Essential design elements for successful online courses

Journal of Geoscience Education, Mar 2003 by Powell, Wayne

Case study was employed in this qualitative research project. This research method is a qualitative approach that investigates the phenomenon of interest within its real-life context (Yin, 1989). The boundaries of the phenomenon are unclear, becoming defined only as the study unfolds. Interviews, questionnaires and document analysis are commonly employed data collection techniques in case study, and each was employed here.

For each of four consecutive terms between fall 2000 and fall 2001, one lab-section of CORE 8.2 was scheduled for the virtual lab created and delivered by Leveson. Each lab section consisted of approximately 20 self-selected students. The paired lecture course was taught by a different instructor each term, however, the lab and lecture components of each course section run as autonomous courses for which the marks are combined at the end.

Students who wished to register in the virtual lab section of CORE 8.2 were required to request permission in person, and sign a "Student Declaration in which they stated that they understood the nature of the course delivery. Participation in the evaluation of the course experience was voluntary, although a 5-point bonus was offered as incentive for involvement. Student participation involved: 1) an introductory questionnaire that aimed to understand the student and their experience and comfort with both computers and science; 2) post-module questionnaires to immediately assess student reactions to segments of the course; and a 30-minute post-course semi-structured interview that was recorded and transcribed. Documents collected for analysis included student assignments, exams, the log of email communication between the instructor and his students and in the third term, a set of independent college-mandated surveys based on Likert-style scales.

A total of 32 students were interviewed: seven in each of the first two terms, twelve in the third term, and 6 in the fourth term. The demographic data of these samples are summarized in Table 1. This sample was composed of volunteers, of which there were ten males and twenty-two females; one freshman, two sophomores, thirteen juniors and sixteen seniors. The age of volunteers ranged from twenty to mid-forties, with twenty-seven participants being twenty-five years of age or younger. Seventeen participants had previously completed at least one other online course.

After the interviews had been analyzed, patterns in student response were reported to the instructor and extensive discussion of potential improvements occured between the instructor and the evaluator. Segments of the website were then redesigned prior to the next offering of the course. The process was then repeated in the following two terms. Over the 4-term study of the online CORE 8.2, student perceptions evolved as the site also evolved in response to their criticisms and the instructor's further understanding of his student's experiences. Each term the ration of virtual to in-class work increased, from an initial 25% to a final 85%.