Analysing The Impact of Social Presence on Student Satisfaction Through Small Group Discussion in A Synchronous Online Learning

Abstract

Online learning has been put into practice since a long time ago by universities around the world, but still few were practicing it full mode such as what happened in the pandemic situation nowadays. Some research explained online learning practice during the pandemic cause a low motivation to study, high level of stress, and eventually may lead to the rise of dropout rate. One of the reasons is that learning from home degrades social activity in the learning process. Previous research stated that one approach that may increase social presence in online learning is by dividing students into small group discussions. This approached is believed able to improve student satisfaction toward the course. This research aims to systematically examine the impact of social presence on student satisfaction through small group discussion. The study surveyed students who were experiencing small group discussion in synchronous online learning through breakout room in Zoom application. This study found that small group discussion in synchronous online learning environment able to facilitate social presence among the students. Further, social presence was found to have a positive relationship with student satisfaction in three constructs, namely; social sharing, open mind, and social identity.