, Internet
International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning. Web site: https://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A