| Learning Objective #1: Identify teaching practices that encourage student interaction in a web-based course | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Describe teaching practices that are linked to improved student satisfaction |
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine student outcomes in a web-based course on cardiac rhythm interpretation when interaction was varied.
Design: A post-test only, experimental design was used.
Population, Sample, Setting, Years: A pool of 388 nursing students from 36 states comprised a sampling frame. The final sample included 174 randomly selected nursing students enrolled in baccalaureate, associate, and diploma nursing programs. The setting of the study was a web-based course (http://webct.usg.edu) taught between March 2001 and May 2001.
Methods: After consent forms were signed, nursing students were provided a password into WebCT. Students in experimental and control groups progressed through units of content and examinations simultaneously. At the conclusion of the course, students completed a satisfaction scale. Outcomes were compared using t-test, analysis of covariance, and chi-square.
Concept or Variables Studied Together or Intervention and Outcome Variables: The intervention variable was interaction (assignments requiring group work in the experimental group or individual work in the control group). The outcome variables were cognitive learning (scores on midterm & final exams), student satisfaction (scores on semantic differential scale), and motivation to complete the course (completion rate of groups).
Findings: Comparisons of student outcomes between control and experimental groups showed no significant differences for cognitive learning and motivation to complete the course. However, a significant difference was found on the semantic differential scale indicating that participants who worked with others were significantly more satisfied with the course than those who worked alone.
Conclusions: The study demonstrated that group interaction enhanced student satisfaction. More research is needed to determine the best strategies to enhance learning outcomes and to decrease student attrition.
Implications: Findings from the study support scholarly opinions that teaching practices such as student-faculty contact, cooperation among students, and active learning are important in web-based course design.
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Back to 14th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003