Interactive Televised Courses: Student Perceptions of Teaching Effectiveness, with Recommendations

Abstract

A study of student satisfaction levels in interactive televised courses (ITV) presents research that supports the view that students appear to be unable to separate their perceptions of the teacher's effectiveness from that of the technology and method of course delivery. When other variables are held constant, students rated the effectiveness of the professor's teaching lower when ITV was involved. The implications for professors and students are discussed, and suggestions are offered regarding effective use of ITV.nteractive televised courses (ITV) have been part of many college programs for more than a decade (Office of Technology Assessment 1989). During this time the technology used to deliver the instruction has changed significantly. Early ITV classes allowed, at best, oneway video with two-way audio. As technology has changed, there has been an emphasis on improving the communication between ITV professors and their students, or ITV students and their classmates at other sites. Today's interactive televised courses allow students and professors to see and hear each other through real time audio and video, even when the students are at multiple sites, hundreds of miles apart (Geary 1998). Embarking upon a new teaching medium such as interactive television can be a time of great excitement for a professor, but it is also a time of hesitation. Questions naturally arise as to what the effect on students will be, but equally important is determining the effect on the professor.In this article we explore the controversy surrounding how students perceive the effectiveness of ITV teaching. University administrators and faculty using ITV courses should be aware of differences in the way students perceive the instructor's abilities depending on whether the students are in traditional classes, at the host ITV site, or at a remote ITV site. In all of these the instructor is delivering the same material using the same techniques. In the case of host and remote sites the delivery is simultaneous. The only difference among the groups is the physical proximity to the professor and the technology employed.The most recent research supports the view that students appear to be unable to separate their perception of the teacher's effectiveness from their perception of the technology and method of delivery. When the other variables are held constant, students rate the effectiveness of the professor's teaching lower when ITV is involved.

The Effect of Student Choice of Online Discussion Format on Tiered Achievement and Student Satisfaction

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