The Effectiveness of Mathematics Education via Distance Learning versus Traditional Learning

The Effectiveness of Mathematics Education via Distance Learning versus Traditional Learning
in Houston County High Schools
Tyson L. McDaniel
Troy University

A Proposal Presented to the Graduate Faculty of Troy University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for EDU 6691








Chapter I
Introduction
Statement of the Problem
In Houston County, Alabama, there are two separate school districts: Dothan City Schools and Houston County schools. The schools have too few options to accommodate the various needs of a diverse student body. While the Dothan City School system has the Dothan Technology Center to provide a learning laboratory for high school students to learn a trade, such as masonry and nursing, there is simply not enough of selection for students taking traditional courses. High school enrollments in the Houston County area are not such that would warrant taking on a greater variety of courses in the curriculum. An option available to school systems in Alabama is to provide distance learning course via the web or interactive videoconferencing through Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide (ACCESS) program. This option allows schools to offer many more courses ranging from the usual Algebra, Chemistry, and History, to Genetics, Web Design, and Mandarin Chinese; and it allows smaller schools access to college preparatory curriculum. It provides students wishing to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses that otherwise would have been unavailable to them.
While the programs offered to Houston County students certainly impacts the course selection available to schools, success and achievement is not inherent to ACCESS students. The ACCESS program relies on quality teaching, high student interaction, and responsibility for coursework. To accurately determine whether these courses are truly helping students gain a better understanding of the state-required curriculum, the overall effectiveness of the Distance Learning medium should be quantitatively compared to traditional, in-class methods of instruction.
Limitations of the Study
The study will be limited to Cottonwood High School and Dothan High School. Cottonwood High School is part of the Houston County School System and its total student body of over 6,000. The following was taken from the Houston County School System’s website (2009):
Houston County Schools serve approximately 6250 students in southeastern Alabama. The system consists of two K-12 schools, one K-5 school, two K-6 schools, one 6-8 school, two 7-12 schools, one 9-12 school, a Career and Technical Center that serves all 9-12 students, and one Alternative School. Houston County School system is a separate system from Dothan City School system (Dothan is the largest city in Houston County).
Dothan High School currently has 1,245 students according to the Dothan City Schools’ website (2009).
Students participating in the ACCESS program will be taking classes administered via an online learning system and/or via interactive videoconferencing.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of the study is to examine the effectiveness of Distance Learning via ACCESS as compared to the traditional math instruction by analysis of mathematics scores on the SAT-10 test.
Significance of the Study
The study will investigate the effectiveness of Distance Learning in secondary education. The researcher will determine if the ACCESS program will be an effective teaching tool for Alabama teachers. The ability to bring many programs to students whom would have not had access to otherwise is potentially a watershed moment in the Alabama educational system. Alabama achievement scores are annually ranked near the bottom of the nation in composite scoring. The significance of this study is apparent in that distance learning programs can effectively broaden Alabama student choices of course material, but it is only warranted if the programs can prove to be a positive impact on the state’s scores on national testing standards.
Definition of Terms
Advanced Placement, or AP, classes are classes that allow high school students to take coursework that is at a collegiate level and earn college credit by scoring well on a standardized examination.
Distance learning is accredited coursework that is delivered in a non-traditional method, such as online learning systems, videoconferencing, and even in older forms of correspondence.
An online learning system is vendor-specific course management software that schools or school systems license from the vendor. These online programs host individual courses and allow instructors to create a digital classroom and, by following best practices, create a virtual classroom that encourages learning and collaboration among the students.
The SAT-10, or Stanford Achievement Test, Tenth Edition, is a multiple-choice standardized test that is used by educators to determine the effectiveness of their curriculum.
Hypothesis
This study will find if students gain a greater understanding of the mathematics material covered in Algebra and Calculus and, therefore, result in an increase in SAT-10 mathematics scores through either the use of ACCESS math instruction or traditional math instruction. It is the expectation of the researcher that math scores will decrease in schools that use ACCESS math instruction.













