Online Accelerated Learning Research: A View From Within

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Online Accelerated Learning ResearchA View From
Within

• Jerome Stiller
• Raymond J. Wlodkowski, PhD.
• Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning
• Regis University
• CAEL Chicago November 11, 2004

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Structure of this presentation

• Background
• Project Goals Research Questions
• Methods
• Findings
• Further Analysis and Reporting
• Phase II
• Implications
• Q/A

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Online Research Project Background

• Phase I an examination of online accelerated
  learning.
• Phase II a comparison of online accelerated
  learning with classroom based accelerated
  learning.
• Rigorous research yielding useful results.
• Collaborative approach.

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Phase I Goals

• Assess online courses in terms of learning
  outcomes and student perceptions
• Better understand characteristics of online
  accelerated learning students
• Understand the relationship of attitudes,
  motivation, and other factors to student
  performance and persistence and
• Identify variables that may indicate students who
  are at risk.

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Phase II Goals

• assess and understand differences between
  attitudinal, motivational, instructional, and
  performance variables in online and classroom
  based accelerated courses and
• assess the quality of online accelerated courses
  in the undergraduate program relative to the
  quality of ground based accelerated courses.

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Phase I Sampling

• All online students in Fall 03, Spring 04, and
  Summer 04
• Management, Management of Human Resources,
  College Algebra.
• Recruited via email.
• Offered prizes for participation.

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Phase I Results Overview

• ORS n221 ALS n186 EOC n172
• Human Resource Management n84
• Business Management n68
• College Algebra n63
• Fall n94 Spring n73 Summer n54

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Sample Demographics

• Average age 35 (sd 8.1 range 21- 58).
• Most are married (61), some divorced (19), some
  single (20).
• Most do not have kids (43), or are 2 parent
  families (42), some single parents (15).
• Median household income 40,000 - 60,000, but
  15 report over 100,000.

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Sample Demographics

• 22 report mother having a college or graduate
  degree.
• 20 report father having a college or graduate
  degree.
• Most (96) are currently seeking a Bachelors
  degree, while 60 say they plan to seek a
  Masters degree.
• Most (81) work full time, 9 work part time.

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Paying for college

• 56 receive financial aid.
• 38 receive employer reimbursement.
• 12 receive VA benefits.
• 1 report having a scholarship.
• 12 report having no outside financial support.

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Reasons for Attending

• Almost all (96) are here to complete a degree.
• Type of programs available, academic reputation,
  and availability of accelerated courses were
  listed as among the top 2 reasons for attending.
• Quality and availability of online courses also
  mentioned frequently as important reasons.

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Would they attend again?

• Definitely yes 58
• Probably yes 29
• Uncertain - 9
• Probably no - 4

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Student Concerns

• Family and work responsibilities biggest concern
  (34).
• How to pay for education (26).
• Amount of time and/or level of work (14).
• No major concern (20).

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Attitudes about Accelerated Learning

• 66 prefer accelerated to traditional courses.
• 29 report their preference for accelerated
  courses vs. traditional as dependent on the
  situation.
• 3 prefer traditional courses.

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Online Readiness

• 63 had high need to take this course
  immediately.
• Socializing with classmates not particularly
  important to 49, somewhat important to 42, and
  very important to 9.
• Classroom discussion sometimes helpful to 64.

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Online Readiness

• 44 say they have about the same amount of time
  for an online class as they do a ground based
  class.
• But 35 say they have less time to work on an
  online class than for a ground based class.
• Over 90 report being either somewhat or very
  confident with the subject matter.
• 80 have taken an online course before 73 more
  than one.

