IBIS Report
Tara Lyons
January 30, 2013
Project Description and Course Overview
For the IBIS project in Fall 2012, I assessed how blended learning affects students’
perceptions of classroom community in ENL 258, Literary Studies. As M.G. Graff
writes, "Classroom community may be referred to as the sense of trust and
interaction between groups of learners."1 In an online or blended environment,
classroom community can be derived from learners shared knowledge of a
particular subject.2 Graff observes that students in the online environment who
recognize membership in a community experience “feelings of cohesion”, which not
only correlates with but is essential “for good [academic] performance” in a course.3
My larger aim in this study was to address educators’ concerns about online
learning in the humanities classroom where much of the learning occurs in
interactive discussions and peer review exercises. My own concern was that by
reducing face-to-face courses, students’ sense of cohesion might decrease. This,
however, was not at all what the data suggests.
To foster a sense of classroom community in ENL 258, I asked students to
participate in a variety of discussions (online and face-to-face), complete five peer
reviews of their peers’ writing, and take quizzes on readings to stay current with
course materials. Each of these assignments was designed to encourage students to
stay on track with assignments and to learn from their peers, thereby constructing
an environment of learners with shared knowledge and shared aims.
ENL 258 was divided into three units based on literary genre. During Weeks 1-5, the
Poetry unit, all classes took place face-to-face. Students completed these
assignments:
 In-class discussions
 2 quizzes
 3 short writing exercises
 1 peer review
1
See "Individual Differences in a Sense of Classroom Community in the Blended Learning Environment,"
Journal of Educational Media 28.2-3 (2003): 203-210.
2
See M. Wang, The construction of shared knowledge: in an Internet-based shared environment for
expeditions(iexpeditions): A study of external factors implying knowledge construction. Dissertation
Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 62 (5-A). 2001.
3
See M.G. Graff, ‘The Importance of Online Community in Student Academic Performance’ The
Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 4.2 (2006): 127-132.
1

1 formal essay (4 pages)
During Weeks 6-10, the Drama unit, five classes were held online, one class per
week. Unit 2 consisted of these assignments
 2 online discussion and many in-class discussions
 2 online quizzes
 2 short writing exercises
 1 library tutorial
 2 peer reviews
 1 annotated bibliography
 1 formal essay (4 pages) using three secondary peer-reviewed sources
Unit 3 on Fiction, Weeks 11-15, was blended, with two online classes. Students
during Unit 3 completed these assignments:
 1 paper/pencil quiz
 1 short writing assignment
 1 online discussion and many in-class discussions
 2 online peer reviews
 1 paper revision
 1 formal essay (5 pages) using two secondary peer-reviewed sources
Data Collected
I administered four identical surveys to gauge students’ perceptions of classroom
community in ENL 258. Each survey (see Figure 1) consisted of twenty statements
that I adapted from the “Class Community Scale” published in the article
“Development of an Instrument to Measure Classroom Community.”4
Students were asked to select the answer that came closest to indicating how they
felt about the course: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree.
The four surveys were administered at different times during the semester to
provide me with data on changes in students’ perceptions. Survey 1 was given on
September 10th, the third day of class, and was intended to set a baseline for
comparison. The second survey was administered on October 10th after completing
the face-to-face Unit 1. The point of this survey was to establish yet another baseline
for comparison based on students’ perception of community in the face-to-face
classroom versus the blended one. The third survey was given on November 19th
after completing the first blended unit, Unit 3, and the fourth survey was given on
December 7th after students completed Unit 4 and the entire course.
Even though students earned 5 points for completing each survey, participation
See Rovai, Alfred P. “Development of an Instrument to Measure Classroom Community.” Internet
and Higher Education 5 (2002): 197-211. Web. 17 Aug. 2012.
4
2
varied.
 19 students completed Survey 1 (20 were enrolled)
 17 students completed Survey 2 (20 were enrolled)
 10 students completed Survey 3 (15 were enrolled)
 13 students completed Survey 4 (15 were enrolled)
The data in Figure 2 shows the percentage of students’ responses to each statement
on the surveys. The numbers in the tables represent the percentage of students who
selected each answer. For example, for Question 1, 5 students (25.3%) Agreed with
the statement, 13 students (68.4% ) were Neutral, and 1 student (5.3%) Disagreed.
Because of the small sample size, the results are skewed at times.
Data Analysis
For the purposes of this report, I decided to focus on three questions from the
survey to evaluate students’ perceptions of community: 1, 5, 12.
Question 1: I feel that students in this course care about each other.
