Exploring factors influencing minority students’ perceived learning in collaborative Wiki-based learning environments

This study examined the factors affecting minority students’ learning experience in Wiki-based environments. These factors included perceived collaborative learning, sense of community, Wiki self-efficacy, and perceived learning experience. The relationships of these factors were explored. The participants were 45 African American students enrolled in two undergraduate-level management courses in which Wiki was used to facilitate the process of group work. A mixed methods approach was applied to analyze the collected data. Results indicated that sense of community and collaborative learning significantly contributed to perceived learning in Wiki-based environments. However, Wiki self-efficacy was not a good predictor of perceived learning. Most of the minority students were positive about their group learning experience that involved collaborative processes as well as the development of knowledge and skills. Emotional support and support for cognitive or meta-cognitive processing were identified as factors that had potential influences on Wiki-based collaborative group learning.