STUDENT LEARNING OF GEOSCIENCE CONTENT DELIVERED BY VIRTUAL LECTURES VERSUS PRINTED NOTES

In preparation for teaching a hybrid course in the future, I wanted to see if there was a difference in student learning of geoscience content through two different modes of delivery. In spring 2004, I taught two sections of historical geology on campus. In place of students coming to class for lecture at three times during the semester, students were provided with material that would have been covered in class. The first section of historical geology had a complete set of lecture notes posted online. The notes were in essence a script of what I would have said during that class time with no visuals, only words. The second section was given access to a virtual lecture via the internet. Students were provided with a link to view a MS Producer lecture with my narration and MS PowerPoint slides presenting the same content provided to the first section.

During the following class meeting after each class note/virtual lecture, students in both sections were given the same multiple-choice quiz. For each of the three quizzes, the class averages were never greater than three points apart from one another. Both sections had similar overall GPA’s and scored the same on a diagnostic survey given at the beginning of the semester, indicating that both sections had students evenly matched in academic performance and prior knowledge of geoscience content. Results of this investigation indicate that, for my particular campus population of commuter students, online delivery may not need to be enhanced with audio and visuals for students to learn geoscience content.