Names: Dr. Donald F. Kendrick and David W. Ayer
Type of Session: Lecture/Presentation
Abstract: This study was conducted to compare Traditional Classroom Lecturing with Internet instruction. Fifty-two students were measured on performance, course/instructor opinion, anxiety and demographic variables. The performance variable was test scores for each course. The course/instructor opinion, anxiety, and demographic variables were all self-report. Analyses of variance were conducted on the performance and anxiety variables to determine if differences exist between the two types of courses. In addition, multiple linear regression (stepwise) was used to determine the predictors (if any) of performance on tests. A 2 x 2 x 4 analysis of variance indicated no student differences in performance on tests between the on-line and traditional classes. However, additional analysis indicated that test scores of students in the traditional lecture classes improved over the semester whereas the test scores of students in the on-line classes remained constant. Final test scores did not differ between the traditional and on-line courses. Additionally, older students performed better than younger students irrespective of type of course. This indicates that Distance Learning via the World Wide Web is as effective as Traditional Classroom lecturing.
Description: The traditional lecture method of teaching can be traced back to Zeno of Citium in 300 BC (Edwards, 1967). Along with fire and the wheel, it is one of the oldest technologies still being used in the modern world. The lecture method of disseminating information has been extraordinarily successful in educating the world's population and continues to be the primary method of education. As information needed to successfully negotiate through life increases (Perelman, 1992), the lecture method, with a concentration on forcing people to gather in one spot to take advantage of knowledgeable people, becomes dramatically less efficient. As people need to become life-long learners and can no longer be educated early in life with knowledge that will serve them until death, new methods of education will be needed (Perelman, 1992).
With the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web, new methods of teaching and learning have become available. Individual learning, flexible scheduling, self-paced learning, remote and near locations, and the absence of physical structures (institutional buildings) are all possible with the Internet, and make for exciting possibilities for the future of education. This thesis explores the use of the Internet in teaching two Psychology courses at Middle Tennessee State University.
Subjects consisted of 52 graduate and undergraduate psychology students at Middle Tennessee State University, enrolled (Fall 1997) in two courses (four sections) taught by Dr. Donald F. Kendrick: Perception on-line, Perception traditional, Learning Theories on-line, and Learning Theories traditional. Subjects were measured in four general areas: anxiety, performance, preference, and demographics.
The major finding of this study was that on-line students performed just as well as traditional students. However, students in the traditional classroom situation improved test scores during the semester, whereas those students in the on-line courses stayed constant. One additional finding was that older students performed better on tests than younger students, but this effect was true for both on-line and the traditionally taught courses.
The finding of no difference in student performance between the on-line and traditional courses may have significant ramifications in the field of education. Delivery of instructional material over the Internet is cheaper than classroom instruction, and additionally provides the opportunity for access to information by people who may not have access to the traditional classroom.
In conclusion, the question of whether on-line instruction is a better method than the traditional lecture method appears to be answered. Both methods were found equally effective in students' performance and preference. This study was based on a first attempt at on-line instruction without the benefits of forums, BBS, on-line practice quizzes, audio and visual clips, and other technologies currently available. Thus, on-line courses definitely have a place in the future of education and as they develop and the technology improves it is likely that students' learning will likewise improve.
Length: 1 hour. 30 minutes lecture, 30 minutes question and answer.
Audience: General
Audience Level: All
On-site equipment requirements: PC computer with Windows 95 or better, Web browser (Netscape 2.0 or better), a connection to the Internet, and a large screen display connected to the PC.
Contact Information: Dr. Donald F. Kendrick, Professor of Psychology Phone# 898-2134 Bx# 0474 Jones Hall 107
David W. Ayer, MA Phone# 895-5359 950 Palmer Dr. #6 Murfreesboro, TN. 37167
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