Distance Education Research EDCI 591Z – Fall 2000

Comparison Research Does DE work as well as the classroom?

Comparison Research Distance education, like many other media-related fields in education, has a long history of comparison research. This type of research, long requested by decision-makers, has focused on comparing forms of distance education to “traditional” education.

Comparison Research Example A “typical” study of this genre, cited in the book, was one reported by Cheng, Lehman, and Armstrong (1991). In this study, performance and attitudes of students taking a graduate level class via computer conferencing were compared with another group of students taking the same class via traditional methods on-campus.

Comparison Research Example Although there was some evidence of test score differences, overall there was no significant difference in achievement. However, there was greater attrition in the computer conferencing condition, it required more time on the part of learners, and learners’ attitudes were less positive.

A Comparison Meta-Analysis Machtmes and Asher (2000) conducted a meta-analysis of comparison studies related to telecourses. The overall effect size was 0, but results were mixed. A positive effect size of 0.23 was noted for the decade of the 1990s, whereas earlier decades had much smaller or negative ESs.

A Comparison Meta-Analysis Two-way interactive video was the only interaction type to show a positive effect size. A relatively large effect size (ES=.53) was noted for the workplace environment. That is, individuals who took distance learning course through the workplace did best.

History of Comparison Research Overall, comparison studies have tended to show no significant difference between distance education courses and their traditional counterparts on measures of achievement. Thomas Russell has established a web site documenting this “no significant difference” phenomenon.

Clark’s Position Richard Clark of USC has strongly argued that media have no more to do with instructional effectiveness than a delivery truck has to do with the nutritional value of the groceries it delivers. Therefore, we should expect comparison research to show nothing.

Summary Based on the past evidence, and given Clark’s admonition to refrain from media comparisons, most researchers are now moving away from comparisons to look at specific attributes and characteristics of distance education and learners at a distance.

Other Research Avenues Learner Perceptions Learner Attributes Interaction Distance Education Technology

Learner Perceptions

The study… Two studies (comparing two classes separated by one year) Medium: Live Interactive Televised Courses Data collection: Telecourse Evaluation Questionnaire

Results Likes For the remote site students, the opportunities of learning at a distance (for example complication travel) Dislikes For the origination site students, the major issue was the movement that had occur to engage in the technology on hand For the remote site students, the major issue was the lack of interaction with the instructor on a one-on-one basis

Conclusion Anxiety is correlated to if the student feels apart of the class or not Two-way interaction is a necessity Learner satisfaction is key Organization Involve Environmental Management Support Services In general, students at a distance and students involved in traditional learning have similar perceptions of the effectiveness of instruction.

Learner Attributes

Characteristics of the Learner Learning style Abstract thinkers tend to be more successful. Locus of control Learners that had more Internal motivation were more successful.

Garland (1993) Barriers to persistence Situational, institutional, dispositional, and epistemological. Situational: what situation do they come from? Time bound. Life issues and obligations. Institutional: cost, pacing, and access to faculty.

Can you learn on your own? Motivation to learn Personality profile Intelligent Emotionally stable Trusting as well as other factors Higher educational level Delle and Mezack (1991) and Stone (1992) found that locus of control is a significant factor.

Interaction

Beare (1989) Bauer and Rezabek (1992) Souder (1993) Fulford and Zhang (1993)

Interaction Different technologies allow different degrees of interaction Type of interaction has little effect student achievement Success based on Interaction Quality of instruction Quality of content

Enhancing Involvement Verbal Non-verbal Personalizing behaviors Technology management strategies Acquiring student feedback Student participation Active learning strategies

Distance Education Technology Sung Hee Park, Ling Wang, & Matt Rose

Research Indicates: Access to information is secondary to the educational experience 2-Way communication is an essential component of the learning environment Student-student as well as teacher- student communication is enriched by certain types of technologies

DE Tech, Cont. Different DE Technologies meet different needs Different technologies tend to address different learning styles & preferences Graphic-based communication methods are more successful (vs. text-based) Future research needs to focus on setting & context as well as the media attributes (It sounds like DE will get better as the technology improves)

Continuing Dialogue We will continue our discussion of distance education and research in the field during our first online discussion next week.

The End