Date

11-2019

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Carol Gillespie

Keywords

Mathematics, Online, Introductory, Perception, Higher, Education

Disciplines

Education | Higher Education | Mathematics | Science and Mathematics Education

Abstract

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the essence of student perception of learning introductory mathematics courses in an online environment at the college level. The central research question was, “What are the lived experiences of students who have completed introductory college mathematics courses in the online learning environment?” The phenomenon described was that of the beliefs and attitudes of the students who participated in introductory mathematics courses on the college level. The ideas explored were if students believe they learn effectively in this environment and how they believe they can best learn. Student beliefs and attitudes about learning online mathematics were defined as student perception. Thus, the central research question addressed the lived experiences of students who have completed introductory college mathematics courses in the online learning environment. The theory guiding this study was Bandura’s social learning theory. The specific part of this theory as it related to the study is that of self-efficacy. Data was obtained through interviews, questionnaires, and focus group discussions. Eleven students who had completed an introductory mathematics course in a college online environment were selected for this study using criterion sampling. Data was coded and emerging themes were identified. The findings of this study show that students who participate in learning introductory mathematics in the online environment in higher education desire the flexibility and convenience of the online schedule but want the connectedness to instructors offered in the traditional setting. The goal of this study was to provide information to college administrators and instructors in order to improve the teaching of introductory college mathematics courses in the online environment.

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