Students’ experiences in learning Business Statistics online
Pannee Suanpang
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney
PO Box 123 Broadway
NSW 2007 Australia
Tel 612-9514-2240
Fax 612-9514-2268
Pannee.Suanpang@uts.edu.au
Peter Petocz, PhD
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney
PO Box 123 Broadway
NSW 2007 Australia
Tel 612-9514-2264
Fax 612-9514-2268
Peter.Petocz@uts.edu.au
Abstract: This paper explores students’ experiences in an online Business Statistics course, and examines their
qualitative reflections provided during the course and as part of its evaluation. The online course was a pioneering
project at Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, Thailand. The research compared online learning with traditional teaching
conducted over 16 weeks. There were 269 second-year participants, classified into 2 traditional campus-based
groups, 1 traditional distance-learning group, 2 online-learning campus-based groups, and 1 online distance-learning
group. Qualitative methods used included interviews, student diaries, discussion board messages, and course
appraisals. Interviews were conducted with 32 campus-based students and 2 distance-learning students. There were
also 2 diaries from traditional groups and 5 diaries from online groups, with weekly entries. A summary of discussion
board postings reflected students’ opinions, likes and dislikes, and suggested further improvement of the online
course. It was found that the majority of students used the online mode for reading course materials, doing exercises,
searching for information, taking quizzes, and communicating with other students and instructors. Such a course can
assist effective learning, and enhance attitudes to Business Statistics. For the traditional groups, it was found that
students do most of their study during the lecture times, and carry out the exercises by themselves; however, they
would benefit from increased access to technology in order to assist their learning. These results will be combined
with quantitative approaches to study other aspects (e.g. learning outcomes, attitudes to learning, instructional design
and strategies) to develop effective online learning systems in the future.
Keywords: E-Learning, Online learning, Business Statistics, Statistics education, participant’s experience, qualitative
study, course evaluation.