Georgia Southern University
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SoTL Commons Conference
SoTL Commons Conference
Mar 12th, 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
Are Some Students Better Suited for Online Class
and Others Better Suited for In-Class?
Milind Shrikhande
Georgia State University, mshrikhande@gsu.edu
Richard Fendler
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Recommended Citation
Milind Shrikhande and Richard Fendler, "Are Some Students Better Suited for Online Class and Others Better Suited for In-Class?"
(March 12, 2009). SoTL Commons Conference. Paper 36.
http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2009/36
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Are Some Students Better Suited
for Online Class and Others Better
Suited In-Class?
Milind Shrikhande and Richard Fendler
Georgia State University
Online Education Facts
 Allen and Seaman (2007) – Sloan Consortium Report
 Nearly 3.5 million higher education students took at
least one online course during fall 2006 term
 This number represents an increase of over 350,000
students taking an online course from the prior year
 In fall 2006, approximately 20 percent of all U.S. higher
education students were taking at least one course in an
online environment
 For past several years growth in course offerings at
colleges and universities far exceed growth in student
population
ISOTL Conference – Georgia Southern University - March 11-13, 2009
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We Value Your Opinion …
 Is online learning for everyone?
 How do we advise students: in-class versus online?
 How are students currently being advised?
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5 People Best Suited for Online
Learning (kristv.com article)
 You are qualified to take an online course if:
 You frequently travel abroad
 You are constantly on the go because of business
 You are enlisted in the Armed Forces
 You or a loved one has a physical or health disability
 You live far from a college campus (or just can't get to
one near you)
 What do these have to do with learning?
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UCLA online self-quiz
 Answer YES or NO to the following:
 I know how to use the computer.
 Reading is not a nightmarish struggle for me.
 I once read a book to learn how to do something.
 Being at the computer cannot be mistaken for a form of
torture.
 Going to class in my pajamas sounds like fun!
 If you answer YES to these statements, “online learning
is for you!”
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Online Education Sites:
 Common Traits of Successful Online Learners:
 Self-Directed
 Motivated
 Inquisitive
 Like to read and write
 Disciplined
 Independent
 Able to stay on task
 This type of student would be successful in any
learning situation!
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Questions:
1.
Is student learning in an e-education course
equivalent to learning in a traditional classroom?
2. If differences exist, do these differences exist at all
learning levels or at some specific learning levels?
3. All else constant, is there a relationship between
student preferred learning styles and performance in
online classes versus traditional classes?
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Purpose of Our Research
 Do student preferred learning styles impact student
performance at different learning levels?
 After controlling for competency variables, do learning
styles still matter?
 Can we use learning styles to advise students: in-class
versus online?
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Learning Levels
 Blooms taxonomy = hierarchy of learning levels from
simple recall of data to abstract thinking and judgment.
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Learning Styles
 Felder/Soloman Index of Learning Styles
Questionnaire
http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html
 Four learning style dimensions:
 Active vs Reflective Learners
 Sensing vs Intuitive Learners
 Visual vs Verbal Learners
 Sequential vs Global Learners
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How Do Learning Styles Look?
STYLE
DESCRIPTION
Active Learner
Learn best by doing, discussing, applying or explaining to others
Reflective Learner
Learn best by thinking about information quietly for a period of time
Sensing Learner
Like to learn facts; like solving problems by well established methods
Intuitive Learner
Prefer discovering possibilities and relationships; like innovation
Visual Learner
Learn best by seeing – pictures, diagrams, flow charts, etc.
Verbal Learner
Learn best by hearing – written and/or spoken explanations
Sequential Learner
Tend to learn in linear steps, with each step following a logical progression
Global Learner
Tend to learn in large jumps, absorbing material almost randomly without
seeing connections and then suddenly ‘getting it.’
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Course and Data
 Core course in finance = virtual data lab
 Traditional versus online class
 Common final exam – questions classified by learning
levels
 Felder/Soloman Learning Styles surveys
 Demographic data (GPA, gender, major)
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Demographic Summary Statistics
ONLINE
IN-CLASS
OVERALL
# of Students
99
105
204
GPA - Mean
2.99
2.92
2.95
GPA – St.Dev.
0.418
0.547
0.489
Male
42.4%
45.7%
44.1%
Female
57.6%
54.3%
55.9%
Quant. Major
36.4%
45.7%
41.2%
Qual. Major
62.6%
50.5%
56.4%
Undecided
1.0%
3.8%
2.4%
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Exam Scores by Learning Level
In-Class
Online
Mean Score
Stand. Dev.
