1. Student Satisfaction Results
Students were given a survey to gauge their satisfaction with the course. A Likert scale (1=Truly Inadequate to 7=Truly Outstanding) was used, and open ended items asking for feedback about the course and materials (e.g., what could be improved) were asked.
The instrument contained 24 selected response items that addressed satisfaction with, and utility of, resources falling into the following categories: Reading Assignments, Class Presentations, and Problem Sets, with eight questions developed for each item.
The mean ratings of the Likert items on the student satisfaction survey did not show notable change over administrations but were consistently strong, typically averaging between 4.0 and 5.5.
The three open-ended items on the instrument asked students: 1) In what way can the reading assignments be improved for the class? 2) In what way can the class presentations be improved for the class? 3) In what way can the problem sets be improved for the class?
In general, students tended to be very positive in their comments, often replying that they did not see a need for improvements or that they enjoyed the class.
Respondents to both the question about improving reading assignments as well as the question addressing class presentations tended to indicate a desire for more examples, including real-world applications. When considering comments provided about the problem sets, again, many students expressed overall satisfaction although there were some who expressed a desire for availability of all solutions.
These results indicate that student achievement is consistently growing as modules are added to the course website.
Student Performance Results (Continued)
The results statistically show no significant differences (using a Type 1 error rate = 0.05) among semesters (X² = 11.14, p = ) in student ability as measured by MPGPA.
The results of the two-factor ANOVA using semester and MPGPA to examine student performance indicate that the semester the course was taken and MPGPA are significant predictors of student performance in all components of the final exam (all results were interpreted using an α=0.05). However, the interaction between semester and MPGPA was not statistically significant in the upper, lower, or total final exam scores.
The Tukey tests on the upper Bloom, lower Bloom, and total final exam questions indicated that the Summer 2007 class significantly outperformed students in both the Spring 2005 and Summer 2004 classes.
The upper Bloom questions also indicated students in the Spring 2007 class outperformed students in the Summer 2004 section, significantly. The Tukey tests on the lower Bloom questions had similar results with students in the Spring 2007 section outperformed students in the Spring 2005 section.
Conclusions
The results of this study provide strong and consistent evidence that the introduction of the various technology-based resources into this course is providing notable assistance to students.
Student performance over the past five semesters examined in the study show increasing gains. This coincides with the introduction of more modules and resources into the course through the website.
Students consistently mentioned that they used the materials in addition to class presentations to help them learn the course materials. The availability of the materials through the easily accessible website permits students and faculty access to these class resources at any time and in various forms.
The availability of materials in various modes (e.g., notes, simulations, practice assessments, videos) provides users with a wide variety of teaching tools that address different learning styles.