Not Everyone Can Successfully Learn Through Online Courses
Since the 1990s, online courses have provided an opportunity for busy adults to continue their education by completing courses in the comfort of their own homes. However, this may not be the best solution for everyone. A researcher at the University of Missouri has found some students may find success in these types of courses more easily than others.
Shawna L. Strickland, clinical assistant professor in the MU School of Health Professions, studied the demographics and personality types of distance learners.
“Correlations between learning styles and success in distance education have shown to be inconclusive,” Strickland said. “However, one common theme reappears: the successful traits of a distance learner are similar to the successful traits of an adult learner in traditional educational settings.”
With a mere 30 percent of distance learners actually completing their courses, learning more about the characteristics of these students would help educators structure online courses to be as beneficial as possible. Considering the lack of institutional support and isolation involved in the nature of online courses, success in these courses requires a person that is determined and responsible, Strickland said.
“The success of distance learning is dependent on communication among the learner, his or her peers and the instructor,” Strickland said. “To encourage success in distance learning, it is necessary to evaluate each individual’s needs on a case-by-case basis.”
One trait that aids in distance learning is related to personality type. Strickland found those with quiet, introverted personalities are more likely to feel comfortable with online learning courses. Shy individuals have a tendency to be uninvolved in the typical classroom setting. Online courses allow them to complete work on their own with a degree of anonymity.
“Distance learning allows the learner to overcome traditional barriers to learning such as location, disabilities, time constraints and familial obligations,” Strickland said. “However, not every learner will be successful in a distance learning environment.”
The study — “Understanding Successful Characteristics of Adult Learners” — was published in the most recent edition of Respiratory Care Education Annual.
2 Comments
spuffler
March 4th, 2008
at 9:23am
We often assume that distance learning fails for lack of human interaction with a teacher. I know from personal experience that while good, enthusiastic teachers do help, a mindless robotic teacher is worse than distance learning. Consider: in high school (U.S.), I tried to learn Algebra, but the teacher was simply spouting equations, assigning homework pages and she wouldn’t give me any time outside of class. I never knew what she was talking about, from the first weeks of the class onwards. From the lack of basic technical math, I had no confidence I could pursue a career in electronics, since I needed the (failed) Algebra and also the advanced Calculus, I had neither. I never undertook classroom education in electronics. A few years later, I borrowed a friends home study materials from a distance learning company. He had completed the courses, and had the answers written on the back of each test page, so I could at least research my incorrect answers. Ultimately, I completed the majority of what he had taken of the home study coursework. I used the knowledge on-the-job, and advanced, ultimately, into a 20+ year career in electronics development engineering. The home study company has since closed. I believe sincerity of a student makes a larger impact than classroom interaction. I will grant you that I’m a bit introverted, was more so during high school.
Later, I subscribed to Hewlett Packards online coursework for things like Fundamentals of Graphics for web page design, Acrobat fundamentals, and several more. I received good marks, and to this day, I consider online education to be quite possibly a viable tool for students that can feel comfortable without direct interaction with a traditional classroom environment.
A major problem that distance learning suffers is stigma. No supervisors I’ve met place any value on distance learning. I want to clarify that: during interviews, when I indicate my education was home study, the responses were negative: “but you had no hands on time with a teacher!”, “I can’t trust a paper smart person”, “No, I need someone that has been in a classroom”, and more. This stigma is based in 2 realms – Reality: bad experiences are related about distance educated individuals being incapable of functioning (in my career, I’ve met traditionally educated people that were dysfunctional more often than I’ve met dysfunctional distance schooled types), and Fantasy: “I had to suffer a bad professor, thats part of real life”, “If you never put your hands onto a project, then you had no chance for it to blow up in your face – you haven’t learned the real world part of the skills you will need”, and similar.
The road to accepting distance learning involves a few key areas:
1] the student needs to be able to apply their skills in real world situations, either in educational lab rooms or on the job. The results here satisfy the sadistic hiring persons perspectives, gives the student time learning andusing troubleshooting tools, teaches the student that paper designs can fail.
2] the students need to grasp that they will face social challenges, not just physical challenges, when seeking jobs as a distance educated job candidate. This needs to translate into the student having a level of sincerity to be willing to gain experiences outside employers realms. This experience is needed so the student can tell the interviewer they can troubleshoot real designs, which is what the employer is manufacturing. The social aspects are perception: the employer sees a paper smart person, needs to hear about real skills; the student has to graduate thinking they have some theoretical skills, but they may actually have no real skills.
John
April 10th, 2008
at 11:01pm
Completely agree with your point. But I guess it is applicable for off line studies as well. The primary point is like if one does not have the initiative to study hard he/she will not be able to pursue any course successfully.