Course delivery methods and instructional approach for academic success in high school distance education courses

This study uses a quasi-experimental design to examine online courses delivered to high school aged students from a distance education program located at the University of Missouri. Asynchronous online courses were compared to semester-based courses. Semester-based courses had a calendar with a start and ending date, due dates for assignments, and scheduled chats for interaction between other students and the instructor. Asynchronous courses did not have such features. These two types of courses were compared in terms of student experiences, satisfaction, and academic achievement. The researcher constructed an online survey to gather student perceptions on their experiences, while academic achievement data was gathered from the school's school information system (SIS). Based on the survey data collected from 50 students, no significant difference was found in terms of student experiences and satisfaction between students enrolled in the two types of courses. However, in the analysis of SIS data of 1,207 students, there were statistically significant differences when comparing the academic achievement as measured by final course grades and course completion rates. Students in semester-based courses had higher course grades overall. Likewise, students in semester-based courses had a higher completion rate of 86.2% of students completing their online coursework, while only 62.4% of their asynchronous counterparts completed their online courses.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational leadership and policy analysis (MU)

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Missouri--Columbia

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Smalley, Kristi D.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Akiba, Motoko

• distance learning
• virtual learning
• secondary education
• online courses

Statement dc:rights

• OpenAccess.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/14454

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/14454