Dissertation
Exploring students' perceptions of learning and satisfaction with on-line learning to understand their pedagogical experiences at a private government university
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Sep 2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001841
Abstract
The extent to which students in the Department of Defense (DoD) are satisfied with the content and quality of on-line learning at the Private Government University (PGU) is not clearly understood. The PGU is the component of DoD chartered by the law, The Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) of 1990, with delivering instruction and learning content to the Defense Acquisition Workforce (DAW) as part of the acquisition professional certification process. The purpose of this qualitative methods study was to describe and analyze the student perceptions of their satisfaction with on-line learning pedagogical experiences at PGU. This study used as its foundation Moore's (1993) theory of transactional distance and its four interaction components: student-content, faculty-student, student-student, and student character. The study was designed to use the experiences and words of the participants to not only determine the findings of the study, but also to inform the leadership and faculty of the PGU for awareness and potential curriculum improvement. The results of the study related the student perceptions about on-line learning at PGU. Of note, the perceptions and reported preferences did not vary significantly due to demographic variables. There was significant alignment on the prioritization of Moore's interactions, with majority agreement on the more significant interactions. It is important for the university administration to commission more studies in the near future to examine interactions between students in the on-line program. The results of the study demonstrate that course design, interactions between learners and teachers, the personality of students, and interactions between learners themselves all play a role in determining the success and happiness of learners in the on-line environment. Participants want to see improvements in the way courses are designed and delivered, including instructor support. Keywords: On-line Learning Satisfaction, Pedagogical Experiences, Qualitative Study, Theory of Transactional Distance, Student Perceptions, Curriculum Improvement
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Details
- Title
- Exploring students' perceptions of learning and satisfaction with on-line learning to understand their pedagogical experiences at a private government university
- Creators
- Robert L. Daugherty
- Contributors
- Joyce A. Pittman (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xii, 108 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021229614304721