Abstract:

Materials previously developed and tested for an undergraduate biostatistics course include: videos of graphing and analysis techniques with instructor voiceover, an online interactive textbook, PowerPoint slides, supplementary notes, interpretation centered assignments and summative final project. Using the same course materials and instructor, the course is taught face-to-face (f2f), entirely online and hybrid (online/f2f). This study uses Community of Inquiry by Garrison et al (2000) to analyze student performance, perceptions and interactions while learning in the three formats. The purpose of the study is to explore students’ learning experiences in an undergraduate biostatistics course taught f2f, online, and in a hybrid format. Data collection includes: Videos, online and f2f observations, student course evaluations, and course artifacts. A qualitative methodology is used to capture emerging themes via student interaction and communication within each format. By comparing emerging indicators of Cognitive, Social, and Teacher Presence the researchers will identify differences in student learning experiences within each format. While early analysis indicates significant differences in student performance between the f2f and online sections, there is also a high degree of satisfaction in students’ learning experiences with both delivery methods. Similar indicators of Cognitive, Social, and Teacher Presence appear throughout both the online and f2f sections. Consequently, the researchers suspect that the ongoing analysis of the hybrid course will result in the best overall outcomes in both performance and student satisfaction.

Keywords:

Distance education, online learning, student learning, hybrid courses, video teaching, Statistics, Community of Inquiry.