Thesis (M.S.)--University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 2005. / "May 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 27-30).

abstract: The purpose of this action research study was to determine the effectiveness of two online college success courses: CPD 150 (College Success, 3 credits) and CPD 115 (Success Strategies, 1 credit), at Rio Salado College, a Maricopa Community College in Arizona. The goal of these courses is to prepare students to be college-ready by examining college readiness and learning skills. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire measured students' perceptions of their own college readiness in a pre-test/post-test format. Understanding students' perceptions of their own college readiness is the college's first step in understanding the effectiveness of these courses. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to compare the pre- and post-tests to determine whether the average student scores changed after completion of the college success course. Paired samples t-tests (or repeated-measures test) were conducted on 2 scales consisting of 13 subscales of the MSLQ of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Data analysis revealed that students reported that they had better study skills after the course than before completing the course. Particularly, learning strategies, test anxiety, self-efficacy, effort regulation (self-management), control of learning beliefs, study skills, and time and study environment stand out as showing substantial improvement for the students.   / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Higher and Postsecondary Education 2012

Background: In the past decade, distance education enrollment has become more common in colleges and universities, increasing from 1.6 million students in 1998 to an estimated 6.7 million in 2012. The purpose of this study was to identify which constructs in Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovation theory are more likely to contribute to adoption and diffusion of distance education in health education. Health education instructors and faculty can use the information obtained from the results of this study if they want to implement distance education. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational survey design was used in this study. An instrument designed to measure constructs and factors affecting the adoption and diffusion of distance education in health education were developed for the study. Health educators employed by health education departments listed in the AAHE (2011) Directory (N=498) were contacted by email and asked to participate in this study. The survey was distributed through SurveyMonkeyTM survey software that was activated December 2012 - January 2013. Results and Conclusions: A total of 245 health education faculty completed the instrument, but 21 participants were omitted because they did not complete at least 95% of the survey instrument. A total of 224 survey instruments were retained and included in the analysis, providing a 44.9% response rate. Based on the Pearsons correlation and multiple linear regression it can be concluded that the likelihood of distance education adoption by health education faculty is highly dependent on the communication channels and characteristics of the innovation (distance education) constructs of the diffusion of innovation theory. There was a large majority of participants in the early majority adopter category and this is because of two reasons. The first reason is that participants had not decided whether to accept or reject distance education. The other reason is that distance education is a relatively new innovation and it has not fully diffused through the health education profession. Experience with distance education was not shown to increase the likelihood of distance education adoption because the majority of participants have not yet decided whether to accept or reject distance education. The social system construct was the least predictive of distance education adoption. If distance education has not yet fully diffused through the health education profession then it is hard for the social system to impact the likelihood of distance education adoption.

Sociologists have been interested in how individuals in modern society are bound to each other since the inception of the discipline. The 'community question' has seen three broad paradigms in this time. The 'community lost' perspective argues that community belonging and modernity are incompatible. In contrast, 'community saved' research suggest that the nature of modernity has made the benefits of community more salient than ever. Finally, the 'community transformed' approach posits that community has metamorphosed to become more relevant to the modern world. This thesis seeks to explore the form that communities may take in contemporary urban settings, and investigate the processes that underlie their continuation. To this end, an ethnographic case study approach was employed to examine an organisation that appears to both offer and exploit community – Alpha. Alpha is an eleven-week catechetical course that seeks to integrate non-Christians into the Christian community. Identifying and employing three 'ideal type' categories of Alpha guests, I examine the methods that the organisation uses in its efforts to attract new members, keep them attending, and integrate them into the community of the church. I argue that Alpha offers three distinct forms of community, with each appealing to different ideal type guests. The first is a gateway to the larger community of the local congregation. The second is a low-commitment community-in-itself. Finally, Alpha represents a community that offers material benefits to members. Alpha suggests that communities can be successful in attracting members by creating hybridised, multifaceted forms of belonging but that fostering long-term commitment is more problematic. This supports the 'community transformed' position that argues that the forms of belonging that were dominant in pre- and early modernity are less salient today.

