Comparing Online with Brick and Mortar Course Learning Outcomes: An Analysis of Quantitative Methods Curriculum in Public Administration

Autor/inn/en	Harris, Ronald A.; Nikitenko, Gleb O.
Titel	Comparing Online with Brick and Mortar Course Learning Outcomes: An Analysis of Quantitative Methods Curriculum in Public Administration
Quelle	In: Teaching Public Administration, 32 (2014) 1, S.95-107 (13 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0144-7394
DOI	10.1177/0144739414523284
Schlagwörter	Online Courses; Comparative Analysis; Outcomes of Education; College Curriculum; Public Administration Education; Statistical Analysis; Graduate Students; Conventional Instruction; Independent Study; Persistence; Learning Readiness; Differences; Predictor Variables; Learning Theories; Pretests Posttests; Age Differences; Academic Achievement; Regression (Statistics); Qualitative Research; California + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Online course; Online-Kurs; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Statistische Analyse; Graduate Study; Student; Students; Aufbaustudium; Graduiertenstudium; Hauptstudium; Studentin; Selbststudium; Ausdauer; Lernbereitschaft; Unterscheiden; Prädiktor; Learning theory; Lerntheorie; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Schulleistung; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Qualitative Forschung; Kalifornien
Abstract	Teaching graduate students in an intensive adult-learning format presents a special challenge for quantitative analytical competencies. Students often lack necessary background, skills and motivation to deal with quantitative-skill-based course work. This study compares learning outcomes for graduate students enrolled in three course sections (cohorts) taking a quantitative methods course in a public administration program. One cohort of students was taught online, while two student cohorts were taught face-to-face in a traditional classroom setting. Most of the online students resided in the same geographic location as the "brick-and-mortar" students. While student backgrounds and demographics were comparable, there were notable differences in their levels of self-directed learning readiness and persistence. These differences illustrate both course design and modality features for a comparison between online and traditional brick-and-mortar learning environments. We find that predictors of student performance in an online environment are rather well described by the Self-Directed Learning Theory (SDL) and Self-Regulated Learning Theory (SRL). A statistically significant difference was found in the pretest-posttest mean scores, which indicates that students learned the course content for quantitative methods in the online section differently from those in the brick-and-mortar section. Overall, students enrolled in the online section (cohort) performed better on the posttest than did students enrolled in traditional "brick-and-mortar" classes. An age variable shows that older students performed much better than younger students on the posttest. Other differences in learning outcomes between the online and brick-and-mortar sections are analyzed in the study. Stakeholders in online education should be interested in these outcomes. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01