Student learning outcomes in a computer applications module: Online vs. face-to-face instruction.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of the study was to contribute to a better understanding of student learning outcomes in a web-based instructional environment. In addition, the study sought to determine if there was a significant difference between the characteristics of students who chose the entirely online web-based instruction to complete a spreadsheet software application module and those who chose the traditional lecture/demonstration instruction.
The problem of the study was to determine if student achievement in a university computer applications course module is influenced by the instructional delivery method selected by the student and to discover if there is a relationship between instructional delivery method and student demographics.
A quasi-experimental research design was used to conduct the study using students enrolled in six intact sections of a beginning computer applications course at a Midwestern state university. The study took place during the Microsoft Excel module of the course. There were 95 students who chose to complete this module using strictly online web-based instruction, while 106 students chose a traditional lecture/demonstration classroom setting. Both groups had the same instructional materials, and completed the same assessments. At the conclusion of the module, both groups took two assessments in the classroom: a web-based Excel concepts exam using WebCT and a hands-on Excel application exam. The instrument used to measure student achievement was a spreadsheet concept exam and a spreadsheet application exam.
The majority of subjects who participated in this study were female; freshmen; in the 18--19 age group; enrolled for 15 semester hours at the time the study occurred; and had a cumulative GPA between 2.01 and 3.0 using a 4.0 system.
Using an independent samples t-test, no statistically significant difference was found between exam scores and instructional delivery method. The only statistically significant difference found related to instructional delivery was the variance of a student's ACT score, which did show a positive correlation based on student's choice of the instructional delivery method.
Recommendations included further investigation using an entire course to determine if instructional delivery impacts student achievement within the individual modules and the entire course.