Improving Student Learning Outcomes in Online Courses

Abstract

We investigated learning outcomes within an undergraduate C Programming course that is taught in multiple modalities: in-person, online and blended. Because this course has been taught by the same instructor, using the same scaffolding activities, materials and approaches, we were uniquely positioned to conduct a quasi-experimental study of learning outcomes between courses and within students. The overarching goal was to glean knowledge and implications about assessment practices for undergraduate courses that are taught in multiple modalities. The objectives of our research are primarily to discern what differential impacts, if any, are found between the in-person and the online course delivery. We aimed to discover learning outcome patterns among the students who participate in these modalities. Findings from this study provide valuable information for undergraduate Computer Science programs by identifying any differential learning outcomes that students experience between in-person and online course instruction. The research questions addressed by the study were as follows: 1) What impact does modality have on student learning outcomes? 2) What patterns are discernable across student groups? 3) What relationship is there between final course grades and assignment module learning outcomes? In earlier work, we were surprised that no significant differences were obtained between course modality. While this was an encouraging finding, we believed that further data collection and analysis were needed, before making general conclusions about the two modalities. This paper reports on our efforts to collect additional data, while considering additional variables, such as instructor, multiple modalities, and online course design approaches.