LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review Post Secondary Student Satisfaction of Blended Courses

Heather J. Wik University of British Columbia

ETEC 500 Section 65D Dr. Cliff Falk March 31, 2011

LITERATURE REVIEW Table of Contents

Introduction Article Critiques Student Satisfaction with Online Courses Student Satisfaction with Blended Courses Meeting Special Needs in Online Courses Synthesis Conclusion Bibliography

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LITERATURE REVIEW Post Secondary Student Satisfaction of Blended Courses Post secondary education is constantly evolving to meet the needs of its diverse student base. Distance and online learning opportunities have become common alternatives to the traditional face-to-face course formats offered in colleges and universities across the country, and recently there has been an increasing trend towards offering courses in a blended format. How do students feel about this new format? The purpose of this literature review is to investigate student satisfaction levels with blended courses at the post secondary level, as well as to look at how these courses accommodate the needs of their student base. I have a personal connection to this topic, as I teach at a small rural college in the southeast Kootenays in British Columbia, Canada and am currently teaching the first course in our department to be offered in a blended format. The success of this class will greatly impact the decision to use this format in future courses. In addition to my experience and student academic achievement, levels of student satisfaction are important factors in assessing the success of the blended format for course delivery. When looking at the topic of blended courses, there are several terms that need to

be defined. For this paper, online courses are defined as courses taken fully online with no face-to-face component. Blended or hybrid courses are courses that have both an online and a face-to-face component. Accommodations refer to adjustments made to the delivery, access, or learning activities to help students learn, despite any physical or cognitive limitations they might have. I selected the articles for this review from EBSCOhost (ERIC and Academic Search Primer) and the EdITLibDigital Library. All studies were completed during the last five

LITERATURE REVIEW years. In this paper, I will look at studies completed on student satisfaction of online and

blended courses, as well as studies completed more specifically on how these formats meet the needs of learners with special needs. Next, I will provide a synthesis of the ideas presented in the studies, drawing out several issues and gaps in the literature. Finally, I will conclude by making suggestions for further research needed. Student Satisfaction with Online Courses Blended courses involve students spending some time in a traditional face-to-face classroom and some time online. Research on student satisfaction with this type of format is only emerging. However, looking at student attitudes towards online learning provides some insight into this portion of the blended course format. In Online Course Delivery: An Empirical Investigation of Factors Affecting Student Satisfaction, Beqiri, Chase, and Bishka (2009) investigate factors that potentially impact students satisfaction with online learning. Their quantitative study surveyed 240 undergraduate and graduate students using a web-based questionnaire. Participants were selected from a target population of 962 business students attending a private university in Spokane, Washington. Results indicated that students who were male, married, resided more than one mile away from campus, and were taking graduate level courses were most likely to be satisfied with the online delivery method. Student satisfaction was also linked with factors such as the appropriateness of the course and how familiar students were with online learning. Although not the focus of their study, Beqiri et al. performed a pairedsample t test to investigate if student satisfaction was similar in both the online and the very limited number of blended courses offered. The score of mean satisfaction with online courses was lower than those of blended.

LITERATURE REVIEW

There are two issues that may have impacted the reliability of this study. First, the study included students from only one program at a single institution, which limits generalizability. Second, results were based on a single survey method. Student Satisfaction With Blended Courses The level of student satisfaction with blended courses is dependent on many factors. In Blended Learning Environments: Student Satisfaction and Institutional Responses at a Small College in the US Banerjee (2010) concluded that course discipline, the required level of directed learning and problem solving, and gender impacted levels of satisfaction, and that blended learning was, for the most part, a positive trend. Banerjee surveyed 240 students from a private liberal arts and sciences institution. A second followup survey was completed by 58 of the original participant group asking them about their levels of satisfaction with blended methods in their courses. Forty-two percent of these students stated they preferred face-to-face teaching, but depending on the discipline, blended environments were preferable. However, flaws in methodology lessen the reliability of these conclusions. Sampling details, surveying process, and specifics about questions asked were omitted from the article. In Student Perceptions of Hybrid Courses: Measuring and Interpreting Quality, Jackson and Helms (2008) conducted on online Likert-type scale survey to investigate student perceptions on the quality of hybrid classes. Fifty-eight students from a small public college reported that the strengths of blended courses (increased flexibility and better use of time) were juxtaposed by the weakness (lack of faculty interaction and technology challenges). Jackson and Helms concluded that the blended course format is stuck in the middle of two disparate pedagogies or extremes (p. 11) and is the best and

LITERATURE REVIEW worst of both face-to-face and online methods. Again with this study, missing sampling information weakened the study, but the inclusion of open-ended question student responses provided some interesting insight into student perspectives on blended learning. In Comparing Three Modes of Instruction in a Graduate Social Work Program, York (2008) utilized assignment grades and a student satisfaction survey to compare a course taught by the same teacher in three different formats (traditional face-to-face, online, and hybrid). The results showed no significant difference among the groups in terms of course grades, content knowledge gain, or student satisfaction. This study had several strengths. First, it eliminated the instructor as a variable, pre- and post-tests were used, and student surveys used in conjunction with grades to gather data. Including sampling procedures would have strengthened reliability. In Student Course Evaluations in Traditional and Blended Courses: A Case Study Nowell (2010) investigated if the level of student satisfaction for students taking blended course was higher than those taking courses face-to-face. Cluster sampling

included seven classes of students taking an introductory management business course, two of which were blended and five that were face-to-face. Participants in the blended courses did not select the format, and were told about the format this during their first class. For this study, students completed a course evaluation questionnaire at the end of the semester that contained a mix of open and closed questions. Results indicated that overall, student satisfaction levels did not differ between face-to-face and blended courses. Two issues need to be considered when evaluating the reliability of this study. First, survey completion rate was significantly lower for face-to-face students (60% vs. 79%), and second, sampling procedures were not clearly stated.

