Performance on tests of economic literacy: A comparison of face-to-face with online instruction

Author(s):  
Frank P. Albritton Jr.

Does taking a college level course in the principles of economics improve economic literacy? While there is debate on whether courses in the principles of economics as taught at colleges and universities improve general economic literacy, more and more of these courses are being taught online. There has been considerable research in other subjects as to whether there is a difference in student performance dependent upon whether the courses was taken in a traditional face–to–face format or online. However, in the critically important subjects dealt with in the principles of economics, there has been discussion but little research conducted about whether online delivery is equivalent in terms of student achievement to the traditional face–to–face delivery. The purpose of this paper is to determine if there is a difference in the performance of students, as measured by economic literacy, between students taking a course in the principles of economics using a face–to–face versus online format. The data was collected using an online questionnaire over two semesters at a community college and analyzed using SPSS, version 12.

2011 ◽  
pp. 1923-1938
Author(s):  
Maurice W. Wright

The adaptation of a traditional, face-to-face course to an online format presents both challenges and opportunities. A face-to-face fundamentals course treating the science of musical sound and the methods used to code and transform musical sound using digital computers was adapted for online delivery. The history of the course and the composition of its audience are discussed, as are the decisions to create movies, web pages, electronic mail, and a paper textbook for the course. Practical choices for technology, which reflect the conflicting benefits of choosing simple versus more sophisticated technology, are outlined and the reactions of the students to these choices are discussed. An anecdotal comparison between an online and a face-to-face course section is offered, along with ideas for future development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Lydia Mavuru ◽  
Oniccah Koketso Pila ◽  
Anesu Gelfand Kuhudzai

The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has not only caused fear and uncertainty in the education systems across the globe, but it brought about a fundamental paradigm shift in the mode of teaching and learning. Higher education drastically transitioned to remote/ online delivery even for the students who had enrolled for face-to-face mode of teaching and learning. The paper is premised in the context of a developing country that such a drastic change could have widened the digital divide between students from privileged homes and those from disadvantaged families as students did not receive adequate technological training and to even acquire the necessary electronic devices. Consequently, the study sought to establish the levels of adaptation to remote teaching and learning by university students herein referred to as pre-service teachers. Following a quantitative research design, an online questionnaire survey was administered to 157 pre-service teachers enrolled in a Life Sciences Methodology module at a South African university. Data was analysed using SPSS version 26 and descriptive statistics, exploratory analysis of the questionnaire constructs and One-Way ANOVA tests were conducted to compare pre-service teachers` perceptions, experiences and preparedness. The results showed that the disparities and inequalities that exist in different South African contexts in which pre-service teachers hail from, dictated their levels of adaptations to remote teaching and learning. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds were less adapted as they struggled more when it comes to acquisition of electronic gadgets and connectivity to facilitate remote learning compared to those from advantaged backgrounds. This study affirms the call for education institutions and governments to rethink ways of closing the gap between the poor and the rich in education in terms of resource and other support mechanisms.


2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger B. Butters ◽  
Carlos J. Asarta ◽  
Tammie J. Fischer

Renewed emphasis on increasing student academic achievement highlights the importance of improving educational quality despite limited educational budgets. This paper illustrates that investing in teachers' human capital has significant returns in the classroom. Using test and survey data on the educational background of teachers, we show that teacher knowledge and training have a significant impact on student performance and classroom productivity. Specifically, formal college-level instruction, learning by doing, and explicit measures of economic understanding all play important roles. Additionally, the data show that general in-service training is an imperfect substitute for formal education in economics. These results can be used to guide educational research, instructional programming, and school reform at the state and local levels.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David K. Larson ◽  
Chung-Hsien Sung

The purpose of this research was to perform a three way comparison of delivery modes for an introductory Management Information Systems course to determine if there existed a difference in student success among the delivery modes. The research compares student exam and final grade results in this class that was taught by the same instructor using face-to-face, blended and online delivery modes. An Analysis of Variance test was used on the exam and final grade data to determine if a significant difference existed. Additionally, a discussion of this class in relation to student satisfaction, learning effectiveness and faculty satisfaction is presented. This research demonstrates that there is no significant difference among delivery modes. Additionally, blended and online modes for this class do very well when measuring student satisfaction, learning effectiveness and faculty satisfaction.


Author(s):  
Maurice W. Wright

The adaptation of a traditional, face-to-face course to an online format presents both challenges and opportunities. A face-to-face fundamentals course treating the science of musical sound and the methods used to code and transform musical sound using digital computers was adapted for online delivery. The history of the course and the composition of its audience are discussed, as are the decisions to create movies, web pages, electronic mail, and a paper textbook for the course. Practical choices for technology, which reflect the conflicting benefits of choosing simple versus more sophisticated technology, are outlined and the reactions of the students to these choices are discussed. An anecdotal comparison between an online and a face-to-face course section is offered, along with ideas for future development.


