Title

Role of Intercessory Prayer in Fostering Students' Sense of Connectedness in Distance Education Courses

School/Department

School of Education

Publication Date

8-2016

Abstract

Students in any classroom, whether online or in face-to-face settings, who feel a strong sense of community or connectedness are more likely to be successful and perceive satisfaction with the overall learning experience compared to those who feel separated from the community. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were significant differences in students' perceived connectedness with the instructor and overall satisfaction with the course when the instructor communicated through individual, personalized email correspondence about intercessory prayers, compared to the group who did not receive personalized email communications from the instructor. Students in four online courses were assigned to one of two treatment groups: those who corresponded through personalized email and those who did not. Data were collected using an online survey, and findings revealed that students who corresponded with the professor through personalized emails felt more connected with their instructor. Although students in the email group reported greater satisfaction overall with their online learning experience, results were not statistically significant between treatment groups.

Keywords

Online Courses: Distance Education;

Publication Title

International Journal on E-Learning

Volume

15

Issue

3

First Page

361

Last Page

378

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