Abstract
THE FIRST OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH was to compare the demographic and academic profiles of introductory sociology students who completed Web-based courses (n=62) to those who completed traditional lecture-based courses (n=77). The second objective was to determine the extent to which demographic variables (age, gender, and race), academic variables (high school grade point average, and verbal and quantitative Scholastic Assessment Test scores) differentially predicted exam performance in the two learning environments. The demographic and academic profiles of students in the two learning environments were similar, with the exception of racial composition. The Web-based courses had a significantly lower percentage of racial minorities than the lecture-based courses. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that race was a significant predictor of exam performance in the Web-based courses but not in the lecture-based courses. The implications of the findings and the need for further investigation regarding differential racial enrollment rates and academic success in Web-based courses are discussed
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Sara Brallier earned her PhD in sociology from the University of Buffalo. She is an Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at Coastal Carolina University where she teaches introductory sociology, sociology of aging, sociology of death and dying, and research methods for the social sciences. Her current research focuses on the social support networks of childless elderly persons and student outcomes in distance learning courses as compared to traditional lecture-based courses.
Linda Palm received a PhD in experimental psychology from the University of South Florida. She teaches courses in statistics, research methods, child and adolescent psychology, history and systems of psychology, and principles of learning. Dr. Palm has worked in program evaluation in the fields of academic underachievement and child and adolescent mental health. Her research interests include the impact of instructional technologies on academic performance and psychosocial predictors of student success.
Robin Gilbert graduated from Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY) with a combined PhD in Clinical and School Psychology. She worked for approximately 10 years as a school psychologist in New York, New Jersey, and Arizona. In this role, she focused on special education and minority students, particularly the American Indian and African-American cultures, as well as the development and implementation of crisis plans and violence reduction programs. Dr. Gilbert's research interests and mentoring of doctoral dissertations include the areas of nontraditional education, leadership, student retention, mentoring as part of undergraduate curricula, and human sexuality.
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Brallier, S.A., Palm, L.J. & Gilbert, R.M. Predictors of exam performance in Web and lecture courses. J. Comput. High. Educ. 18, 82–98 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03033414
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03033414