Student Success in a Competency-based Online Course in Economics

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Student Success in a Competency-based Online
Course in Economics

• Dr. Steven C. Myers myers_at_uakron.edu
• Associate Professor of Economics
• The University of Akron
• Presented at the Western Economic Association
  International conference July 2, 2002

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History

• Online with every class since 1993
• Face-to-face classes
• Web supportive materials
• Assignments and Daily Evaluations online
• Web-enhanced or Hybrid
• Results mixed
• 100 Online since Fall 2001
• No face-to-face meetings
• Web-based
• Results very satisfying

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Outline for Being Online

• What are the goals of the course?
• What are the objectives you want to accomplish?
• What is the best way to assess learning of the
  objectives?
• How you you fit that into the available
  technology knowledge you have?
• How do you know if you succeed?

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• Goals Student Success, higher learning , higher
  grades, lower dropout rates
• Objectives Taken from each chapter of Parkin
• Assessment graded mastery quizzes and
  non-graded evaluations
• Available Technology WebCT
• Success grades, evaluative remarks, formal
  tests and comparisons

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Asynchronous Tools

• Email _at_UAkron.edu
• Email in WebCT
• Discussion Groups
• FAQs (http//www3.uakron.edu/econ/econga1/faq/)
• Yahoo Messenger (offline messages)
• Keiths mailer
• (http//www3.uakron.edu/ip-tools/email-cgi.html)

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Synchronous Tools

• MSN Instant Messenger (text, voice)
• Yahoo Messenger (text, voice, video)
• WebCT chat (text, graphics whiteboard)
• MS NetMeeting (text, voice, video, graphics,
  sharing of applications)

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Development of the course

• Built in modules
• Modules completed in order
• Competency based testing
• Use student feedback
• For student learning enhancement
• For modifying improving the course

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CourseDesign

• DL requires planning for contingencies
• 14 Content Modules
• Active Learning vs. Passive Learning

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Pre-class and Module 1 Preparing Students to
Learn

• Email me! http//gozips.uakron.edu/myers/online/
• Is Distance Learning for Me?
• VARK testing learning styles
• Orientation Module How to logon to WebCT
• Orientation Module How to Use WebCT
• Syllabus
• Graduate course
• Undergraduate course

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Pre-class and Module 1Additional Orientation

• How to Communicate with Dr. Myers
• How to access your online text
• http//www.economicsplace.com/econ5e/
• Rules of the game
• Building a relationship
• Breakdown the anonymity
• Survey Tell me about yourself

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Content Modules 2-15

• Module Introduction Objectives
• Chapter Introductions
• Content
• Supportive Materials
• Assessment of Learning - Quizzes on objectives
  with multiple trials
• Evaluation

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Introductions Content

• Mostly Passive
• Learner Centered
• Students progress without intervention
• Micro Modules 2-8
• Macro Modules 9-15

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Assessment of LearningGraded Quizzes

• Module quizzes, written evaluations and graded
  research / writing assignments
• Quizzes are for testing problem solving, analysis
  and application skills, not for testing recall
  (simple recognition).

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GradedAssessment

• Competency based
• Everyone strives to get a perfect 10
• Three attempts, time limit
• Random intervention
• Questions a mix of (1) Recognition, (2)
  Conceptual, (3) Analytic71 CA

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Module Evaluation

• What comments do you have on this module and your
  experience in completing it?
• What main point have you learned that you did not
  fully understand before?
• What questions Include any points that still
  remain muddy or unclear. Do consider posing the
  muddy points to your fellow students in the
  discussions.
• What recommendations do you have for us as we
  continue to change and enhance the course?
• Uses Keiths email CGI http//www3.uakron.edu/ip-t
  ools/email-cgi.html

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Role of Module Evaluation

• Planned intervention
• Forced contact
• Professorial encouragement
• Decreases dropout rates
• Process repeats

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2 Research Writing Assignments some objectives

• Practice and experience in reflecting on a topic
  in the current economy.
• Practice in analysis of economic trends.
• Gaining of confidence about talking about the
  economy.
• Ability to know and use the resources of economic
  commentary, prior analysis and data.

