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The this study examined courses taught within a single College of Education over six semeters to compare face-to-face, hybrid, and online instructional methods as related to student achievement, persistence, and satisfaction. Additionally, a comparison of key student characteristics including sex, race/ethnicity, and residency status was conducted. This study extends the existing literature supporting “no meaningful significant difference” between instructional delivery methods by specifically focusing on courses of similar curriculum as offered within the specific discipline of educational studies. The results reinforce that administrators and instructors should continue to expand access to courses through the flexibility of online and hybrid learning. However, as programs expand their course offerings, further investigation is warranted into the barriers to hybrid and online learning for certain groups of educational studies students within this institution, including women, Asians, and out-of-state residents. / Educational Administration

This study explored former and current graduate and undergraduate online students' self-efficacy perceptions for asynchronous online coursework. Self-efficacy is described as a person's judgment of his or her ability to successfully complete a learning or performance task (Bandura, 1997). Using an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach, this study explored the research question in three phases: 1) Conducted interviews and analyzed transcripts of 11 current and previous asynchronous online learners; 2) Created and enlisted the expert review of a survey instrument developed from the interview data analysis; and 3) Collected and analyzed survey responses from current and previous asynchronous online learners. The findings from this research show, based on 215 participant responses, several factors present or absent in asynchronous online learning experiences have positive, negative or no effects on perceived self-efficacy to complete online course requirements. Findings, limitations, practical implications and future research ideas are discussed in Chapter Six of this document. / Ph. D.

Yes / With the advancement of technology, significant changes have been introduced into the learning and teaching environment. The importance of enhancing the interest of learners is an on-going challenge for educators of all levels. In this respect, teaching and learning practices are adapting to students¿ exposure to technological and social trends. In this presentation, a case study of using technology to enhance the learners¿ environment for engineering-based subjects in higher education is presented. The approach consists of delivering interactive materials through a Virtual Learning Environment and integrating web application technologies to enhance the learners¿ experience. Due to the vast subject areas in engineering and the variety of content of each subject, a general methodology is first identified and adopted. This consists of stages that show the progress from initial development to deployment of the materials, followed by evaluation of the module and further improvements carried out on the module based on qualitative evaluation. The evaluation process consists of the application of electronic surveys for feedback on the distance learning module. In addition, monitoring of the students¿ usage of the materials is also carried out. The presentation concludes with the presentation of the initial results from a current e-learning module.

Because of decreased funding, increased enrollment, and other issues, postsecondary institutions face the challenge of providing the same or additional services to more students with less resources. One option is the increased use of innovative technology by postsecondary institutions, such as distance education. Distance education provides remote areas of a region the opportunity to participate in postsecondary coursework without having to travel or relocate to the actual campus. Little has been written regarding the identification of the different teaching approaches used in traditional or distance classrooms, nor on the preparation of distance educators who also teach in the traditional classroom. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine instructors’ perceived effectiveness in both their distance and traditional classes and to identify the approaches used by distance instructors in both of these settings. Instructors’ perceptions as to the supportive role of distance site supervisors also was identified. Qualitative research methods involving interviews and observations were employed. Ten instructors from Old Dominion University (OQDU), who also teach through the ODU Teletechnet distance education program, were interviewed regarding their teaching approaches and rationale for selecting those approaches, as well as their view on the site supervisor's role. Each instructor was then observed twice in each of the classroom settings. Results of the study found that instructors perceived themselves as equally effective in both their formats and behaviors while teaching in either the traditional or distance classrooms. Although suggested in the literature, instructors did not vary their teaching format between the two settings; however, teaching behaviors were observed as occurring with greater frequency in the traditional classroom than in the distance classroom. Also, while most instructors were unclear as to the specific responsibilities of the distance site supervisors beyond transferring materials between sites, many supported an increase in communication with the supervisors to improve the learning environment for these distance students. Recommendations for practice include more opportunities for collaboration between distance faculty and the site supervisors. Also, the development of an intervention by distance learning administrators to assist instructors in varying their distance teaching format would provide exposure to other effective teaching techniques for use in the distance classroom. The information gathered from this study lends itself to further research into the possible implications of additional instructor training to prompt changes in teaching formats. Additional attention to the relationship of the distance site supervisors to the entire distance learning process also would be worthwhile. / Master of Arts

Social presence has drawn great attention in the last three decades. A large number of studies attempted to prove that social presence exerted an effect on distance learning through including more interaction. This integrative review provided a comprehensive summary of current studies on social presence, identified problems in measuring social presence, and evaluated the effects of social presence on learning. Data were collected from 189 social presence studies in the area of distance education from 1976 to 2012. Data were analyzed qualitatively followed by a quantitative meta-analysis. This study revealed that social presence was still illusive and difficult to define. Due to its ambiguity, many doubts exist related to the measurement of social presence. The results of this study suggest future researchers should be cautious when advocating the importance of social presence in distance learning. / Ph. D.

As one of the most critical elements in distance learning, interaction has been identified empirically as increasing learner motivation, satisfaction, participation, communication, and achievement. Fostering pedagogically effective interaction is a major challenge for educators in distance learning. In response to this challenge, the goal of this research was to develop a theoretically- and empirically- grounded framework for guiding interaction design in distance learning. It is anticipated that this framework can assist educators and instructional designers in designing quality interaction in distance learning. This study employed a design and developmental research methodology with three phases: analysis, development and evaluation, and revision. Findings from a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed interaction theory and research in distance learning as well as expert review informed the building of a three-phase framework for guiding interaction instructional design in distance learning. / Ph. D.