The data from this question strongly suggests that blended learning can improve
students’ sense of community. On the third day of class, only 26.4% of the class felt
that other students in the course cared about them. By week 5 and after the face-toface unit, that number increased to 64.7%. After the first blended unit (Unit 3), the
number jumped to 80% and after Unit 4, 100% of the respondents felt that others
cared about them in the class. While I cannot conclude that blending the course was
the reason that students congealed in ENL 258, it surely did not decrease students’
sense of community. The numbers, in fact, from Survey 2 to 3 would suggest that it
increased that sense, although students naturally may feel more cohesive after 15
weeks together.
Question 5: I do not feel a spirit of community in this course.
The data from this question likewise suggests that blended learning can improve
students’ sense of community and does not hinder it. After Survey 1, students had a
general sense of community in ENL 258. Nearly half the class, 47.3%, disagreed
with the statement. At the end of the first face-to-face unit, 58.8% of respondents
disagreed with the statement. After the first blended unit, this number jumped to
77.7% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with the statement. This number stayed
about the same after the second blended unit, 77.7%. The 11% increase between
Survey 1 and Survey 2 suggests that the face-to-face unit and likely just getting to
know their fellow students helped create a spirit of community. The largest jump,
however, occurs after the first blended unit; there was an 18.9% increase in the
number of students disagreeing with the statement. This data again indicates that
blending did not hamper students’ feelings of community but may have assisted in
boosting that sense.
3
Question 12: I feel a spirit of community in most of my college courses.
I asked this question so that I could compare students’ sense of community in other
courses with those in ENL 258. For Survey 1, only 15.8% of the class agreed that
they felt “a spirit of community in most of my college courses.” 42.1% of the class
was neutral, and 36.8% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement. By the
end of the course (Survey 4), a much higher percentage of students strongly agreed
or agreed with the statement (38.5%), although 38.5% still did not feel a sense of
community in most of their college course.
My conclusion here is that students entered ENL 258 feeling less connected in their
overall courses than when they left, approximately 23% of the students felt more
connected by the end. I use this number as a baseline. If there was more than a 23%
change in feelings of community from Survey 1 to Survey 4 in ENL 258, my class was
creating that sense more than other courses and perhaps the blending was partly
responsible. According to Question 1, there was a 73.6% increase in feelings of
community from Survey 1 to Survey 4, a drastic change in how students felt about
others in the course. Question 5 illustrates a smaller increase, 30.4% from Survey 1
to Survey 4; however, compared with 23% for other courses, I suggest that the
students in this section of ENL 258 felt an increase in their sense of community as
the semester progressed. Considering that the blended units were scheduled from
weeks 6-15, I feel quite certain that blended did not negatively impact students’
sense of community.
Peer/Mentor Experience
Anupama Arora and I e-mailed about my proposed project and discussed her project
on implementing quizzes in English literature courses. She visited my class for a
face-to-face observation during Unit 3 and administered a survey. More direct
communication on both our parts would have improved the mentor/mentee
experience.
4
Figure 1
Surveys
Directions: Below, you will see a series of statements concerning ENL 258. Read each statement
carefully and circle the statement that comes closest to indicating how you feel about the course.
You may use a pencil or pen. There are no correct or incorrect responses. If you neither agree nor
disagree with a statement or are uncertain, choose Neutral.
Do not spend too much time on any one statement, but give the response that seems to describe
how you feel. Please respond to all items.
1. I feel that students in this course care about each other.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
2. I feel that I am encouraged to ask questions in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
3. I feel connected to others in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
4. I feel that it is hard to get help when I have a question in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
5. I do not feel a spirit of community in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
6. I feel that this course is like a family.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
7. I feel uneasy exposing gaps in my understanding in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
8. I feel isolated in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
9. I feel reluctant to speak openly in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
10. I trust others in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Neutral
5
11. I feel that this course results in only modest learning.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
12. I feel a spirit of community in most of my college courses.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
13. I feel that I can rely on others in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
14. I feel that other students in this course do not help me learn.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
15. I feel that members of this course depend on me.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
16. I feel that I am given ample opportunities to learn in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
17. I feel uncertain about others in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
18. I feel that my educational needs are not being met in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
19. I feel confident that others will support me in this course.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
20. I feel that this course does not promote a desire to learn.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Questions adopted from “Class Community Scale” published in Rovai, Alfred P.
“Development of an Instrument to Measure Classroom Community.” Internet and Higher
Education 5 (2002): 197-211. Web. 17 Aug. 2012.
6
Figure 2
Survey 1—19 students responded on September 10 (day 3 in MWF course)
Survey 2—17 students responded on October 10 (after unit 1, face-to-face)
Survey 3—10 students responded on November 19 (after unit 2, blended)
Survey 4—13 students responded on December 7 (after unit 3, blended)
The numbers in the tables represent the percentage of students who selected each
answer.
