Satisfaction with Online Learning Options in the Insurance Industry: Does Mindfulness Play a Role

Abstract

The insurance industry is onboarding large numbers of new employees as the baby boomers retire. At the same time, the industry is shifting to more analytical and agile processes requiring significant upskilling. Many companies are too small to build their own training programs. Existing national associations can help but students currently prefer classroom training, requiring expensive travel and accommodations. We need to significantly improve student satisfaction with online courses to improve the affordability of and demand for training. The Community of Inquiry framework is commonly used to design and evaluate online courses that increase student satisfaction. The framework shows teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence as essential elements that combine to build productive educational experiences. The Mindfulness Awareness Attention Scale (MAAS) is a well-researched scale that quantifies an individual's awareness of and attention to the present. Combining questions from the Community of Inquiry framework and the MAAS Scale with questions on satisfaction, this study used a quantitative approach with a descriptive research design. Employees in the insurance industry that have taken online courses from national carriers were surveyed, to identify how a student’s mindfulness tendencies moderate the relationship between the Community of Inquiry scores and their satisfaction with online courses. The study concludes that industry courses would benefit by increasing cognitive presence through improved teacher and social presence. The study concludes that mindfulness may affect student’s future use of online learning but could not be determined to impact student’s satisfaction with online courses. The study provides findings and recommendations for online course changes and for future research.