The Online Delivery of Psychology Courses: Attrition, Performance, and Evaluation

Abstract

address issues associated with online courses, focusing on introductory psychology. Data from 2 studies compared student attrition, performance, and evaluation in classroom sections and online sections. In Study 1, students chose to enroll in online or classroom sections; in Study 2, students were assigned to a section. Data indicate that attrition was similar in the 2 instructional formats. In Study 1, online students scored nonsignificantly lower on course tests and the final exam. Online students were more likely to fail the course. However, online students evaluated the course similarly to the classroom students. In Study 2, performance and evaluation were not different for the online and the classroom sections.Higher education, like any field, is subject to occasional trends, breakthroughs, and even paradigm shifts. Consider the overhead projector and the enormous impact this simple technology had on classroom presentation. Currently there are two forces with the potential to revolutionize higher education. These trends are increased use of instructional technology and distance learning (Willis, 1994). Many administrators believe increased use of technology and distance learning will help institutions attract students and use faculty resources most effectively. Hence, increased use of instructional technology and distance learning are often institutional goals (Council for Higher Education Accreditation, 1999).Although instructional technology and distance learning can take different forms, they come together in the online course. In a fully online course, the entire course consists of Web pages that students visit regularly. These pages communicate course content, deliver assignments, serve as a forum for class discussions, and may even be the site of exams. The faculty and students may never meet face to face.There are numerous potential benefits of online instruction. First, online courses allow institutions to serve nontraditional students. Students may complete their coursework at their leisure, thus allowing students who cannot attend conventional classes to have access to higher education. Instructors may also find themselves freed of the requirement of teaching class at the same time every day. As a matter of fact, students and faculty need not be at the same campus or even the same institution. For example, I taught an online course for Athens Technical College (ATC) while teaching at the University of Innsbruck in Austria one summer.Although there is still little research on the issue, it appears that the addition of online courses can increase an institution's overall enrollment. Ridley, Bailey, Davies, Hash, and Varner (1997) found that the addition of wholly online

Comparing Student Performance in Online and Face-to-face Delivery Modalities

“…In terms of graded assessments, while online students accumulated less points overall, students in both sections fared equally well. This finding is consistent with Waschull's [7] study of an introductory psychology course. However, the difference in grades on course assignments was significant.…”

“…Approximately 46% of the online students in this study would have to retake the course for it to count toward the Psychology major compared to approximately 16% of F2F students. This finding is also consistent with Waschull's [7]-students in her online introductory course were more likely to fail compared to F2F students. This finding in and of itself warrants closer attention by the academy since some universities limit the number of attempts in a particular course.…”

“…As noted in the results and consistent with Waschull's [7] findings, this reasoning is not accurate. Students self-reported perceptions of the course did not differ based on delivery modality.…”

Comparison of course completion and student performance through online and traditional courses

“…Several studies showed differences existed in course completion rates between online courses and traditional, face-to-face courses (McLaren, 2004;Paden, 2006;Roach, 2002). Waschull (2001) found that online course completion rates were not significantly different from traditional course completion rates. Nelson (2006) compared course completion rates between online and traditional courses at Delaware Technical and Community College, Terry Campus.…”

Tool use in open learning environments: In search of learner-related determinants

“…Finally, there are a number of studies that employed an experimental design to evaluate a single variable. For example, Frith and Kee (1994) used a control and treatment design to look specifically at the effect of differing communication methods, or Waschull (2001) who examined outcomes related to attrition based on mode of delivery.…”