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Motivation Enhancing Inclusion

• I enjoy my contact with faculty 63
• I feel like a valued member 62
• Makes efforts to accommodate adult
  students 92
• My experience based comments are accepted by my
  professors 90

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Motivation Developing Attitude

• When I make mistakes, I figure out why 94
• I ask the instructor to clarify concepts 83
• Understanding the subject matter is very
  important to me 95
• I prefer course material that really challenges
  me 86

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Motivation Enhancing Meaning

• I have acquired knowledge and skills applicable
  to work 89
• I figure out how academic work fits with
  professional experience 85
• I find the materials to be relevant 89
• I am becoming more effective at important things
  as a result of this course 88

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MotivationEngendering Competence

• I think I do well in my classes 88
• Even when the work is hard I can learn it 91
• I enjoy increasing my understanding of the
  subject material 92
• I am confident I can understand the most complex
  material presented 86

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Relevance and Practical Value

• strong emphasis on personal relevance in this
  course 85
• strong emphasis on practical value in this course
  90
• 70 say that the course is relevant to career
  goals, 23 say somewhat relevant.

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Relationships

• Inclusive relationships with other students
  82
• Encouraging relationships with faculty 80

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Course Evaluations

• 91 agreed that the course was a valuable
  learning experience.
• 89 would recommend the course to others.
• 93 felt the climate was friendly and respectful.
• 96 felt the grading standards required college
  level performance.

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Instruction and Materials

• 96 felt the instructor was knowledgeable about
  the subject area.
• 87 felt the course module and/or syllabus was an
  effective learning guide.
• 89 thought the course was well taught.
• 84 felt the teaching methods helped them to
  learn.

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Student Performance - Methods

• MT201 sample questions from weekly exams
  (n28). Excellent 21-23 Very good 18-20,
  Satisfactory 15-17, Not Acceptable 14 and
  below.
• BA452 BA461 Final Case Analyses, developed
  and rated by 3 faculty experts. Mean inter-rater
  reliability .88

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Student Performance MT201

• n 28
• Excellent 29
• Very Good 39
• Satisfactory 14
• Not Acceptable 18
• But complete performance data missing from 56
  of students!

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Student Performance BA452
N 63 Critical Thinking Practical Application Knowledge Base Writing Skills
Not acceptable to less than satisfactory 11 11 14 2 
Less than satisfactory to satisfactory 6  6 13
Satisfactory to more than satisfactory 38 40 32 6
More than satisfactory to very good 17 21 16 5
Very good to near excellent 27 21 22 36
Near excellent to excellent 6 2 3 51
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Student Performance BA461
.n 34 Critical Thinking Practical Application Knowledge Base Writing Skills
Not acceptable to less than satisfactory 12 3 12
Less than satisfactory to satisfactory 12 18 23 3
Satisfactory to more than satisfactory 29 41 27 12
More than satisfactory to very good 15 12 9 9
Very good to near excellent 29 26 15 50
Near excellent to excellent 3 15 26
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Analysis Issues and Directions

• What are the compelling questions that can be
  answered by these data?
• Missing data has not been examined, for example
  looking at students who dropped.
• Correlational analysis (e.g. motivational
  variables with performance) and by group analysis
  (e.g. dropped vs. finished).

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Phase I Final Report

• Includes data from all 3 semesters.
• Presents aggregated and disaggregated data.
• Includes recommendations and suggestions for
  improvement.
• Draft to be completed by Dec. 20, 2004.
• Available for review prior to publication.

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Phase II

• Planned in close cooperation with the Dean, the
  Associate Dean for Undergrad, Director of
  Distance Learning, DL staff, Chairs of Business
  and Math Depts.
• Began in September 2004 and will continue through
  Spring 2005.
• Extensive administration and faculty buy in is
  necessary for a quality research project.
• Will hopefully generate attention and excitement
  in the accelerated learning community.

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Phase II Challenges

• Logistics of matching online and ground based
  courses and facilitators.
• General lack of interest by online students.
• Frequent flyers.
• Faculty support.

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Acknowledgements

• Bill Husson, Vice President and Academic Dean,
  School For Professional Studies
• Marie Friedemann, Associate Dean, SPS
  Undergraduate Programs
• Ellen Waterman, Director, SPS Distance Learning
  Program
• Don Schierling, Chair, SPS Business Dept.
• Mohammed Lotfy, Chair, SPS Math Dept.
• Brave and/or enthusiastic faculty members

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Want to find out more about accelerated learning?

• Commission for Accelerated Programs
• www.capnetwork.org