Question 1: I feel that students in this course care about each other.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
10
46.2
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
26.3%
64.7
70
61.5
68.4%
35.3
20
5.3%
Strongly
Disagree
Question 2: I feel that I am encouraged to ask questions in this course.
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
Strongly
Agree
47.3
58.8
55.6
76.9
Agree
Neutral
52.6
35.3
44.5
23.1
Disagree
5.9
Strongly
Disagree
0
0
0
0
Question 3: I feel connected to others in this course.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
11.1
30.8
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
21.1
58.8
55.6
61.5
68.4
35.3
22.2
7.7
10.5
5.9
22.2
Strongly
Disagree
7
Question 4: I feel that it is hard to get help when I have a question in this course.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
Agree
5.9
0
7.7
7.7
Neutral
Disagree
15.8
5.9
33.3
7.7
63.2
35.3
11.1
30.8
Strongly
Disagree
21.1
52.9
55.6
46.2
Question 5: I do not feel a spirit of community in this course.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
5.3
11.8
11.1
15.4
47.3
29.4
11.1
7.7
47.3
58.8
44.4
38.5
Strongly
Disagree
33.3
38.5
Question 6: I feel that this course is like a family.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
11.1
23.1
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
5.3
11.8
22.2
38.5
63.2
64.7
44.4
23.1
26.3
11.8
22.2
7.7
Strongly
Disagree
5.3
11.8
7.7
Question 7: I feel uneasy exposing gaps in my understanding in this course.
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
Strongly
Agree
10.5
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
26.3
17.6
22.2
15.4
5.3
17.6
11.1
15.4
52.6
58.8
44.4
38.5
Strongly
Disagree
5.3
5.9
22.2
30.8
8
Question 8: I feel isolated in this course.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
15.8
21.1
5.9
11.1
47.3
70.6
44.4
53.8
11.1
Strongly
Disagree
15.8
23.5
33.3
46.2
Question 9: I feel reluctant to speak openly in this course.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
15.8
21.1
11.8
0
15.4
52.6
52.9
55.6
38.5
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
42.1
70.6
66.7
38.5
52.6
23.5
22.2
30.8
5.3
0
11.1
Strongly
Disagree
10.5
35.3
33.3
46.2
Question 10: I trust others in this course.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
11.1
30.8
Strongly
Disagree
5.9
Question 11: I feel that this course results in only modest learning.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
5.3
5.9
11.1
15.4
15.8
5.9
33.3
15.4
63.2
82.4
22.2
38.5
Strongly
Disagree
15.8
5.9
33.3
30.8
9
Question 12: I feel a spirit of community in most of my college courses.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
7.7
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
15.8
11.8
11.1
30.8
42.1
52.9
55.6
23.1
26.3
23.5
22.2
38.5
Strongly
Disagree
10.5
11.8
11.1
Question 13: I feel that I can rely on others in this course.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
11.1
23.1
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
31.6
35.3
44.4
53.8
57.9
58.8
22.2
15.4
15.8
5.9
22.2
7.7
Strongly
Disagree
Question 14: I feel that other students in this course do not help me learn.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
5.9
31.6
5.9
11.1
57.9
70.6
55.6
69.2
11.1
Strongly
Disagree
10.5
17.6
22.2
30.8
Question 15: I feel that members of this course depend on me.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
7.7
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
11.8
33.3
15.4
26.3
41.2
11.1
38.5
63.2
41.2
55.6
23.1
Strongly
Disagree
5.3
5.9
15.4
10
Question 16: I feel that I am given ample opportunities to learn in this course.
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
Strongly
Agree
26.3
47.1
55.6
76.9
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
68.4
52.9
22.2
23.1
5.3
5.3
Strongly
Disagree
22.2
Question 17: I feel uncertain about others in this course.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
7.7
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
15.8
42.1
23.5
22.2
15.4
42.1
64.7
44.4
53.8
22.2
7.7
Strongly
Disagree
5.3
11.8
11.1
15.4
Question 18: I feel that my educational needs are not being met in this course.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
11.1
7.7
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
5.3
73.7
29.4
33.3
15.4
11.1
7.7
Strongly
Disagree
21.1
70.6
44.4
69.2
Question 19: I feel confident that others will support me in this course.
ERROR IN SURVEY—NO NUMBERS AVAILABLE
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
11
Question 20: I feel that this course does not promote a desire to learn.
Strongly
Agree
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 4
11.1
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
5.9
0
0
0
57.9
23.5
44.4
30.8
Strongly
Disagree
36.8
70.6
44.4
69.2
12