Award Date
1-1-1998
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Curriculum and Instruction
First Committee Member
Randall Boone
Number of Pages
200
Abstract
For more than a century, the most predominant form of instruction in higher education has been classroom-based and instructor-led. Today, this traditional approach to learning is being challenged by new technologies such as multimedia, telecommunications, and the Internet. It has been suggested that the effectiveness of traditional pedagogical methods in alternative learning environments may be resolved through the creation of a new domain for educational interaction referred to as online education (Harasim, 1990); There has been much research focused on the advantages of teaching university courses online (Davis, Odell, Abbitt, Amos, 1999; Hiltz, 1994; Harasim, 1990). However, there is little research that has focused on the effectiveness of traditional instructional methods when used in an online learning environment. This study examined the effectiveness of traditional classroom teaching methods used in an online learning environment; Academic outcomes of preservice education students who received online instruction were compared with preservice education students who received traditional teacher-based instruction. In this quasi-experimental, mixed model study, all students participated in both traditional (control) and online (experimental) interventions. Three different traditional methods of instructional delivery were compared: (a) lecture, (b) guided instruction, and (c) collaborative discussion. Interventions were created in which the intact traditional instruction was delivered through an online learning environment created specifically for this study; The results of this study show that overall, there were no significant differences between experimental and control groups. That is, student performance was the same whether instruction was delivered in a traditional classroom or through an online learning environment. Traditional instructional methods, such as those used in this study, produce similar academic outcomes when delivered through online learning environments.
Keywords
Distance Education; Effectiveness; Environment; Instructional; Learning; Learning Environment; Methods; Online; Traditional Instructional Methods
Controlled Subject
Educational technology; Education, Higher; Educational psychology
File Format
File Size
4085.76 KB
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Permissions
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Repository Citation
Smith, Steven Bradford, "The effectiveness of traditional instructional methods in an online learning environment" (1998). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 3072.
http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/e25r-been
Rights
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