Abstract—Anxiety is considered to be one of the key
psychological contributing factors to learners’ behavior,
attitude and achievements in online cooperative learning. Online
cooperative learning requires learners to operate the Internetbased
learning system properly, learn autonomously and
cooperate with others effectively with the aim of accomplishing a
specific goal. In such a learning situation, it is anticipated that
some learners might feel uneasy or fearful about using a
computer and the Internet, monitoring and regulating their
learning process, and communicating and collaborating with
new acquaintances. However, few studies have focused on social
aspects of learners’ anxiety in online cooperative learning. This
study purposed to identify learners’ anxiety in online
cooperative learning situations, and to develop and validate the
online cooperative learning scale (OCLAS). As a result, 13
anxiety statements were identified as items for the OCLAS
which includes three sub-scales: computer anxiety,
communication anxiety, and online learning anxiety.
Index Terms—Anxiety, cooperative learning,
computer-mediated communication, scale development, online
learning.
Hiroki Yoshida, Seiji Tani, Jitsuko Masui, and Minori Fukushima are
with Tokoha University, Shizuoka, Japan (e-mail: h-yoshida@av-lab.org).
Uchida Tomoko is with Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea.
Akira Nakayama is with Ehime University, Matsuyama, Japan.
Cite: Hiroki Yoshida, Seiji Tani, Tomoko Uchida, Jitsuko Masui, Minori Fukushima, and Akira Nakayama, "Development and Validation of the Online Cooperative Learning Anxiety Scale," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 357-364, 2016.