Abstract
Ten students in a graduate-level course on Historical and Policy Perspectives in Higher Education held face-to-face and online discussions on five controversial topics: diversity, academic freedom, political tolerance, affirmative action, and gender. Upon completion of each discussion, they assessed their comfort, honesty, concern for others’ feelings, similarity of feelings to others, and willingness to disagree and then compared the face-to-face and online discussions on these measures. Students’ assessments are complex and indicate that some topics did elicit feelings of discomfort, concern for others’ feelings, and willingness to disagree in the face-to-face discussions. However, despite these feelings, the majority of students continued to prefer the face-to-face discussions. Online discussions were valued to a lesser extent, but a consistent minority of students were more comfortable in that setting. The age and race of the student also created differences in responses.
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Dr. Katrina Meyer is an associate professor of Higher and Adult Education at The University of Memphis. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Washington, and her research interests include online learning and virtual universities.
Appendix: Instrument
Appendix: Instrument
Questions asked after each discussion (answers limited to very = 1, moderately = 2, somewhat = 3, a little = 4, and not at all = 5:
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1.
How uncomfortable did you feel?
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2.
How honest were you?
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3.
How worried were you about hurting others’ feelings?
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4.
Do you think you feel the same as others in the class?
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5.
How willing were you to disagree with others?
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6.
Would you prefer to have this discussion online?
Additional questions asked after the completion of both face-to-face and online discussion (answers limited to face-to-face, online, or no difference):
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7.
Was the face-to-face or the online discussion more comfortable?
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8.
Was the face-to-face or the online discussion more honest?
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9.
Were you more worried about hurting others’ feelings in the face-to-face or online discussion?
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10.
Did you feel as if you had the same feelings as others in the face-to-face or online discussion?
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11.
Were you more willing to disagree with others in the face-to-face or online discussion?
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12.
Would you prefer to have this discussion face-to-face or online?
Open-ended questions asked after both face-to-face and online discussions were completed:
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13.
Why would you prefer to hold this particular discussion face-to-face or online?
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14.
What was the most important thing you learned from this discussion AND was it during the face-to-face or online discussion?
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Meyer, K.A. When Topics are Controversial: Is it Better to Discuss Them Face-to-Face or Online?. Innov High Educ 31, 175–186 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-006-9019-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-006-9019-3