ABSTRACT Title of Document: ONLINE AND TRADITIONAL LECTURES: EVALUATING EFFECTS OF SOCIAL PRESENCE AND LEARNER CONTROL Maureen Bowers, Neal Freyman, Elizabeth McLellan, Brian Paxton, Jeremy Spiegel, Gemstone Citation, 2013 Thesis Directed by: Mentor: Dr. Michael Zachariah Gemstone Program University of Maryland Online courses are rapidly replacing traditional, face-to-face lectures in American universities (Allen & Seaman, 2011). As technology improves, this trend will likely continue and accelerate. Researchers must evaluate the impact of online courses compared to their traditional counterparts. This two-part study quantifies the effect of two variables – social presence and learner control – on students’ recall, application and perceived learning levels in different lecture formats. Students in introductory courses at a four-year, public, American university were randomly assigned into three groups to view distinct lecture formats, one in a traditional classroom and two via the Internet. Upon viewing the single lecture, the students were asked to fill out a test and survey to quantify teacher immediacy, recall and application, and perceived learning levels across lecture formats. The study found that different levels of social presence and learner control affected students’ perceived learning levels but did not impact recall or application. ONLINE AND TRADITIONAL LECTURES: EVALUATING EFFECTS OF SOCIAL PRESENCE AND LEARNER CONTROL by Maureen Bowers, Neal Freyman, Elizabeth McLellan, Brian Paxton, Jeremy Spiegel 2013 Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Gemstone program of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Gemstone Citation 2013 Advisory Committee: Professor Michael Zachariah, Mentor Professor Marcio Alves de Oliveira Dr. Marybeth Drechsler Sharp Professor Doug Oard Ms. Laura Seuschek, Copyright Gemstone Team ONLINE Maureen Bowers, Neal Freyman, Elizabeth McLellan, Brian Paxton, Jeremy Spiegel 2013 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the Gemstone staff both old and new. Dr. Wallace and Dr. Thomas were indispensable to our team while beginning our project. They encouraged us while we were experiencing difficulties and provided important checkpoints for our team to keep us on track. Dr. Coale and Dr. Skendall were valuable resources while we concluded our study. They both provided support and direction during our final data collection and thesis preparation. Ultimately, our project would not have been possible without the cooperation and generosity of Drs. Schwab, Clement, Dixon, and Dooley. We thank them for opening their classrooms to us and allowing us to conduct our experiment with their students. Also, we would like to thank our librarian, Dr. David Wilt for helping us with our literature review. Finally, we would like to thank our mentor, Dr. Zachariah. His wisdom and guidance always kept us on a successful path in the program. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1 Background and Relevance..................................................................................... 1 Research Problem ................................................................................................... 4 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 11 Hypotheses ............................................................................................................ 12 Significance........................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................... 14 History of Distance Learning ................................................................................ 14 Web-based Distance Learning .............................................................................. 19 Synchronous versus Asynchronous learning ........................................................ 19 Factors in choosing an Online Education ............................................................. 21 Variables of Interest .............................................................................................. 22 Social Presence. ........................................................................................ 23 Learner Control. ........................................................................................ 26 Cognitive Learning. .................................................................................. 31 Perceived Learning. .................................................................................. 34 Teacher Immediacy. .................................................................................. 36 Methodological Approaches to Distance Learning Research ............................... 38 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 42 Sample Selection and Recruitment ....................................................................... 42 Experimental Design ............................................................................................. 44 Operationalization of Independent Variables ....................................................... 44 Development of Dependent Measures .................................................................. 45 Procedures ............................................................................................................. 47 Pilot Study. ................................................................................................ 47 Experiments .......................................................................................................... 49 ECON 200. ................................................................................................ 49 iii CCJS105. .................................................................................................. 50 CHEM135. ................................................................................................ 51 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 52 Limitations ............................................................................................................ 55 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS ......................................................................................... 58 ECON200 Fall 2011 - (Research Questions 1 & 2) .............................................. 58 CCJS105 Spring 2012 - (Research Questions 3 & 4) ........................................... 61 CHEM135 Fall 2012 - (Research Questions 1 & 2, Adjusted) ............................. 65 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION ..................................................................................... 69 Discussion of Variables ........................................................................................ 69 Teacher Immediacy and Social Presence. ................................................. 69 Teacher Immediacy and Learner Control. ................................................ 69 Cognitive Learning and Social Presence. ................................................. 70 Cognitive Learning and Learner Control. ................................................. 70 Perceived Learning and Social Presence. ................................................. 71 Perceived Learning and Learner Control. ................................................. 72 The Future and Future Study of Online Education ............................................... 73 Team ONLINE’s Recommendations for Implementation .................................... 78 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 81 APPENDIX A: SUPPLEMENTAL ANALYSIS ............................................................. 83 APPENDIX B: TESTS USED IN EACH STUDY .......................................................... 86 APPENDIX C: SURVEYS USED IN EACH STUDY .................................................... 95 APPENDIX D: VISUAL EXAMPLES OF ONLINE VIDEO LECTURES ................. 100 APPENDIX E: GLOSSARY .......................................................................................... 104 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 105 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Sample Questions from Test Used in Each Experiment ..................................... 45 Table 2: Sample Questions from Surveys Used in Each Experiment ............................... 46 Table 3: Comparison of Experimental Procedures ........................................................... 52 Table 4: ANOVA Results for Cognitive Learning in ECON200 ..................................... 59 Table 5: ANOVA Results for Perceived Learning in ECON200 ..................................... 60 Table 6: ANOVA Results for Verbal Teacher Immediacy in ECON200 ......................... 61 Table 7: ANOVA Results for Cognitive Learning in CCJS105 ....................................... 63 Table 8: ANOVA Results for Perceived Learning in CCJS105 ......................................