Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to analyze technology-assisted course delivery methods to determine their overall effectiveness as it pertains to mathematics courses. This study analyzed both current and historical data in mathematics classes in the areas of achievement, retention, and grade distribution. The goal of this study was to determine if the use of technology-assisted course delivery methods had an effect in courses where it has been implemented. Additionally, the level of the effect and whether it was positive or negative was determined and analyzed. A second goal was to determine if there is a significant difference in the achievement level, grade distributions, and retention rates of technology-assisted courses versus traditional courses and then determine what implementation strategy yielded the greatest results. Research questions for the study were: a) Will there be a difference in achievement between students in technology-assisted courses and students in traditional courses?; b) Will there be a difference in grade distribution between a technology-assisted course and a traditional course; c) Will there be a difference in retention rate between a technology-assisted course and a traditional course?; and d) Is the amount of time spent in the course a significant factor in student performance and retention? The study included 14562 students enrolled during Fall 2007 to Fall 2012 in Pre-Calculus Algebra at a Southeastern University. Students were grouped by method of instruction and course length. Significant differences were found in student achievement as determined by course grade point average. Students in the traditional course scored 0.444238996 higher in average course grade point average. Students in the traditional courses also had a significantly higher number of A's and a significantly lower number of F's in the grade distribution. There was not a significant difference in the overall retention rate between the 18-week traditional courses and the technology-assisted courses, but there was a significant difference between the 9-week traditional and the technology-assisted courses. In general, the students enrolled in the technology-assisted courses did not perform at the same level as the students in the traditional setting.
