University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Education Science College of Education 2016 A Mixed Methods Approach To Investigating Cognitive Load And Cognitive Presence In An Online And Face-To-Face College Algebra Course Jodi J. Mills University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2016.069 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Mills, Jodi J., "A Mixed Methods Approach To Investigating Cognitive Load And Cognitive Presence In An Online And Face-To-Face College Algebra Course" (2016). Theses and Dissertations--Education Science. 8. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edsc_etds/8 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Education at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Education Science by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. 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Mills, Student Dr. Jennifer Wilhelm, Major Professor Dr. Robert Shapiro, Director of Graduate Studies A MIXED METHODS APPROACH TO INVESTIGATING COGNITIVE LOAD AND COGNITIVE PRESENCE IN AN ONLINE AND FACE-TO-FACE COLLEGE ALGEBRA COURSE ______________________________________ DISSERTATION ______________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky By Jodi Jean Mills Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Jennifer Wilhelm, Professor of Education Lexington, Kentucky 2016 Copyright @ Jodi Jean Mills 2016 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION A MIXED METHODS APPROACH TO INVESTIGATING COGNITIVE LOAD AND COGNITIVE PRESENCE IN AN ONLINE AND FACE-TO-FACE COLLEGE ALGEBRA COURSE Most research on Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988) has uncovered many instructional design considerations for learning complex tasks. Additionally, the Community of Inquiry (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) framework describes many of the learning experiences in online education. A gap existed in the literature for investigating cognitive load over the duration of a college algebra course and for investigating the relationship between cognitive load and cognitive presence. This research study has addressed this gap by investigating cognitive load and cognitive presence in an online and face-to-face college algebra course. The results of this study revealed that face-to-face students earned statistically significant higher final course grades and homework grades than the online students. The face-to-face math course was slightly more efficient because it produced learners who exerted similar cognitive load as learners in the online course but the learners in the face- to-face earned higher performance score. Online discussion prompts that ask student to apply their solution or defend their solution engaged students in cognitive presence differently. When students were prompted to apply their solution to a real world scenario, most students reached resolution in their initial posts, but they were often not cognitively present in their follow- up posts. When students were prompted to provide a defense of their solution, most of the posts demonstrated cognitive presence, but not as many individual students reached resolution. Additionally, students progressed through the stages of cognitive presence when an instructor asked them a specific question about their math problem or real life scenario in a timely manner. When instructors post questions to their students that directly ask for an application of their hypothesis or an explanation how they arrived at their hypothesis, students can reach the highest stage of cognitive presence. When instructors post messages that reach the highest stage of cognitive presence, students do not post messages that reach the highest stage of cognitive presence. Lastly, this study did not find a strong linear relationship between cognitive presence and cognitive load. KEYWORDS: Cognitive Load, Cognitive Presence, Mixed Methods, Community of Inquiry Jodi Jean Mills______________________ February 29, 2016____________________ Date A MIXED METHODS APPROACH TO INVESTIGATING COGNITIVE LOAD AND COGNITIVE PRESENCE IN AN ONLINE AND FACE-TO-FACE COLLEGE ALGEBRA COURSE By Jodi Jean Mills Dr. Jennifer Wilhelm_________________ Director of Dissertation Dr. Robert Shapiro___________________ Director of Graduate Studies February 29, 2016____________________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my committee chair, Dr. Jennifer Wilhelm, for her support and encouragement throughout my time in the STEM Ed program. I am also very grateful to my dissertation committee, Dr. Molly H. Fisher, Dr. Rebecca McNall Krall, Dr. Beth L. Goldstein, and Dr. Hongwei Yang, for their inspirational support and guidance. On a personal note, I am thankful to God, for His grace and faithfulness throughout this journey. I also want to express my love and gratitude to my parents, Dr. Ivor and Ruth Newsham. You instilled in me a love of learning and a belief that God created me for His purpose. Dad, your support and encouragement were never ending. Mom, your love and prayers were always right on time. Additionally, I want to share my deepest love and appreciation to my husband, David Mills, and my children, Karly, Davis, and Brady. Dave, your love and patience kept me from losing sight of what’s important. Your support and encouragement enabled me to keep moving to the finish line. I love you so much. Kids, thank you for being patient with me and loving me during this journey. I love you all. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Online Education .................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of Online Education ...................................................................... 3 Advantages of Online Education ................................................................ 3 Disadvantages of Online Education ............................................................ 5 Cognition..................................................................................................... 6 Background, Context, and Theoretical Framework ................................................ 7 Cognitive Theory ........................................................................................ 8 Constructivist Theory.................................................................................. 8 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................... 10 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 11 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 11 Definition of Terms............................................................................................... 12 Relevance of the Study ......................................................................................... 12 Assumptions of the Study ..................................................................................... 13 Organization of the Remainder of the Study ........................................................ 13 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................15 Cognitive Load Theory ........................................................................................