Effects of a Traditional and Web-Based Literacy Methods Class: A Study of Undergraduate Elementary Students’ Performance

This paper discusses findings of a study that examined the achievement of two distinct groups of university students who were enrolled in the same literacy methods course: one group that took the course face-to-face on campus, and a second group that took the course entirely online. The instructor, course materials, and assessments were consistent between the two delivery formats. The investigator compared student performance on a pretest and posttest exam. The results showed that there was not a 5% significance level of difference in achievement between the overall group of online students versus the overall group of face-to-face students. There was an upward change in the mean score between the two settings, so a t-test was conducted. However, even though there was an apparent growth in knowledge, the differences between the pretest and posttest were not statistically significant. This study contributes to the research on the efficacy of online versus face-to-face learning. Effects of a Traditional and Web-based Literacy Methods Class: A Study of Undergraduate Elementary Students’ Performance Increasingly, more instructors in higher education are teaching classes that are entirely Web-based as colleges and universities offer100% online courses to accommodate the needs of all students and larger enrollments (Finkelstein &Scholz, 2000). Web-based instruction has emerged as a viable alternative to traditional classroom instruction,and online enrollment has increased at a substantially faster rate than that of overall higher education (Allen &Seaman, 2010). This online delivery of courses has become increasingly popular due to several advantages for both educational institutions and students in terms of computer technology availability, Internet access, and increases in online course offerings (Mann & Henneberry, 2017). Even with the proliferation of online courses, universities and researchers have only just begun to investigate systematically what they can and cannot teach meritoriously online and the effectiveness of online versus face-to-face classrooms (Coughan, 2012; Gundy, Morton, Liu, & Kline, 2006; Jaffee, 1997). Moreover, despite the increasing popularity of online education, the broader literature on the efficacy of online courses is not conclusive. There is often a divide in the literature between studies that found face-to-face classes outperformed online courses and those that found the opposite (Allen et al., 2004; Bernard et al., 2004; Jahng, Krug, & Zhang, 2007; Sitzmann, Kraiger, Steward, & Wisher, 2006; Urtel, 2008). Adding to the issue is the fact that many of the studies within this body of literature relied heavily on small samples that were nonrandom, failed to replicate findings, and lacked demographic controls. Some of these studies compared courses with substantial differences in content, materials, and methods of evaluating student performance (Bernard et al., 2004; Jahng et al., 2007; Means, Toyama, Murphy, Bakia, & Jones, 2009; Urtel, 2008). Even though many institutions are now including online courses and programs as part of their regular course offerings, the exact manner in which the instructional model is being implemented through technology is still being investigated. A common assumption in early studies that compared online and face-to-face courses was that the levels of variation were the same across different online and face-to-face course designs (Bernard et al., 2009; Means et al., 2009). However, Bernard et al. (2009) found that online learning environments varied from one another because of the specific implementation of technological design. ISSN 2374-8850 (Print), 2374-8869 (Online) ©Center for Promoting Ideas, USA www.ijllnet. com 2 The implication was that the higher variation among online courses compared with face-to-face courses might be why some studies have found that online courses are less effective than their face-to-face counterparts (Logan, Augustyniak, & Rees, 2002; Urtel, 2008; Winnie, 2001). Therefore, more research is needed to determine the interchangeability of online courses and face-to-face courses. Technological advances will likely continue to drive increases in online educational offerings, including online teacher preparation programs. Preservice teachers need to develop skills that will help them to be more successful in their future classrooms, which means that significant attention needs to be given to preservice teachers’ ability to learn and teach via online platforms. However, few studies have examined the effects of online vs. face-to-face instructional models on preservice teachers’ knowledge base. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the achievement of two distinct groups of university students who were enrolled in the same literacy methods course within a teacher preparation program: one group that took the course face-to-face on campus, and a second group that took the course entirely online. This study contributes to the research on the efficacy of online versus face-to-face learning.