Measuring the sociability of virtual learning environments for interdisciplinary student teams – a validation study

ABSTRACT

The reliance on the use of virtual learning environments, particularly computer-supported collaborative learning environments, is increasing in higher education institutions. This paper explores the perceived sociability of a virtual learning environment after it was implemented in an interdisciplinary project-based course in a higher education institute in Norway due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes the validation of a sociability scale in a sample of 1,611 students. The paper also reports on differences in perceived sociability according to gender, field of study and personality and the extent to which perceptions of sociability relate to the experience of a sudden change from a real-life learning environment to a virtual one. The results of this large-scale study suggest that the Norwegian version of the sociability scale can be used as a valid and reliable instrument to measure the perceived sociability of a virtual learning environment in the context of self-organized student project teams.

KEYWORDS:

• Sociability
• virtual learning environment
• validation
• computer-supported collaborative learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In this paper, the terms group and team are used interchangeably. Although many researchers make a distinction between the two, often building on Katzenbach and Smith’s (1993) definition, the terms are used interchangeably in the literature across disciplines and research contexts. Both terms will therefore be used here, depending on the terminology used in the literature that is referred to.

2 The items of the scale are published with permission from Karel Kreijns