Key Factors Influencing Affective Development in Online Courses: A Comparative Case Study Analysis

This study examines the elements of online courses that exert the most significant affective impact on students. It extends the work of Hewitt's "Human Interaction in an Online Course: A Comparative Analysis" by employing the same survey methodology in a different online course, leading to slightly varied findings. This paper discusses both the similarities and divergences observed. In line with Bloom's taxonomy, educational objectives encompass cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. While online education strives to achieve these outcomes, it encounters distinct challenges in affective development due to limited teacher-student and student-student interaction. To aid educators in enhancing the affective impact of online learning, two studies were conducted to identify which aspects of online courses most significantly influence students' affective domain. The first study identified that, among eleven potential aspects, the top three contributors to affective impact were Cohort Meetings, Lectures, and Assignments, in that order. The second study found that the primary affective aspects were Assignments, Lectures, and Cohort Meetings. The consistent high ratings for Cohort Meetings (8.9 average), Assignments (8.8 average), and Lectures (8.65 average) suggest that while lectures and assignments are conventional elements of online courses, the inclusion of weekly cohort meetings—a relatively unconventional pedagogical element—may significantly enhance affective impact.