Online or Face to Face? The Modality of a Learning Strategies Course and Impacts on Grades, GPA, Retention and Persistence for Developmental Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v30i1.4287Keywords:
correlational research, developmental education, learning strategies, online learning, academic outcomes, pandemicAbstract
As some research indicates that developmental students are more at risk in online learning (Jaggers & Xu, 2010; Xu & Jaggers, 2013), it is important to provide additional supports for students enrolled online. One of the ways to support developmental students is in providing learning strategies or college success coursework. At the institution of study, a one-credit hour learning strategies course is available to students online and in person and is provided at no cost to developmental students transitioning to credit-bearing coursework. Therefore, a concern is whether the students in the online course are disadvantaged by the modality, particularly during the pandemic when choice was limited. This research indicates that students who take the learning strategies course face-to-face do have better grades overall, but do not have a significantly higher GPA or persistence and retention rate. Outcomes are essentially the same for students before and during the pandemic. Overall, outcomes suggest that students are not materially harmed by taking the learning strategies course online with the caveat that grades may be higher in face-to-face coursework.
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