Date of Graduation

12-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Advisor/Mentor

Orr, Betsy

Committee Member

Daugherty, Michael K.

Second Committee Member

Emory, DeAnna J.

Keywords

academic performance; hybrid; learning outcomes; online courses; scores; traditional courses; WebQuest

Abstract

The primary purpose of this research was to ascertain whether there are variances in academic performance between students taking an educational technology course in traditional, online, and hybrid learning environments. As a secondary goal, the study assessed the differences in academic performance of male and female students in these classes.

All students in this study held an undergraduate status of junior or above. They had earned a minimum of 45 hours and had a minimum 2.75 overall GPA. These students also passed the certification test for state educators and had been accepted as teacher candidates of the College of Education in the Teacher Education Department at a state university in the southwestern part of the United States. The state university was designated by the United States Department of Education as a postsecondary minority institution. The students were given identical instructions and rubrics for a WebQuest project. Two different instructors taught each of the three types of classes in the study. The results were analyzed through quantitative investigation of the students’ scores for their individual projects. The WebQuest scores of a total of 1,052 students were collected over 14 semesters (fall 2009 through spring 2016). The scores involved students in 48 one-semester classes (16 traditional, 16 online, and 16 hybrid). Each instructor taught the students in eight of each of the three types of classroom settings, for a total of 24 classes for each instructor. The study was a casual-comparative research (ex post facto). Findings from the study may provide educators and curriculum specialists a resource for building better curricula and instruction for undergraduate classes offered in either traditional, online, or hybrid format; encourage academic institutions and policymakers to invest in learning systems in a variety of forms; and encourage students to access online and hybrid classes without concern about quality implications.

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