Classroom Community Scale

Development of an Instrument to Measure Classroom Community

Rovai, A. P. (2002). The Internet and Higher Education. 5, 197-211.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W4X-46KR8BM-3&_user=854313&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000046079&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=854313&md5=0a1ff7bef8b1847ae7787211fe049765

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and field-test the Classroom Community Scale and to determine its validity and reliability for use with university students taking courses at a distance via the Internet. The 20-item Classroom Community Scale measures sense of community in a learning environment. Data were collected from 375 students enrolled in 28 different courses, offered for graduate credit via the Blackboard e-learning system by a private university. It was concluded that the Classroom Community Scale is a valid and reliable measure of classroom community and that this instrument yields two interpretable factors, connectedness and learning.

Author Keywords: Community; Learning; Connectedness; ALN; Persistence; Scale