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Distance Education Proves
Equally Effective!
Untitled Document
Do adult
students learn more sitting in traditional classrooms or online from the convenience
of their home? Who scores better on tests - virtual test-takers clicking their
way through exams or campus dwellers bubbling in Scantrons with #2 pencils?
Upon course completion, is one student more qualified than the other to enter
the job market?
These questions
and more have been answered in Thomas Russell's painstaking compilation "The
No Significant Difference Phenomenon" (1999). This collection of 355
independent research reports, summaries, and papers focuses on the legitimacy
of computer-based learning environments and, in a nutshell, concludes that
the learning outcomes of distance learners are similar to, or better than,
the learning outcomes of traditional on-campus students.
In other
words:
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Students
learning online from the comfort of their homes are completing courses with
grades equal to or better than their peers sitting in college classrooms.
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These
same students are equally prepared for their first day on the job in their
new trade.
Check out what the experts are saying about the quality of your distance
learning education!
No Significant
Difference
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"One
of the first issues to be investigated was whether students were getting
the same education in the technologically delivered classes as in the traditional
classroom...there are no significant differences in academic performance
for students in the two settings." (Gehlauf, D.N., Shatz, M.A. &
Frye, T.W. (1990), Faculty Perceptions of Interactive Instruction Strategies:
Implications for Training. The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol.
5, No. 3).
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"All
studies in the table reported no significant differences between resident
and distant groups. It appears from the studies reviewed here that student
achievement in distance learning courses is comparable to student achievement
in resident courses." (Barry, M. & Runyan, G., (1995), A Review
of Distance-Learning Studies in the U.S. Military. The American Journal
of Distance Education).
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"Many
hundreds of thousands of such comparative studies have been made in the
past, and the usual result when the comparisons have been done using sound
research is that there is no significant difference." (Bates, A. W.
(1997), Restructuring the University for Technological Change. The Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching - London, England).
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"Clearly,
all mediums of communications have their advantages and disadvantages. But
the research really does show there is no significant difference in the
student's ability to learn using technology-based education tools. And not
just for computer-aided teaching." (Jones, G. R. (1997), Cyberschools:
An Education Renaissance. Jones Digital Century, Inc.).
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"Students
were enthusiastic about this learning experience, believed Jackson's online
course design was equally effective as traditional classroom instruction,
and stated a high level of satisfaction overall." (Ward, J. (1998),
Community College Student Perceptions of Online Instruction Experiences.
Education at a Distance, Vol. 12, No. 3).
Significant
Difference
Scores on
achievement tests were highest for students taking a correspondence course
and there was a significant difference in the attitudes of students, with
the correspondence students registering the highest level of satisfaction.
(Chen, H., Lehman, J. & Armstrong, P. (1991), Comparison of Performance
and Attitude in Traditional and Computer Conferencing Classes. The American
Journal of Distance Education - Vol. 5, No. 3).
Review of
course grades demonstrated that off-campus students achieved higher grades
than on-campus students and distance learners had a more positive attitude
towards learning in general. (Fulmer, J., Hazzard, M., Jones, S., & Keene,
K. (1992), Distance Learning: An Innovative Approach to Nursing Education.
Journal of Professional Nursing).
A study
conducted by the demonstrated standardized achievement test scores of its
online graduates were 5% to 10% higher than graduates of competing on-campus
programs at three Arizona public universities. (Gubernick, L. & Ebeling,
A. (1997), I Got My Degree Through E-mail. University of Phoenix, Arizona).
Results
indicate the virtual students scored an average of 20 points higher on the
100-point midterm and final exams... All differences are highly significant.
(Shutte, J. G. (1998), Virtual Teaching in Higher Education. California State
University, Northridge).
In Conclusion
Overall,
scientific research consistently shows students participating in non-traditional
education capable of achieving positive outcomes comparable to that of students
enrolled in traditional institutions.
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