Jen Eden

The COVID-19 pandemic altered the higher education landscape in a number of ways. It, specifically, made the online/distance learning environment more prominent among institutions as 96% of colleges and universities in the U.S. shifted at least some of their course offerings online. The contrast of in-person and online teaching outcomes has become increasingly relevant due to these circumstances. Given the necessity and ubiquity of online classes, it is as important as ever to understand how to best implement an online course. The current project explored how student characteristics, instructor characteristics, and classroom characteristics in both traditional and online classes in the U.S. differed in terms of motivation, engagement, and satisfaction. Results indicate that only instructor rapport and credibility were perceived as important in online classes whereas perceived classroom interaction was important for in-person classes. Student reports of motivation, engagement, and satisfaction were higher for in-person classes than online classes.

This manuscript examined the role trait verbal aggression plays in cyberbullying victimization and perpetration in adolescence. More than 400 middle school students (46.8% males and 52.2% females) completed a questionnaire on trait verbal aggression and their history of cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Linear regression analyses revealed that trait verbal aggression was a statistically significant predictor of both cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, that cyberbullying perpetration and cyberbullying victimization are related, and that cyberbullying perpetration appears to increase with age, while cyberbullying victimization does not. Ideas and implications for future applications of verbal aggression and cyberbullying are discussed.

This study experimentally evaluated the short-term effects of the Arizona Attorney General’s cybersafety promotion presentation, a key component of which is cyberbullying prevention. Fifty-one parents of children attending a middle school in the southwestern United States participated in the study. Results reveal parents who viewed the presentation believed their children to be more susceptible to cyberbullying, and indicated that they were more likely to talk to their children about saving evidence, not retaliating, and telling an adult compared to parents who had not viewed the presentation. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.