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica L. Heller ◽  
Jerrell C. Cassady

The current study explored the differential influences that behavioral learning strategies (i.e., cognitive–metacognitive, resource management), motivational profiles, and academic anxiety appraisals have on college-level learners in two unique learning contexts. Using multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant analysis, the study first compared these variables across learners from a community college and traditional 4-year university located within the same regional area. The study also employed a series of multiple regression analyses to investigate the influence of these variables in predicting student performance outcomes (i.e., grade point average). The results illustrate that prior research on those factors most salient within student academic success prediction models within a social cognitive framework function as expected for the university population. However, the community college learner experience deviates significantly from this standard model. For the community college learner, it is the environmental factor that appears to be the most significant to predicting student success. These findings highlight those factors most influential in academic performance outcomes among diverse student populations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1298-1298
Author(s):  
Debbie Fetter

Abstract Objectives Nutrition 10: Discoveries and Concepts in Nutrition is a three-unit, high-enrollment, general education class offered at the University of California, Davis in both a face-to-face (f2f) and online format. The primary objective of this pilot study was to investigate potential differences in the change in nutrition knowledge between college-aged students participating in the f2f versus the online format. Methods Prior to spring quarter 2019, a 29-question nutrition knowledge survey was developed from the six course learning objectives. During spring quarter, the nutrition knowledge survey was administered as pre- and post-tests online through the Canvas Learning Management system to assess nutrition knowledge. Demographic data was also collected on the survey. As this was a pilot study, all data collected was anonymous and used as aggregate data for subsequent analyses. Analyses were conducted on data using STATA 16.0. Tests performed were paired t-tests and Student's t test, as appropriate. Results There were 290 students in the f2f course and 347 students in the online course that completed the survey. Baseline nutrition knowledge scores were 7.5 + 4.1 and 7.2 + 4.5 out of 29 points for the f2f and online course, respectively. Students that took Nutrition 10 significantly improved nutrition knowledge, regardless of whether they took the f2f version or the online version. Nutrition knowledge improved in the f2f course by +6.2 points (P < 0.01) and by +6.1 points in the virtual course (P < 0.01). There were no differences in change in knowledge between the two courses (P = 0.9). There were some significant differences in student characteristics between the f2f and online course, including the amount of transfer and International students, age, and ethnicity. Conclusions These results demonstrate that in this sample, Nutrition 10 is effective at improving knowledge related to nutrition and the course format did not affect knowledge gain. Future research should investigate differences between the two courses with matched data and the differences in student characteristics also needs to be further explored. Funding Sources No funding was used for this study.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Molly Boeka Cannon ◽  
Anna S. Cohen ◽  
Kelly N. Jimenez

ABSTRACT Universities struggle to provide meaningful education and mentorship to Native American students, especially in STEM fields such as archaeology and geography. The Native American Summer Mentorship Program (NASMP) at Utah State University is designed to address Native student retention and representation, and it fosters collaboration between mentors and mentees. In spring 2020, as university instruction went online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NASMP mentors were faced with adapting hands-on activities and face-to-face interaction to an online format. Using our Water Heritage Anthropological Project as a case study, we show how virtual archaeological, archival, spatial, and anthropological labs can be adapted for online delivery. This approach may be especially useful for reaching students in rural settings but also for engaging students in virtual or remote research in the field sciences.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahaudin Mujtaba

This study documents learning and student performance through objective tests with graduate students in Kingston-Jamaica and compares the final exam results with students taking the same course, the same test, with the same instructor at different sites throughout the United States and in the Nassau cluster, Grand Bahamas. The scores are further compared with students who completed this course and final exam in the online format. The group of Jamaican, Bahamian and students in Tampa completing this course received traditional, face-to-face instruction in a classroom setting, with classes delivered in a weekend format with 32 face-to-face contact hours during the semester. As expected, findings revealed that there was a statistically significant difference (% = .05) in the mean test scores of the pre-test and post-test for this group of students enrolled at the Kingston cluster.Furthermore, the results of final exam comparison with similar groups in the United States and Bahamas showed no significant differences. The comparison of student performance in Kingston with online students is also discussed.Overall, it is concluded that many of the learning outcomes designed to be achieved as a result of the course activities, specifically the final exam, were achieved consistently for students taking this course with the assigned faculty member in Jamaica, the United States and the Grand Bahamas.


Author(s):  
Glen I. Earthman

Research on the possible influence green schools have upon student and teacher health, performance, and attitudes has been a recent endeavor of scholars. This is because green schools are a recent development. Considerable research on the economic and environmental benefits green schools produce has been completed. However, there has been little research conducted using certified green schools because of the paucity of certified green schools. The National Research Council of the National Academies of Science enlisted a group of scholars to investigate the possible relationship between green schools and student achievement. The committee had difficulty finding any research available that addressed the topic. Since the efforts of the committee, more certified green schools were built, and limited research has been conducted. The findings from these research studies have produced mixed results. This chapter deals only with that portion of available research that deals with the relationship between green schools and student achievement. Because of this, suggestions for further research are given.


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