Engagement and Performance for Female and Male Students in an Online Course
Findings
The findings of this study were reported in four areas: initial engagement, continuous engagement, completion of course, and performance in course.
Initial Engagement
Overall, students' initial engagement in the course varied widely (Min=4 days to engage; Max=113 days to engage). Students, on average, initially engaged in the course approximately 43 days (SD=39.5) after the beginning of the course. The first quartile of the students began submitting materials online within 8 days of the start of the course (see Figure 1.) The second quartile of students began submitting materials online between 12 and 21 days from the start of the course. The third quartile of students began submitting materials online between 25 and 83 days from the start of the course. The fourth quartile of students began submitting materials online between 83 and 113 days from the start of the course.
Figure 1. Initial engagement of students by quartile.
On average, female students (Mean=39 days to engage) tended to engage in the asynchronously delivered course more than six days sooner than male students (Mean=45 days to engage).
Continuous Engagement
Overall students' continuous engagement in the course varied widely (Min=1 day engaged; Max=110 days engaged). Students, on average, engaged in the course approximately 58 days (SD=32.2) after initial engagement. The first quartile of the students engaged in the course for 79 to 110 days (see Figure 2.) The second quartile of students engaged in the course for 69 and 77 days. The third quartile engaged in the course between 30 and 67 days. The fourth quartile engaged in the course between 1 and 27 days. On average, female students (Mean=55 days engaged) tended to engage in the asynchronously delivered course over 5 days less than male students (Mean=60 days engaged).
Figure 2. Continuous engagement of students by quartile.
Based upon the qualitative findings, three patterns emerged in terms of continuous engagement: (1) start early and finish early; (2) start early and finish late; and (3) start late and finish late. Starting early is defined as submitting the first assignment within the first month of the course. Starting late is defined as submitting the first assignment in April of the spring semester. Finishing early is defined as submitting the last assignment by the first week in April. Finishing late is defined as submitting the last assignment by the last class day, which was May 7, 2002.
The researchers were interested in looking at gender and location in terms of engagement in an asynchronous course. Of the total students enrolled in the course, there were 11 males at a distance, 5 males on campus, 6 females at a distance, and 2 females on campus. Percentages were calculated to provide a snapshot of the patterns of engagement. The percentages are based upon the number in each category divided by the total number of students who fit into that category. Although the number of respondents is small, in the qualitative paradigm the researchers seek a deeper understanding of phenomena in lieu of an attempt at generalization. These patterns of engagement pose interesting findings in need of further investigation.
More females started early and finished early (63% compared with 19%). All of the females on campus started early and finished early. In the category of starting early and finishing late, it is interesting that there were no females, although 44% of males fell into this category. In terms of percentages, there were more males on campus in this category (60%) than at a distance (36%). None of the on campus students (male or female) fell into the category of starting late and finishing late. The percentage of distance students falling into this category was essentially the same regardless of gender (54% male and 50% female).
After establishing these three categories of continuous engagement, students were chosen by purposive sampling and interviewed to help the researchers understand more thoroughly why these students engaged as they did. Based upon these student interviews, five themes emerged: content relevancy, interaction/feedback, initial engagement, continuous engagement, and course completion (see Table 1.)
| Start Early, Finish Early |
Start Early, Finish Late |
Start Late, Finish Late |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Content Relevancy | |||
| Usefulness & Applicability | FC5, FD6, MD8 | MD1, MC2, MC3 | FD4, FD7, MD9 |
| Enhanced Self-Directedness | FC5, MD8 | MD1, MC2, MC3 | None |
| Peaked Interest in Subject | None | MC2, MC3 | None |
| Interaction/Feedback | |||
| Not Necessary | None | MD1 | None |
| With Instructor | FC5, FD6, MD8 | MC2, MC3 | FD7 |
| With Other Students | FC5, FD6, MD8 | MC2, MC3 | FD4, FD7 |
| Initial Engagement | |||
| Effect of Deadlines | None | MD1, MC2, MC3 | FD4 |
| Planning | FC5, FD6, MD8 | MD1, MC2 | FD7, MD9 |
| Technology Challenges | FC5 | MC3 | None |
| Continuous Engagement | |||
| Need to Finish/Goal-Oriented | MD8 | MD1 | MD9 |
| Plan Time for Class | FD6, MD8 | MD1 | FD4 |
| Catch Time for Class (Sporadic) | FC5 | MC2, MC3 | FD7 |
| Course Completion | |||
| Other Classes/Factors | FC5, MD8 | MD1, MC2 | FD4, FD7, MD9 |
| Interaction With Other Students | FD6, MD8 | MC2 | None |
| Usefulness/Applicability | FC5 | MC2 | None |
| Deadlines | MD8 | MC3 | FD4, MD9 |
Note. F=female, M=male, C=campus, D=distance, 1 through 9=when the student was interviewed
Content Relevancy
According to Burge and Lenksyj (1990), women need course content to be relevant to events and happenings in their lives. Therefore, the first theme explored was content relevancy. Both males and females found the course content to be relevant. They specifically addressed its usefulness, applicability, enhancement of self-directedness, and ability to pique their interest in the subject matter.
Feedback/Interaction
None of the late starters mentioned an increase in their self-directedness. Perhaps their lack of self-directedness led to their procrastination in engaging in the course. Kirkup and von Prummer (1990) contend that women tend to need to interact more with the instructor and other students. All students in our sample, except one male (MD1), found interaction with other students and interaction with the instructor to be a critical component of course engagement. In particular, student responses noted that peer accountability helped them to complete assignments and to continue to engage in the course.
Initial and Continuous Engagement
Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) indicate that effective learning requires student engagement, i.e. initial engagement, continuous engagement, and course completion. Our findings support this notion but provide interesting patterns based upon gender and location. Some mention of unfamiliarity with the technology features of this course surfaced, but this unfamiliarity did not seem to have an effect on the initial engagement of the student. A substantial finding within the theme of initial engagement is the student's perception of deadlines. None of the students who started and finished early found the deadlines to have an impact on their initial engagement. An intrinsic self-motivation, rather than an imposed external deadline, compelled these students to engage early. When planning time for working on course assignments, competing courses with multiple deadlines tended to have precedence, thus affecting some student's initial and continuous engagement in the course. In terms of completing the course, respondents brought up several previously mentioned themes that had an impact on their completion of the final assignment: other classes competing for time, interaction with other students, and the usefulness and applicability of the material. Although the students who started and finished late pointed out that student interaction and course usefulness/applicability were important factors in their course satisfaction, they did not state this as a motivator for course completion.
Completion of Course
Overall, students' completion date in the course varied (Min= day 61; Max=day 114). Students, on average, completed the course on approximately the 101st day (SD=17.7) of the course. The first quartile of the students completed the course by the 80th day. The second quartile completed the course between the 85th and 105th day. The third quartile completed the course between the 111th and 112th day. The fourth quartile was completed on the last day (114th day). On average, female students (Mean=93 end date) tended to complete the asynchronously delivered course almost 12 days sooner than male students (Mean=105 end date).
Performance in Course
Overall student achievement for female and male students was similar. The average overall score for all students was 92.8%. Female students averaged 93.3% and male students averaged 92.6% overall in the course.