Chapter II
Review of Literature
There are many publications that have focused on Distance Learning, but there are very limited resources available to the researcher regarding the effects of distance education of mathematics at the high school level. This literature review will provide support for the thesis by introducing the reader to research done that focuses on learning strategies, the disadvantages of types of distance learning used in Alabama, and the comparison of distance learning versus traditional learning.
Learning Online
Reviewed literature has shown several differing stances on theories, methods, and best practices of online instruction, but the one common thread that ties them all together is the learning characteristics of the student. This most basic element of a student is his or her ability to learn. This transcends the physical and the virtual and gets right to the heart of the classroom. Learning in a virtual environment presents new challenges and opportunities to educators and students alike. Offir, et al (2007) of Bar-Ilan University, Israel assert that a student’s ability to learn is affected by several variables that include “(1) learner-related variables such as the student’s level of academic ability, individual cognitive style, motivation and personality factors; and (2) context variables related to the medium in which the instructional process takes place.” These factors present themselves in both the traditional physical classroom environment as well as the distance learning classroom, but when the virtual medium of instruction is applied rather than physical, individual students may or may not be able to adapt. According to the their website (2006), the ACCESS program provides the distance learning environment to Alabama public schools through both online and interactive video conferencing media or a combination of the two. This divides the conditions of the virtual classroom into totally separate methods and must this must be heavily considered by administration.
Disadvantages of Asynchronous Learning
Online courses delivered through ACCESS online are asynchronous, meaning the student is not engaged by the instructor in “real time.” Instructors will post course requisites to an online learning system which the student will access and complete his or her assigned task before a pre-assigned due date. The apparent disadvantage of asynchronous online learning is the lack of social presence that is typically associated with traditional classrooms. Reio and Crim (2006) of the University of Louisville describe learning as a “social and human activity and not purely a technological process” and that the “changes in instructional method and medium are altering the roles of instructor and learner in online learning.” Reio and Crim (2006) also address the need for research of the perception of social presence in asynchronous online learning environments by referring to another source that explains that such environments are often more “group-oriented” rather than “instructor-led”. While the schools provide facilitators and proctors to be in the labs with the students, the challenge that this environment presents to students is that of at least keeping pace with traditional-classroom students with respect to a nationally standardized examination such as the SAT-10.
Synchronous Delivery Systems
The other method of course delivery through ACCESS is Interactive Video Conferencing (IVC). This method is synchronous in nature: students are interacting with the instructor in “real-time” through video-conferencing equipment. This method provides instructors a way to actively engage their students, regardless of location, and better simulate the physical classroom environment. Although students are actively engaged by an instructor and/or a facilitator, the results of IVC classes do not always mirror those of students enrolled in comparable courses taught in the traditional manner. Offir, et al (2007) conducted research regarding student responses to IVC instruction. The study reported that 47% of interviewed students were dissatisfied with the absence of personal contact with their instructor and 18% indicated increased tension due to the inherent student-instructor disconnect of the IVC method. While IVC provides a real-time interaction with the instructor, a significant portion of the population will not get the same quality of learning as they might in a traditional classroom. Stein, et al (2005) of The Ohio State University concluded from their research that “learner-instructor dialogue and learner-learner interaction initiated by the students themselves contributed significantly with perceived knowledge gained” and that “satisfaction with learner-initiated interaction was strongly correlated with satisfaction with course structure.”
Impediments to distance learning delivery Systems
Students and instructors alike are presented with some nuances of distance learning that may impede student achievement and instructor development. Doug Valentine (2002) of the University of Oklahoma cites a “national survey of higher education faculty that there was moderately positive attitude about distance learning, but moderately negative attitudes about their own use of it.” He goes on to refer to reasons such as: worries about putting course materials into cyberspace and losing control of them, feeling of a lack of administrative support, and distance learning efforts often going unnoticed in the tenure/promotion process. These concerns reflect three basic aspects of instruction as a profession: academic integrity, support of employer, and opportunity for advancement. Since instructors are concerned with these pillars of the profession, then how are administrators expected to recruit highly qualified instructors to the distance learning arena?
Distance Learning compared to Traditional Learning
Students in the public school system in the state of Alabama are expected to meet certain criteria in order to progress in their education. Teachers and administrators challenge students to excel in their studies out of concern of the betterment of the student’s education. When the treatment of distance learning is applied to high school students, the inherent advantages and disadvantages affect each student in a unique way when compared to those students enrolled in a comparable course taught traditionally. A three-year study by Retta Sweat-Guy and Craig Wishart of Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, North Carolina (2008) found that students enrolled in management courses, taught traditionally, consistently had more students earning acceptable grades than those in the same courses taught online. However, the study also reveals a significant correlation between final grade and instructional strategies.
 