LITERATURE REVIEW Meeting Special Needs in Online Courses With the widening use of ICT, an increasing number of students with various physical, cognitive, and mental disabilities are taking online and blended courses. Several studies have been completed surveying instructors on their experiences and knowledge about accommodating students with special needs in online classes. However, I could locate only one study that specifically surveyed attitudes and satisfaction of students with disabilities taking online courses, and none that looked at blended courses. Finding ways to accommodate the diverse needs of students is a challenge that Fichten, Ferraro, Asuncion, Chwojka, Barile, Nguyen, Klomp and Wolforth, (2009) address in Disabilities and e-Learning Problems and Solutions: An Exploratory Study.

Researchers used four methods to recruit participants from colleges and universities across Canada, and 223 students with disabilities completed an online questionnaire. Students indicated that they were enthusiastic about e-learning, but several barriers reduced satisfaction: 1) inaccessibility of websites and course management systems, 2) accessibility of audio and video materials, 3) inflexible time limits to complete assignments and tests, and 4) lack of needed adaptive technologies. This quantitative studys methodology was strong, and in addition to revealing many of the issues students with disabilities must face, it provided suggestions for further research studies. Synthesis As post secondary institutions expand to meet the growing needs of todays students, blended courses are emerging. The hope is that course designers take the best elements of both face-to-face and online formats, and utilize them to create a blended format that will benefit students. As this is a relatively new format, extensive research has

LITERATURE REVIEW not been done to assess student satisfaction. Most of the studies presented in this paper suggest that satisfaction with blended courses is comparable to that of face-to-face and online formats (Banarjee, 2010; Beqiri et al., 2009; Nowell, 2010; & York, 2008). Many components factor into student satisfaction. Having some interaction in a face-to-face format maintains the personal interaction many students like, and the online component allows for greater flexibility for the student (Jackson & Helms, 2008; Nowell, 2010; & York, 2008). Many students claim that blended courses increased their engagement in learning (Banarjee, 2010). While benefits of blended learning are numerous, student satisfaction rates drops when technology issues emerge (Jackson & Helms, 2008; Fichten et al., 2009) and when personalized learning needs cannot be accommodated (Fichten et al., 2009). When researching student satisfaction with blended courses, I was unable to find

any qualitative studies. All of the studies in this paper used a quantitative survey approach. Solely using self-reported data for a study leaves it vulnerable to response sets and biases (Gay, Mills, & Airasian, 2009). Studies by Banerjee, Jackson & Helms, and Nowell had weak sampling methods identified, and a lack of triangulation further decreased study validity in the studies completed by Beqiri et al., Banerjee, Fichten et al., and Nowell. While the overriding conclusions indicated similar satisfaction ratings between various course formats, stronger methodology would improve reliability.

LITERATURE REVIEW Conclusion

With more post secondary institutions looking for ways to address changing student needs and expectations, educators are providing new options for student learning platforms. Blended learning has emerged as a fusion of elements from both face-to-face and online learning formats. Generally, blended courses have been seen as a positive alternative to other online and face-to-face classes, with student satisfaction being comparable. As this is a relatively new approach, researchers acknowledge the need for further research into levels of student satisfaction and achievement with blended courses. I see three opportunities for research in this area that would have a direct impact on my work as a college instructor. The first area is looking at the provision of accommodations for students with special needs in a blended learning environment. While some research has been completed on addressing such needs in an online format, I could not find any studies addressing them in a blended format. Second, future research directed at assessing student achievement and satisfaction in blended courses in a vocational program would be beneficial. All of the post secondary based studies I located sampled students taking university studies based programs. The student base for vocational college programs has many different characteristics, and looking at these provides opportunities for further research. Finally, I would like to see a qualitative study completed on student satisfaction of blended courses. Each study I located used a quantitative approach. Particularly with my work teaching in a vocational program at a small rural college, I see great value in gaining a better understanding of the social setting in which blended learning takes place. Understanding student satisfaction within the context of a smaller institutional setting would be aided by establishing personal relationships with participants. This would

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provide an opportunity to study contextual factors in the participants natural setting (Gay et al., 2009).

LITERATURE REVIEW Bibliography Banerjee, G. (2010). Blended learning environments: Student satisfaction and institutional responses at a small college in the US. In Z. Abas et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Global Learn Asia Pacific 2010, pp. 3380-3386. Beqiri, M., Chase, N., & Bishka, A. (2009). Online course delivery: An empirical investigation of factors affecting student satisfaction. Journal of Education for Business, 85(2), 95-100. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Fichten, C., Ferraro, V, Asuncion, J, Chwojka,C. Barile, M, Nguyen, M. Klomp, R., & Wolforth, J. (2009). Disabilities and e-learning problems and solutions: An

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exploratory study. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 12 (4), 241-256. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Gay, L.R., Mills, G.E., & Airasian, P. (2009). Education research: Competencies for analysis and applications. Columbus, Ohio: Pearson. Jackson, M. & Helms, M. (2008). Student perceptions of hybrid courses: Measuring and interpreting quality. Journal of Education for Business, 84(1), 7-12. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Nowell, G. (2010). Student course evaluations in traditional and blended courses: A caste stuy. 2010 IABR & ITLC Conference Proceedings. Retrieved from EdITLibDigital Library. York, R. (2008). Comparing three modes of instruction in a graduate social work program. Journal of Social Work Education, 44(2), 157-172. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.