Title: Evaluation of Online Curriculum at College of San Mateo

Author(s): Kennedy, Cathleen

Source: http://www.smccd.net/kennedyc/rsch/eval-abs.htm

Intended Audience: Program developers at the University of San Mateo who are concerned with the effective use of online curriculum. Other individuals interested in conducting similar research into online curriculum at other institutions.

Copyright:

http://www.smccd.net

Summary

The researcher used qualitative means to evaluate the need for the online program and the current program practices. The program was new to the college and the evaluation would be used to help further develop the courses.

A series of questions were presented to students in two groups: those taking online courses and those not taking online courses. There were seven open ended questions as well as a section used to collect demographic information. The surveys were conducted on a volunteer basis and two of the four professors approached agreed to administer the surveys.

A second survey was used to gather further data from professors teaching both online and on campus courses. Students taking the courses online were permitted to answer the surveys online.

The researcher was particularly interested in what online students liked and disliked about their online courses. The researcher designed questions regarding enjoyment of the course, engagement in the subject matter, satisfaction with the teacher and other students a sense of integration of components of the course, workload.

The researcher recognized that the analysis of the statistics was correlative and the study itself contained many flaws. The most significant outcome of the study seemed to be that the answers to the survey questions confirmed the need for further study.

Conclusions drawn by the author

The researcher provided conclusions based upon both the evaluation results and her personal observations. It was suggested that there was a need for providing more online courses. The researcher also suggested that there was a need to conduct a larger study in this area.

It was concluded that students considered the importance of good study habits as the most important factor for online courses. Very few students considered teacher quality as an important factor.

Are the conclusions warranted from the information provided?

The statistical evidence presented in this study was very limited. The researcher commented that 52% of the students surveyed would consider taking an online course. Although this seems like a significant percentage, it must also be noted that the survey sample only included 159 surveys from 7 different classes. The researcher states that the data was analyzed with Item Response Theory and revealed an internal consistency of .72. The needs assessment survey was reported to have only a .26 internal consistency.

The only truly valid conclusion that one could draw from the survey was that there is a need for further data. There is support for the conclusions fro a review of the available literature, but the survey itself doesn't provide convincing enough data to be applied to a general population.

The validity of the conclusions would be dependent upon the numbers of students who would be intending to study at this particular institution. The reported goal was to determine the need for online courses at this school and the attitude of students taking the online courses. We would need more to be able to make further conclusions.

Possible unstated beliefs or assumptions

The researcher included only current students. The intent was to identify needs of potential students. To survey students who are presently taking an online course with regards to their belief that online courses are needed, seems redundant. This is assuming that these students are representative of the population of students not taking online courses.

A second assumption that was unstated revolves around the belief that students currently taking online courses would have the same profile of students intending to enter the university. There were no surveys given to incoming students or prospective students or students who had completed the courses without the opportunity to take them online.

A number of professors who were asked to participate in the study did not do so. There is an assumption made that students in those classes would have contributed data that would be in agreement with the presented data.

Credible Conclusions?

This survey did not present truly valid, credible conclusions. There was not significant evidence provided. The researcher does point out the many limitations of the study, but still presents the conclusions with confidence.

The researcher admits that the study was significantly limited by the composition of the sample population. It was also reported that the study did not provide strong evidence that the online courses met the needs of the students.

It is always safe to say that current courses need to be developed further. This is simply a good practice to consistently work to improve curriculum.

Possible Further Information

The article was a disappointment. For an educational leader looking for suggestion on how to improve online courses, this article provides no assistance. For an educational leader looking for suggestions on the need for online courses, this study provides no assistance.

However, for a researcher looking for ideas for questions in surveying needs for and attitudes towards online courses, this study provides good suggestions on how to construct the survey and what considerations to take in designing further studies.