Chapter III

Methodology
This research study will quantify the effectiveness of teaching mathematics to high school students via ACCESS distance learning. This research will compare the results of students who take Algebra I and AP Calculus AB to students who are taking the same courses in a traditional classroom environment. There will be six groups studied at each school: two groups that take Algebra I or AP Calculus in the traditional classroom, two groups that take Algebra I or AP Calculus in a web-based classroom, and two groups that take Algebra I or AP Calculus in an interactive videoconferencing classroom. The sample groups will be of similar demographics and they will be sampled from the same schools.
Research Questions
1. Have SAT-10 scores increased or decreased in student populations that have taken Algebra I via ACCESS and is there a significant difference in the scores?
2. Have SAT-10 scores increased or decreased in student populations that have taken Calculus via ACCESS and is there a significant difference in the scores?
3. Do demographics impact the effectiveness of ACCESS classes?
4. Does the academic level of the student determine success in the distance learning environment?

Population
Students sampled for this research will be taken from Cottonwood High School in Cottonwood, AL and Dothan High School in Dothan, AL. Students from each school will be sampled based on their enrollment in either Algebra I or AP Calculus AB and then based on the medium of instruction. This will account for six groups at each school: three control groups and three experimental groups. Each group will comprise of equal number of males and females. The group populations will then be determined by selecting students based on
Instrumentation
This research will focus on student achievement in the SAT-10 standardized test. This will provide a controlled environment in which to accurately compare instructional medium with reference to student achievement.
Data Analysis
The SAT 10 scores will be analyzed using a t-test to find if there are significant differences between the scores and the different types of information delivery. Significant differences will be confirmed if p > .05. Therefore the alternative hypothesis will be accepted. If p > .05 then the null set will be accepted.
Data Collection
SAT-10 scores for the students in the research population will be obtained from the Alabama State Department of Education. Data analysis will be conducted using paired t- test in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) computer program.
Ethical Treatment
Individual students will not be affected by the research. The only demographic information needed from students are ages, race, and gender. Students’ names or any other identification will not be used by the researcher.




References
Baruch Offir, R. B. (2007). Introverts, Extroverts, and Achievement in a Distance Learning Environment. The American Journal of Distance Education , 3-19.
Learning, A. D. (2006). Retrieved March 24, 2009, from ACCESS: http://accessdl.state.al.us/index.php
Schools, D. C. (2009). Student Enrollment. Retrieved April 14, 2009, from Dothan City Schools: http://www.dothan.k12.al.us/?DivisionID=%272953%27&ToggleSideNav=
Schools, H. C. (2009). Retrieved March 2, 2009, from Houston County Schools: http://hcboe.us/HCBOE/CentOff/index.html
Stein, D. S., Wanstreet, C. E., Calvin, J., Overtoom, C., & Wheaton, a. J. (2005). Bridging the Transactional Distance Gap in Online Learning Environments. The American Journal of Distance Education , 105-118.
Thomas Reio, J., & Crim, S. J. (2006, February 22-26). The Emergence of Social Presence as an Overlooked Factor in Asynchronous Online Learning. Paper presented at the Academy of Human Resource Development International Conference (AHRD) . Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Valentine, D. (2002). Distance Learning: Promises, Problems, and Possibilities. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration .
Wishart, R. S.-G. (2008). Proceedings of all InSITE Conferences. Retrieved April 8, 2009, from Informing Science Institute: http://proceedings.informingscience.org/InSITE2008/IISITv5p149-163Sweat430.pdf