Factors Necessary for Engaging Preservice Teachers Studying in Virtual and Blended Courses

In their encounter with a virtual or blended learning environment, students are liable to perceive the situation as a challenge or as a threat. The physical separation between teacher and students may lead to “transactional distance,” which in turn can cause a sense of threat and create anger, gaps in understanding, or misconceptions among the learners about themselves and about the learning process. Students may grasp the situation as a “challenge” or a “threat.” The aim of the article is to determine the factors necessary for engaging preservice teachers studying in virtual and blended courses, which are critical to feelings of challenge and threat among these students. The sample included 578 participants in a mixed-method study. The present study found that differential interpersonal communication, feedback, and forums may lead to a decrease in feelings of threat and an increase in the sense of challenge. Some learners need only intellectual interaction; others need both intellectual and emotional interaction.