Work in progress — The impact of time on building community in an ALN

The importance of establishing a sense of community is accepted as a central element in establishing an effective learning environment, impacting student persistence, satisfaction, and achievement. Although there is a body of research on building learning communities within an asynchronous learning network (ALN), that research is rather one-dimensional in that it is based upon a sample taken at a point in time and does not adequately address the dynamic characteristics of interpersonal relationships. The impact of shared experiences over time on feelings of community within an ALN is not clearly understood. This baseline information is necessary for providing context for an analysis of how to build community. This work in progress addresses that lack of context through a causal-comparative study that addresses the research question, “How does the sense of community change throughout the semester in a course offered in an ALN?” In deriving an answer to the research question, students in twelve graduate-level courses offered as part of the curriculum in a school of computer and information sciences completed the Classroom Community Scale twice during their 12-week terms: once at the midterm point, and again at the end of the term. A MANOVA analysis of the data did not suggest a change in community over the course of the semester.