Mean Score
Stand. Dev
Total Exam Score – All
questions
57.1%
17.7%
55.6%
16.1%
Knowledge Questions
Score
48.9%
21.6%
46.5%
21.4%
Understand Questions
Score
75.4%
25.4%
78.0%
22.3%
Application Questions
Score
68.9%
24.2%
70.2%
22.1%
Analysis Questions
Score
59.2%
27.1%
61.2%
27.2%
Synthesis Questions
Score
33.1%
30.1%
21.8%
25.1%
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Active versus Reflective Learners
Online
Overall
In-Class
63.8%
59.8%
55.6%
25.3%
21.1%
19.2% 19.1% 19.0%
17.1%
Active Learners
Neutral
ISOTL Conference – Georgia Southern University - March 11-13, 2009
Reflective Learners
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Sensing versus Intuitive Learners
Online
Overall
In-Class
53.5%
50.0%
46.7%
44.8%
39.7%
34.3%
12.1%
Sensing Learners
Neutral
ISOTL Conference – Georgia Southern University - March 11-13, 2009
10.3%
8.6%
Intuitive Learners
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Visual versus Verbal Learners
Online
Overall
In-Class
56.2%
51.0%
48.5%
45.5%
42.6%
37.1%
6.1% 6.4% 6.7%
Visual Learners
Neutral
ISOTL Conference – Georgia Southern University - March 11-13, 2009
Verbal Learners
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Sequential versus Global
Online
Overall
54.5%
52.9%
In-Class
51.4%
41.0%
36.8%
32.3%
13.1%
Sequential Learners
Neutral
ISOTL Conference – Georgia Southern University - March 11-13, 2009
10.3%
7.6%
Global Learners
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Regressions
Dependent Variable:
 Level Score (Overall score, Knowledge score,
Understanding score, Application score, Analysis score,
Synthesis score)
Independent Variables:
 Class (online = 1, in-class = 0)
 GPA
 Major (quant = 1, qual = 0)
 Gender (male = 1, female = 0)
 Learning Style Preference (Active, Reflective, Sensing,
Intuitive, Visual, Verbal, Sequential, Global)
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Regression Results
Intercept Online
Major
Gender
GPA
ACT-REF SEN-INT VIS-VRB SEQ-GLO
Overall
-0.0851
(-1.33)
-0.306
(-1.64)
0.0711
(3.57)
-0.0273
(-1.43)
0.1965
(9.78)
0.0696
(1.43)
0.0302
(0.68)
-0.0186
(-0.39)
0.0870
(1.70)
Knowledge
Questions
0.1365
(1.33)
-0.032
(-1.06)
0.0516
(1.61)
-0.0339
(-1.10)
0.0966
(2.99)
0.1077
(1.37)
-0.0293
(-0.41)
-0.0362
(-0.48)
0.1020
(1.24)
Understand
Questions
-0.0406
(-0.39)
0.0026
(0.09)
0.0517
(1.61)
0.0360
(1.17)
0.2265
(7.00)
0.0864
(1.10)
0.1030
(1.44)
-0.0270
(-0.36)
0.0783
(0.95)
Application
Questions
-0.0100
(-0.10)
0.0002
(0.01)
0.0613
(1.95)
-0.0089
(-0.29)
0.2241
(7.06)
0.0015
(0.02)
0.0481
(0.69)
0.0503
(0.68)
-0.0200
(-0.25)
Analysis
Questions
-0.1164
(-0.97)
0.0062
(0.18)
0.0770
(2.06)
-0.0843
(-2.36)
0.2394
(6.37)
-0.0282
(-0.31)
0.0589
(0.71)
-0.0024
(-0.03)
0.0574
(0.60)
Synthesis
Questions
-0.3948
(-3.26)
-0.130
(-3.67)
0.1138
(3.01)
-0.454
(-1.25)
0.1960
(5.15)
0.1806
(1.96)
-0.208
(-0.35)
-0.774
(-0.87)
0.2175
(2.24)
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Regression Results – In-Class Only
Dependent Variable
Significant Variables
Adjusted R-Sq
Major(+), GPA(+)
0.4206
Knowledge Questions
GPA(+)
0.0612
Understand Questions
GPA(+)
0.2526
Application Questions
GPA(+)
0.2184
Analysis Questions
GPA+, ACTREF(-), SENINT(-)
0.3519
Synthesis Questions
Major(+), GPA(+)
0.179
Overall
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Regression Results – Online Only
Dependent Variable
Significant Variables
Adjusted R-Sq
Major(+), GPA(+)
0.3917
Knowledge Questions
GPA(+), Gender (-)
0.117
Understand Questions
GPA(+)
0.2196
Application Questions
Major (+), GPA(+)
0.2283
Analysis Questions
GPA(+)
0.1192
Synthesis Questions
GPA(+), SENGLO(+)
0.2654
Overall
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Indications:
 Online students perform significantly worse at the
highest level of learning relative to in-class students
even after controlling for different learning styles
 At all other levels of learning, performance is
statistically equivalent
 In Progress: Investigate balanced versus extreme
learner
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