Comparison of Student Achievement and Problem-Solving Techniques for Integration Between Online and Face-to-Face Calculus Courses

Background

Allen and Seaman (2014) have been conducting a multi-year study to track the growth of online learning, explore the strategicness of colleges and universities offering online learning options, and investigate student learning outcomes as a result of taking online courses. When their study began in 2002, Allen and Seaman found 1.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course. In their most recent report, Allen and Seaman commented 7.1 million students embarked on online learning experiences in 2012. This 16.1% annual growth rate in online enrollments dwarfs the 2.5% annual growth rate experienced by overall higher education enrollments from 2002 to 2012 and equates to 33.5% of all higher education students taking at least one online course (Allen & Seaman, 2014).

In addition to online course enrollments increasing, faculty buy-in to the quality of online learning opportunities has also improved. Figure 1 shows a steady increase in faculty perception of online education quality. Allen and Seaman (2014) reported 77% of academic leaders at colleges believed equivalent to or superior learning outcomes were being produced by online education relative to face-to-face instruction. At the onset of their study of online education and its inception into the higher education spectrum, Allen and Seaman found only 53% of academic leaders saw online instruction as on par with face-to-face instruction.

Figure 1.

Online learning quality

(Allen & Seaman, 2014)