The Influence of Student Traits
Do the characteristics of the student population influence the reasons for or against online delivery?
Only to the extent that those characteristics would result in no demand for online delivery. Otherwise, student characteristics may influence what courses are offered, course content and the extent to which the school provides access to equipment; however, assuming there is demand for online learning, student characteristics shouldn't influence the idea of online delivery itself.
Jane,
Have you considered the pre-qualifications of students; for example, their high school preparation, ability to read and comprehend without outside assistance, time management skills and their facility with technology? These are all variables that should be taken into consideration in addition to the ones you mentioned, are there others that you can think of?
Dr. Robert Roehrich
The characteristics of the student population should influence the reason for or against online delivery. Interestingly, my observation has been that adult, working class, students tend to prefer online course delivery than traditional aged student just out of high school. This is probably because traditional students like being in a traditional school campus or atmosphere. On the other hand, older students tend to prefer convenience and online learning provides such convenience. Furthermore, adult students have developed the necessary discipline to succeed in an online learning environment, while the younger students still depend on instructors to pressurize them into doing their work.
JJ Asongu
I started over-thinking this question. On the one hand, student populations are always in flux. Student levels of abilities, motivation, and access to resources will vary greatly, so do you make a decision on whether or not to deliver a program online based on the student population, or do you look to other factors in making the final decision? As you develop an online program, I think consideration certainly has to be given to who your target audience is, but the factors that have the most weight in deciding for or against online delivery seem to be market pressures, business objectives, and organizational resources. I work for an organization that is taking its first steps toward developing online programs, and the main reasons for deciding to do this have been 1)our competitors are doing it, 2) MOOCs are proving to be a disruptive force in traditional instructor-led, brick and mortar programs, and 3)with the availability of online content, clients are demanding flexibility in how learning is delivered and shared. So while we encourage our faculty to provide online learning experiences to meet the needs of different learning styles, our ultimate decision on whether or not to provide an online program is not primarily based on the characteristics of the student population.
Januarius,
Thank you for your comments. I have also found "non-traditional" students to be more receptive to online courses and I would add the following hypothesis to your observations. Adults are challenged in the workplace to perform, which is not the case in many of our high schools. I submit that working adults who want to advance are more accustomed to taking on responsibility for their behaviors, whereas many recent high school graduates have not internalized that. Most recent high school, graduates are accustomed to other people being responsible for their lives, especially parents. This is reinforced by a public school system no longer teaches responsibility and accountability and "spoon feeds" its charges. While recognizing my hypothesis makes a general statement, I suspect it is an additional contributing variable to your observations.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Veronica,
Thank you for your insightful response. In my experience, the decision to offer online courses was not strongly influenced by responding to student characteristics or "learning styles." Given recent controversy over the credibility of "labeling" learning styles, I'm further convinced it should not be a primary consideration for offering online courses. The factors you identified are some of the "realistic" considerations that a school has to take into account when making the decision to offer online coursework. Other factors to consider are: which learning platform to choose; level of technical support required; the cost of developing and maintaining courses; desired quality and depth of online instruction; faculty qualifications, proficiency and effectiveness; strategies for outcomes assessment; an objective assessment of the connection between academic performance and advancement; and ultimately if the graduate will perform at the expected level of proficiency.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Wow - I find your comment to be quite useful because it provides some validation of my observation. I almost thought it was an abnormally, because the common conception is that kids are more online savvy. However, you provide an excellent explanation. I'll perhaps do some research in future to validate your hypothesis.
Given that Saint Monica's University is in Cameroon, Africa, I was almost tempted to think that it was a regional issue. Reflecting on it, I think it is the same here in the US. For instance, I teach both undergraduate and graduate students here in a traditional school in the US and I use online activities to supplement my on-campus classes and I do find that the MBA class is more comfortable doing online work than the undergrads.
Thanks again for this wonderful dialogue and I've learned something here.
