PSX-4 Effect of Course Modality and Major in an Animal Science Course Without a Laboratory on Course Content Mastery

Abstract

Abstract The global pandemic forced many college courses into on-line modality and animal science (ANSC) departments were greatly affected by this change. The success of student content mastery was questioned. Animal science laboratory time may not be effectively replicated on-line but what about courses with no lab? Previous data in non-ANSC disciplines have indicated that student centered on-line learning can be just as effective as face-to-face courses regarding content mastery. It was hypothesized that to help meet the needs of a growing student population, some ANSC courses could increase their enrollment by offering on-line sections in conjunction with face-to-face modalities. However, a retrospective analysis of modality differences would need to be evaluated to determine equitability of student opportunities and outcomes between online and face-to-face sections of an ANSC course. Therefore, the objective was to critically evaluate the student content mastery of a core ANSC course offered both on-line and face-to-face across several terms. The Principles of Nutrition course at Texas Tech University, a non-lab associated junior-level core ANSC course, was selected for analysis. Course content exams and instructor of record were not changed for 9 semesters (Fall, Spring, and Summer) beginning in the Spring of 2019 and ending in Fall of 2022. Spring 2020 data were excluded. Students were filtered for drops, failures, and upper-class status to include 629 data points across 5 on-line sections (n = 225) and 5 face-to-face sections (n = 404). Content mastery was interpreted and measured as the mean percentage of four regular exams for each term. Content mastery was analyzed in a RCBD where modality was a fixed factor, major was block (ANSC or non-ANSC), and term was a random effect. Mean course mastery was 85.4 ± 9.1 %. There was no interaction of modality or major (P = 0.28). Modality did not affect student content mastery of the course (P = 0.45). Block was significant where ANSC majors had less (P = 0.03) content mastery than non-ANSC majors (85.1 vs. 87.4%, respectively), although still within the same letter grade of B. These results are consistent with those of other disciplines; interpreted to mean that on-line sections of non-lab associated ANSC courses may be an equitable option for ANSC students. In addition, on-line modality may be a preferred option for non-ANSC majors. An acknowledged limitation of these data set is the single course analysis and further research is needed to explore opportunities in other ANSC courses. Still these outcomes may aid in decision making when departmental classroom space is limited. In conclusion, the results of this analysis indicate that ANSC departments may prioritize their ANSC students in face-to-face modalities without negative consequences to non-ANSC majors who enroll in on-line sections.