AB+-+Ferguson+&+DeFelice+(2010)


 * **Reference: ** || Ferguson, J. M., & DeFelice, A. E. (2010). Length of online course and student satisfaction, perceived learning, and academic performance. //International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 11//(2), 73-84. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/772/1547 ||
 * **Author's: ** || Ferguson, J. M., & DeFelice, A. E. ||
 * **Title:** ||  Length of online course and student satisfaction, perceived learning, and academic performance. ||
 * **Year:** || 2010 ||
 * **Journal: ** || //International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning// ||
 * **Retrieval Information**: || http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/772/1547 ||
 * **Bibliography**: ||  ||
 * Ferguson and DeFelice (2010) presented an exceptional review of the literature regarding the factors effecting satisfaction with courses taught online, concluding “ that connectedness to the course, either by participating collaboratively with other students or by interacting with the professor, will likely impact student satisfaction ” ( p. 75 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) the most. Equivalency theory was used as the theoretical framework of this study to determine if “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">there were differences in online student satisfaction, perceived learning, and performance <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">p. 76 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) when the independent variable was length of the course, in this case five-weeks versus fifteen-weeks, while all other pedagogical factors were kept constant. Equivalency theory was supported in this study because students “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">learned the same content in <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">p. 76 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) both courses. A number of graduate students (75) participated in part one of the study, which consisted of a 15-question Likert scale survey; while 114 graduate students final grades from the same four sessions were analyzed for the second part of the study. Students were significantly more satisfied with the interaction with the teacher in the longer course, while students were significantly more satisfied with the interaction with fellow students in the shorter course. No significant difference was found for perceived learning or satisfaction regarding taking additional online classes between the two course lengths. Students in the shorter sessions showed significantly stronger performance academically than students that were in the longer sessions. Improvements to the pedagogy of the class were identified for both formats. Ferguson and DeFelice identified that a shift needs to be made emphasizing interaction with the professor in the shorter course and several possibilities were proposed. Limitations of the study were that the students for the shorter course may have been different in some significant way from those attending the longer course, and students were not randomly selected for inclusion is either group. The analyses performed, together with the discussion of theory and the presentation of the findings were highly integrated and persuasive that effective interactions and communication between the instructor and students is vital for online course success. ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Additional References: ** ||  ||
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 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">**Retrieval Information**: || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 15.6px;">http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/772/1547 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">**Bibliography**: ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Ferguson and DeFelice (2010) presented an exceptional review of the literature regarding the factors effecting satisfaction with courses taught online, concluding “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">that connectedness to the course, either by participating collaboratively with other students or by interacting with the professor, will likely impact student satisfaction <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">p. 75 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) the most. Equivalency theory was used as the theoretical framework of this study to determine if “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">there were differences in online student satisfaction, perceived learning, and performance <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">p. 76 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) when the independent variable was length of the course, in this case five-weeks versus fifteen-weeks, while all other pedagogical factors were kept constant. Equivalency theory was supported in this study because students “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">learned the same content in <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">p. 76 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) both courses. A number of graduate students (75) participated in part one of the study, which consisted of a 15-question Likert scale survey; while 114 graduate students final grades from the same four sessions were analyzed for the second part of the study. Students were significantly more satisfied with the interaction with the teacher in the longer course, while students were significantly more satisfied with the interaction with fellow students in the shorter course. No significant difference was found for perceived learning or satisfaction regarding taking additional online classes between the two course lengths. Students in the shorter sessions showed significantly stronger performance academically than students that were in the longer sessions. Improvements to the pedagogy of the class were identified for both formats. Ferguson and DeFelice identified that a shift needs to be made emphasizing interaction with the professor in the shorter course and several possibilities were proposed. Limitations of the study were that the students for the shorter course may have been different in some significant way from those attending the longer course, and students were not randomly selected for inclusion is either group. The analyses performed, together with the discussion of theory and the presentation of the findings were highly integrated and persuasive that effective interactions and communication between the instructor and students is vital for online course success. ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Additional References: ** ||  ||
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 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Additional References: ** ||  ||
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