Laboratory Assignments & their Impact on Grades: Online Statistics Course

• In Event: 480 - Section on Teaching and Learning in Sociology Paper Session. Online Matters

Abstract

Over the last decade enrollment in online courses has tripled. However, the delivery of online sections of courses that typically require laboratory work on campus can present a challenge. The present study has two goals: (1) describe the laboratory assignments for an online version of an undergraduate research methods course (2) Assess the extent to which learning in the laboratory assignments is related to grades on the final examination. METHODS: Data refer to 108 students completing an online course in research methods/statistics in a Carnegie Research Extensive University in the Midwest. Students took a sample of 40 offenders from an online public database: Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS), entered the data into an EXCEL file, and used the EXCEL Data Analysis Toolkit to produce both descriptive statistics and to test a series of hypotheses including the predictors of violent offending. The dependent variable is the scores on the final exam while the chief independent variable is the grade received on six laboratory assignments. Controls include grades on a preliminary hour exam and gender. RESULTS. In a bivariate regression, laboratory, grades predicted final exam grades, and explained 13% of the variance. However, in a multiple regression analysis, controlling for other core constructs, the grade on the laboratory assignments was unrelated to final exam grades. The model explained 47% of the variance in final exam grades. CONCLUSIONS. Standard laboratory assignments were successfully delivered in an online environment, but grades on laboratory assignments were not an independent predictor of final exam grades.

Author

• Steven Stack, Wayne State University