Correspondence courses for credit were first offered at the University of British Columbia in 1949. Since that time there does not appear to have been any type of survey or evaluation made of the service. The present study was undertaken to provide information about the service as it now operates and to form the basis for further studies where these might be found necessary. There were serious limitations upon the study, chiefly through lack or inaccessibility of needed data. From that available, a twenty per cent sample was randomly drawn from the 895 registrations made during the academic year of September 1, 1961 to August 31,1962. A count was made of the total correspondence population of the year to ascertain the numbers of completions, withdrawals and drop-outs for each of the ten courses then being offered. Otherwise the study was based on data drawn from the sample. The completion rate was found to be 32.2 per cent, low when compared to a gross completion rate of nearly sixty per cent found for the member institutions of the National University Extension Association in a survey in 1956. Five of the ten courses had a completion rate of twenty-five per cent or less, while the highest was forty-six per cent. Over seventy per cent of the registrants were in the Faculty of Education, with about twenty per cent in the Faculty of Arts. These students were in their First to Fifth year of university study, with the majority being in the Third. The completion rate was lowest for the Second year students and increased somewhat with each subsequent year. Of those who were new at the University, barely a quarter finished. Over half the registrants stated their previous session had been a summer session, and just under a quarter stated a winter session. The completion rate for both was approximately thirty-two per cent. Those who registered within six months of a previous session were found to achieve a better completion rate than those who had been away longer. This reversed entirely for those who had been a-way more than six years, all who returned after a longer time finishing successfully. The majority of registrations took place between August and November, with the best completion rate for those in September. These fall registrants also showed a tendency to finish in a shorter time than those who registered in the winter months. In a distribution for the length of time taken, two peaks were found, a greater one for those finishing under a year, a lesser one for those finishing before the two-year time limit. Time taken appeared to make little difference to grades, except for a small drop for those who took longest. Men and women made approximately the same grades, but in general the women took considerably longer. The women achieved the higher completion rate, 34.6 per cent, to 26.2 per cent for the men. The correspondence courses went out to students in each one of the Census divisions of the province. Forty-two per cent resided in the heavily populated Vancouver and lower mainland area, and it was noted these had a low completion rate. Numbers in other areas were too small to give reliable estimates, but the tendency was a rough approximation of the proportion of the population in each area. The main conclusion was that the correspondence service is not up to the high standards being established for the rest of the university, though the quality of instructor is there and also the need. Suggestions for further studies and improvements were made. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The aim of this thesis is to introduce the reader to creating e-learning courses. Theoretical part explains the basic terms of e-learning, presents its technological forms and tools used. Thus creates the foundations for understanding its functionality and meaning. Also mentioned are the advantages and disadvantages of the courses. The main part of the thesis proposes a new way how to create e-learning courses, based on specifics of e-learning education. This new methodics is primarily addressed to an academical environment, where majority of the e-learing courses is created. Application of this methodics is consequently demonstrated on a section of the university course.

The problem of this thesis is to determine what affiliated courses are most frequently offered to the students who attend the regular four year high schools in Texas, and to determine the relationship of the subjects taught to the scholastic population of the school.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there are significant relationships between the general satisfaction of students and learner-content interaction, learner-instructor interaction, learner-learner interaction, and learner-technology interaction in 100% online courses. There were 310 responses from the students. This study did not use data from duplicate students and instructors. Excel was used to find duplicate students and instructors; therefore, 128 responses were deleted. After examination of box plots, an additional four cases were removed because they were outliers on seven or more variables. Nineteen responses were deleted because they did not answer all questions of interest, resulting in a total sample of 159 students. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the four independent variables and the dependent variable. In addition to tests for statistical significance, practical significance was evaluated with the multiple R2 , which reported the common variance between independent variables and dependent variable. The two variables of learner-content and learner-instructor interaction play a significant role in predicting online satisfaction. Minimally, the variable learner-technology can predict online satisfaction and is an important construct that must be considered when offering online courses. Results of this study provide help in establishing a valid and reliable survey instrument and in developing an online best learning environment, as well as recommendations for institutions offering online learning or considering the development of online learning courses.

Master of Science

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