Engagement and Performance for Female and Male Students in an Online Course
Introduction/Theoretical Framework
Distance education offers many benefits for students and faculty. One of the touted benefits for faculty is the opportunity to develop individualized instructional sequences for students based on students' unique competencies (Dooley & Lindner, 2002). Another benefit for students is a greater opportunity to draw upon a variety of academic fields and knowledge bases to achieve personal and professional goals (Lindner & Dooley, 2002). However, learning outcomes are not the same for all students engaged in distance education. Research attempting to find ways to maximize learning for all distance education students must begin by identifying the factors that affect performance.
One possible factor is the learner's personality. Human temperament theory has been recognized as a subject for study since the time of Plato (Stokes, 2001). Yet the literature has thus far failed to identify significant differences in the temperament or personality of distance learners and learners in a traditional setting. For example, in a comparison of Web-based and traditional classroom courses student temperament, or how students react to the use of a computer as a substitute for the classroom, was not shown to affect the outcome of learning or satisfaction with the course (Stokes, 2001).
Another possible factor affecting performance is a distance learner's gender. Gunn, McSporran, Macleod, and French (2003) concluded women will often outperform men despite observable differences in interaction style during computer supported learning. While in traditional classroom settings, Justice and Dornan (2001) found achievement to be the same for males and females, some literature indicates that distance education offers even more important opportunities for female students than male students. For example, May (1994) found that women viewed distance education as a means to remove impediments to their education. She also noted that access to education was more important for women than was the format of the educational opportunities. Carr, Fullerton, Severino, and McHugh (1996), found that women who successfully completed distance education courses develop resilience in the face of adversity.
On the other hand, the literature is unclear about the role that gender may play in distance learners' performance. Spronk (1990) proposed that distance learning might be a gendered activity. Instead of concern with programs for learners, she suggested that we examine how programs address the different life experiences of men and women. She speculated that the technologies of instruction might not be equally accessible to both groups. She also asked whether men and women require different levels of support while undertaking distance education courses. Sullivan (2001) justified those concerns when he found significant differences between male and female students in the way they identified an online environment's strengths and weaknesses. He particularly noted the value of online learning for nontraditional students, especially female adult learners who had children and family responsibilities. Additional literature indicates that gender may also be a factor in these various expectations among distance learners. Burge and Lenksyj (1990) noted that women participating in distance learning experiences required content that validated the events and happenings of their lives infused into the instructional and learning process. They noted that women living in small towns and rural communities (where distance education opportunities may be particularly important) have diverse life experiences that should be taken into consideration in distance education. They suggested that women are best served when the educational approach is both woman- and learner-centered.
According to Kirkup and von Prummer (1990) men and women require different levels of interaction and support during distance education classes. Women need to interact more with the instructor and other students. The authors attributed this need to differences in intellectual development between women and men. They recommend that this difference between the genders be accounted for in distance education courses.
Distance learners struggle with a unique set of challenges that often lead to non-completion of courses. High attrition rates of students enrolled in distance education courses are a concern of distance educators (Wickersham & Dooley, 2001). The literature identifies steps that instructors can take to lower attrition in distance education courses. Instructors in Web-based courses should have a methodology to determine the level of involvement of students in the learning process (Pappas, Lederman, & Broadbent, 2001). The facilitator should look toward the initial engagement, continuous engagement, the completion of the course and the students' performance in the course as indicators of satisfaction with the method of instruction, whether the course is offered in a traditional classroom or Web-based setting. But in order to improve the completion rate, we must first understand the challenges that distance learners face and the coping behaviors that they adopt.
Online learning provides the responsible learner with both the tools and the environment for a quality learning experience (Weinstein, 2002). As researchers, we ascribe to the philosophy that self-direction and responsibility for learning are required attributes for graduate students in any course, regardless if it is taught online or in the traditional setting (Howland, & Moore, 2002). If students are not willing to make the commitment of managing their time and motivation, online learning will present them with additional problems to the ones they already have (Weinstein, 2002). Closer looks at student behaviors in distance education have shown, for instance, that distance students are less likely to constructively communicate with other students and teachers (Lindner & Murphy, 2001; Miller & Pilcher, 2000). Further, distance students have varying levels of motivation, different life experiences, and require different levels of direction from instructors (Merriam, 2001). O'Regan (2003) determined emotion to be central and essential to the teaching learning process.
Educators have tried a variety of strategies in an attempt to help distance learners overcome their unique challenges successfully. Indeed, Cookson (1989) asserted that it is the responsibility of all educational institutions to provide a range of tools and experiences in order to maximize the learning of diverse student populations. While the academic rigor of courses delivered at a distance must remain similar to those offered on campus, instructional direction requirements can and should range from continuous input from instructors to self-directed learning by the students.
Distance education students requiring help may receive it in a different format than students in classroom settings (Taplin, Yum, Jegede, Fan, & Chan, 2001). It is necessary for the instructor to maintain a sense of community regardless of where the learning takes place. While this is readily accomplished in a classroom setting, it requires a little more planning and effort for Web-based courses (Brown, 2001). Grow (1991) theorized that in asynchronously delivered courses, an instructor's traditional role of providing feedback is less important than the role of motivator, coach, or delegator, implying that the instructor must establish a learning climate. In short, effective learning seems to require student engagement (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999). Instructor behaviors alone cannot determine student success rate, however. Success is at least partially controlled by student behavior. Previous research has shown, for example, that length of engagement in an asynchronously delivered course was positively related to a student's perception of learning (Lindner, Hynes, Murphy, Dooley, & Buford, 2002).
Another important factor to study in distance education is course design. In particular, the unique challenges faced by distance learners may be exacerbated when the course is offered asynchronously. This method of instruction and education is the result of an attempt to provide flexibility for work time and place, usually involving the use of learning materials, participation in discussions, written assignments, and receiving grades over the Internet. For asynchronous courses, there may be definite start and completion dates or there may be a flexible beginning and end. While asynchronous courses may seem to conform to the principles of andragogy and thus have wide appeal for adult learners, the literature has not yet shown that distance learners are more successful in any particular format.