New studies explore emotional and professional side of online learning

Understanding the emotional experiences of both online students and educators is crucial for developing meaningful online learning programmes, researchers from the University of Leeds have found.

Dr Lauren Mottle and Dr Adam Richardson, both Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence (LITE) fellows, have found that we can improve the online experience by helping students to feel a sense of belonging, and properly supporting educators to make the transition to the online world.

They have presented their LITE fellowship research findings at the Research in Distance Education (RIDE) 2025 conference at the University of London.

A sense of belonging for online students

Dr Lauren Mottle’s research explores how postgraduate students feel a sense of belonging when studying online.

The study, which involved students from six of the University’s fully online programmes, found that nearly three quarters (74%) of students agreed that a sense of belonging in their studies was important to them.

Unlike past research which focused on the rapid shift to online learning during COVID-19, the study examines programmes designed specifically to be delivered online. The research was done in two parts; a survey and a relatively new method called the Listening Room, which gives students a space to talk about key themes without a researcher present.

Dr Mottle found that online learners feel a greater sense of ‘belonging’ when their contributions are valued and visible in the online learning environment.

One participant said:

“What matters to me most is feeling that my presence is needed and makes a difference amongst my peers, not only because of my contributions but also because I am part of [the programme].”

Students highlighted many opportunities for this type of connection, including less formal channels such as course WhatsApp groups, as well as structured channels such as online discussion forums and group discussions.

Dr Lauren Mottle said:

"It was interesting to hear how this sense of feeling connected online is different to on-campus experiences. Design and facilitation for online spaces is not a simple matter of transporting what works in face-to-face contexts to digital environments.

Supporting staff to enhance their practice and adapt it to online environments would help both students and staff to cultivate a sense of community."

Transforming staff induction for online educators

Dr Adam Richardson’s research continues this theme, exploring the challenges educators face when transitioning into online education and how they can be better supported.

The study, which involved surveying and interviewing academic staff and learning designers involved in online education, highlights the professional and emotional challenges faced by academic colleagues transitioning into a new environment.

These challenges, Dr Richardson found, could range from understanding the architecture of the online world, knowing more about their learners, and dealing with issues such as professional respect, time constraints, and isolation.

Based on the themes of ‘who’, ‘emotion’ and ‘support’, the research makes five overarching recommendations to implement in an academic induction programme.

They combine practical findings with a reminder to tell positive stories about online education, and focus on:

• avoiding assumptions
• bringing clarity
• offering teaching support
• building community, and
• sharing the joy of online learning.

A key output of the research is to support the development of an induction programme for new online educators. The study suggests that not only will this support the sustainable growth of the University’s online offer, but also emphasises the need to offer continuing professional development for colleagues already working online and build strong working partnerships between academic and professional service staff.

Dr Adam Richardson said:

"The brief for the LITE project was to provide an evidence base to support the development of the new induction programme. The project certainly does this. But as I got further into the research it became apparent that in understanding the experience of colleagues, this project just as importantly explored the emotional and professional challenges colleagues face. This research solidifies often anecdotal evidence about the experiences of colleagues, enabling us not only to support staff to sustainably enable the development of stronger quality online courses, but also to support the wellbeing and belonging of all colleagues.”

Further information

• Find out more about online courses at Leeds.
• Interested in exploring online learning further? Sign up for early bird offers to the Online Learning Summit on 10 and 11 July.