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Assessment of Learning
Module Recognition Conceptual Analytical CA
2 11 19 12 74
3 12 27 14 77
4 8 18 16 81
5 9 25 12 80
6 20 23 7 60
7 20 12 16 58
8 15 26 9 70
Total 95 150 86 71
-tage 29 45 26

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The course design has influenced student success

• Foundations of Economic Analysis Phase I MBA
  course

Fall 2001 7 As, 2 Bs, 1 F, 1 WD
Spring 2002 20 As, 2 Bs, 1 F, 1 WD
Su 2002 9 As, 0 Bs, 0 F, 2 WD

• Spring included 4 incompletes, 2 of which
  are now finished.
• estimated grades based on current
  performance
• Of the 31 completers, Final average
  92.6, s.03, range

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Course Evaluations
Percentage Agree and Strongly Agree (n21)
Quizzes effective in testing objectives 76
Quizzes tested mostly recognition 62
Quizzes tested mostly analytical skills 43
Course better than other web-based and technically enhanced courses 76 (48 strongly agree)
Prefer hardcopy text to the online text 81
The online text is helpful 48
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Course FilterIs Distance Learning For Me?

• webct.prenhall.com/public/dist_learn_hand/Is_DL_4_
  Me.htm
• Some interesting relationships

Correlations Avg Grade
ISDL4ME .230
Q2 Being part of a class not impt. -.359
Q5 independent in following directions .342
Q8 enjoys learning new technologies .374
Q10 can go to campus anytime .453
Q10Q8Q5-Q2 .501
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Course FilterVARK an assessment of learning
styles

• www.VARK-learn.com
• No significance

Correlations Avg Grade
VARK
Visual (no. of times V is selected) -.27 (?.19)
Aural (no. of times A is selected) .15 (?..47)
Reading/Writing (no. of times R selected) -.03 (?..90)
Kinesthetic (no. of times K selected) -.07 (?..71)
Total / multimodal learning (50-70 of pop) -.04 (?..85)
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Student Comments

• The fact that this course was completely
  internet based, had no bearing on the level of
  knowledge I gained from the course. I think I
  learned as much, or even more, than I would have
  in a traditional classroom. I contribute this
  most to the way the instructor organized the
  course.

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Student Comments

• The class was great - I enjoyed the work at my
  own pace. I could take quizzes at 11pm or 5am
  depending on what was convenient for me. I could
  relax one week and focus on projects for my other
  class and then work extra the next week to get
  caught up. Overall, this was a great experience.
  I wish more of my coursework could be offered as
  web-based.

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Student Comments

• He was always prompt with his responses to my
  questions and always kept the class up to speed
  on class events. I felt every bit as much a
  valuable student of his as I would have had I
  been there in person.

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Student Comments

• I would recommend web-based learning to others,
  so long as they are able to work on their own.

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Student Comments

• This course was excellent.  It presented a whole
  new style of learning to me.  I did not know what
  to expect going into it, but I specifically
  learned in order to achieve at a class like
  this - you must be completely 100 motivated to
  do so.

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Student Comments

• I think the online class involved more work than
  a regular class, since there is no real classes,
  you find yourself trying to figure out questions
  that may arise on your own - but it is nice to
  know you have a professor their when you can't
  figure it out.

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Student Comments

• I believe that the benefits of web-based courses
  (distance-learning, flexibility, etc.) far
  outweigh any disadvantages such as lack of
  face-to-face interaction--at least in this
  particular course. Dr. Myers' course was, of the
  four I took this semester over the web, the
  truthfully the best organized, most well-adapted
  to the web (by his efforts) of them all.

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Student Comments

• Thanks for the extra help. I'm still no
  economist but at least I can understand better
  what you and your colleagues do!

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Shortcomings

• Lack of group work and team work exercises
  (collaborative learning)
• Severe limitations of WebCT, especially the
  selective release function
• Pre and post assessment using a standard
  comprehensive economics test (Test for
  Understanding of Economics)
• Physical book desired by some
• Publishers Server Crash

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Next Step

• Same results for Undergraduates?
• Is the course more effective than a face to face
  course?
• Myers and Nelson, grant to test this. Nelson
  will teach f2f, Myers online
• Preparing a pre/post-test with R, C and A
  elements.
• Testing of Economic Myths

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The end

• For more information
• Dr. Steven C. Myers
• Myers_at_uakron.edu

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My WebCT
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3250600
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Module 2
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Course Content