The effect of locus of control on learners' sense of community and academic success in the context of online learning communities

•We examined the design of learning environments considering the individual characteristics of students•Online problem-based learning method was applied in the Programming Language II course•The learning environment designed considering the type of locus of control had no effect sense of community in online learning and the level of academic success

With the advancements in internet and its tools, students have started using online learning communities, where they come together to discuss their opinions. While various studies have been carried out in relation to the design of efficient learning environments at online platforms, some of them have taken the individual characteristics of the students into consideration. This study aims to determine the effect of the locus of control on the sense of community and academic success as individual characteristics. The study was carried out with the teacher candidates who enrolled in the Programming Languages II Course in the Computer Teaching and Instructional Technology Program in Turkey. Problem-based learning method was applied in online learning environment. According to the results of the research, the environment, which was developed considering the type of the locus of control, had no effect on the sense of online learning community and the level of academic success.