April 2002 — Features
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Improving Student Performance in Distance Learning Courses
Distance learning poses new challenges for educators. In some cases, achieving student
success can be as simple as preventing student withdrawals from
distance learning courses. Distance learning gives educators the
opportunity to teach their students both course content and how to
become lifelong learners. This article concentrates on the problems
encountered and the solutions developed while teaching two college
networking courses in the distance learning format. One course is a
freshman course, Introduction to Networks, and the other is a junior
course, Data Communications. While the subject matter of the courses
is similar, the approach to achieving student success in the courses
is different.
In the Beginning
The Information Systems and Computer Programming (ISCP) Department at Purdue Calumet was the first department on campus to develop distance learning courses. Two courses were chosen for a pilot project in the summer 1996 session: Introduction to Computer-Based Systems (CIS 204) and Computer Operating Systems I (CIS 286). Introduction to Computer-Based Systems consists of two components: computer literacy and an introduction to office productivity software, including word processing, spreadsheets, etc. The students in this course are both CIS majors and nonmajors. Computer Operating Systems I is a required course for CIS majors and is an introduction to the concepts related to computer operating systems. I taught the CIS 204 course for the pilot, and then started teaching one junior-level networking course in this format during the fall 1996 semester.
Although the pilot project had mixed results - a very high dropout
rate occurred - the distance learning project was continued and has
grown over the years, with additional departments offering courses in
this format. By the spring 2001 semester, more than 35 different
courses in 13 disciplines had been offered in the distance learning
format at various times. Although the school started with fewer than
30 enrollments in the initial courses, the success of the program is
evident in the spring 2001 semester enrollment figure, which numbered
681. A breakdown of enrollments by discipline is shown in Figure 1.
In the future, the school hopes to expand its offerings and provide
several degree programs through distance learning.
Part of the commitment to quality on campus includes the fact that the online courses are equivalent to on-campus courses. On campus, because the distance learning courses and programs are administered through individual departments rather than through a centralized distance learning office, each department is responsible for ensuring courses are equivalent to their on-campus counterparts. Accrediting bodies have taken some initiative to evaluate these programs as valid forms of higher education, and the institutions must ensure that documentation exists to satisfy these agencies.
In addition, assessment of these courses is very important in determining their merit as part of the institutional mission. Measuring student performance using traditional methods of assessment has been problematic in distance learning because the format is somewhat different, even though the objectives are the same. What is needed is a new method of assessment to ensure students are mastering the concepts required for the course.
