College - Author 1
College of Liberal Arts
Department - Author 1
Communication Studies Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BA in Communication Studies
Date
6-2024
Primary Advisor
Anuraj Dhillon, College of Liberal Arts, Communication Studies Department
Abstract/Summary
The present study aims to address the immensely popular alternative to face-to-face classrooms in higher education that has emerged in videoconferencing, and the various challenges that it creates for students in comfort, enjoyment, and learning. While many cross-sectional studies have explored the evidence of and causes for this so-called “Zoom fatigue” (e.g., Aroaz et al., 2023; Castro & Tumibay, 2021; Fauville et al., 2021a; 2021b; Reidl, 2022), experiments testing potential alleviating factors to this fatigue are limited. The study used experimental design to evaluate the effect of interactivity in Zoom class sessions on the students’ perceived learning, Zoom fatigue, and material retention mediated by social presence and engagement. Surveys were developed by the researcher and sent to Communication Studies students participating in the study at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo both preceding and then following manipulated Zoom lessons. Significant results of the study include that students who reported higher levels of Zoom Features interactivity performed better on material retention quizzes, social presence mediated the relationship between interactivity and Zoom fatigue, and social presence significantly mediated the relationship between Zoom fatigue and perceived student learning. This study provided direction for future study of potential factors to mitigate Zoom fatigue and increase learning in online classrooms.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/comssp/268