Establishing Class-Size Policies for Optimal Course Outcomes in Online Undergraduate Education Programs (Poster 13)

• In Event: Sunday Poster Session 1:15 pm
  In Poster Session: Online Teaching and Learning SIG Poster Session 2

Abstract

The long-term shift toward online learning over the past two decades was greatly accelerated by COVID-19, heightening the urgency in higher education for policies which optimize online environments for student learning. The determination of class size in online courses is one such policy. In this hierarchical linear regression of undergraduate students’ grades in online courses (n = 6,615), we find a significant but negligible positive correlation between section size and students’ final grades. Among other findings, we find little evidence in our analyses to conclude that class size policies have any substantive relationship to students’ end-of-course grades in online environments.

Authors

• Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Arizona State University

• Norman P. Gibbs, Mesa Unified School District

• Edward F. Sloat, Liberty ESD #25

• Dong-Ju Cha, Arizona State University

• Olivia Mulerwa, Arizona State University

• Maria Fe C. Beck, Arizona State University