JJ
Januarius,
Thank you for your feedback and I'm glad I was able to add another perspective to your observations.
Cheers!
Dr. Robert Roehrich
I agree that the age of the student is something to be considered. However, I don't think younger students TEND to struggle with online courses more than adults just because of outside forces, ie. our public school system, or never having been challenged by a job to perform. I certainly agree that those are factors, but I believe these are in addition to an internal factor. Younger students simply tend to be immature, as in haven't matured yet. With immature students, the instructor acts as facilitator and gently keeps them on track. It is easy to get distracted and off track no matter where you are but with no ACTUAL eyes of supervision on you, it because even easier. Therefore a level of maturity is required to keep yourself on track. This should be considered but can certainly be overcome and therefore, in my opinion, shouldn't be a deterrent to implementing online classes.
Samuel,
I concur,that it isn't a deterrent to implementing online courses, it's just one more variable to be factored into the instructional process. Thanks for your comment!
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Some people believe that online curriculums are easier and fail to understand the need for discipline. Some people also believe that online curriculums are convenient but underestimate the need to be disciplined and complete tasks on time. Other critics discredit online curriculums compared to traditional instruction. Flexibility and self-initiative is oftentimes overlooked when others have receieved their education through traditional methods. Increases in online student population has caused may colleges to rethink their educational delivery strategies. Colleges that were once opposed to offering online courses are now offering courses in order to be competitive.
Christopher,
As you can see from the threads in Forum One, there are multiple variables to be considered when offering online instruction. Understanding your student population, providing a meaningful orientation that emphasizes student accountability and self-discipline, and drawing the distinctions between online and traditional instruction are all essential elements for success.
Dr. Robert Roehrich
Yes there is a direct correlation between the student population and the potential success of an online delivery system. I have seen the difficulties that arise from the older learner that is not familiar with computer based programs or computers in general. They often become very frustrated with course work because they are unable to access or navigate the LMS. If an institution is considering online delivery they need to closely review their traditional student population and the programs being offered. Failure to do this will result in a high attrition rate and ultimately lower the reputation of the institution.
Susan,
You have acknowledged a critical aspect of engaging older adult students in online instruction. As one option for addressing this, institutions have developed targeted tutorials for this population, which results in greater retention success. Developing tutorials that capture the key issues that your older adult population is having is one way to establish greater rapport and connection with this population.
Dr. Robert R. Roehrich
It would seem that student traits are one factor, but wouldn't the nature of the course material be more important?
Sure they do. For the most part, students that are disciplined and possess better time management skills, and already have good grades tend to perform better in online courses. Additionally, socioeconomics play an important role in this matter. The digital divide between those that have access to technology versus those that do not should never be ignored. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the student advisor to find out if that student has the potential to do well when taking online classes. There has to be serious discussions between the advisor and student, and an online assessment should be given to the student to further determine if he/she will do well.
Certainly. To the extent that you serve a relatively homogeneous population, identifying common learner traits and patterns in performance can positively influence both the organization of course content presentation as well as policy and practice to arrive at a program that best matches the needs of the population of learners. For example, employed middle-aged adults juggling family and career behave differently studying online than do single young adults fresh out of high school.
Dear Kevin:
Thank you for your post to Forum 1. Your statement regarding homogeneous learners provides a rational approach to efficiently facilitating course content to meet the needs of your learner group. I would add some tips to help address the learning habits of this type of learner, which could also be applied to more diverse learner populations.
First, determine if your learner group tend to demonstrate traits of natural online learners. This identification helps in the design and facilitation of course content and delivery geared to the "natural" learning tendencies of these student, i.e. visual, auditory, etc. Next How much assistance or guidance do they need, from each other and from the course facilitator? And third, how do online learning strategies differ for this group from face-to face instruction? Applying these three steps will provide you with a better handle on the student traits of the class group and enhance their chances for retention and success.
Dr. Roehrich
Definitely yes, depending on the students' background, and culture, online courses might pose major or minor difficulties for students.
