Date
3-21-2023
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Laura J. Mansfield
Keywords
student engagement, student achievement, blended synchronous, asynchronous online, transactional distance theory, student involvement theory, non-traditional students, MANOVA, Distance Education Learning Environment Survey, Online-Self Regulated Learning Questionnaire, Quantitative
Disciplines
Education
Recommended Citation
Shellabarger, Heather Marie, "A Quantitative Study Comparing Student Engagement and Student Achievement for Non-Traditional Graduate Students in Blended Synchronous or Asynchronous Online Learning" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4213.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4213
Abstract
Enrollment in online learning has continued to grow; different types of learning environments are being utilized because of the flexibility they provide. Higher education instructors must understand how to effectively develop asynchronous and blended synchronous environments to maximize student engagement and achievement. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to investigate the possible cause-and-effect relationship between the learning environment and student engagement and achievement at a free-standing seminary. A convenience sample of 144 non-traditional seminary students between the ages of 35-and 70 years attending classes in two different learning modalities, blended synchronous and asynchronous online were utilized in this study. Participants completed Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES) and the Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ) to measure student engagement and student achievement. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to investigate possible cause-and-effect relationship between the learning environment, student engagement, and student achievement. The results of the MANOVA were statistically significant for student achievement based on learning environment. There were no statistically significant differences between the type of learning environment and student engagement. Further research is recommended to determine if these results can be generalized to different types of institutions, both public and private, for traditional students.
