Assignment 8, Weekly Update

To date, I have revised and completed all of the components of my IRB application and refined my Research Instructional Measurement. I conducted field tests to sample my Research Instructional Measurement. Due to the feedback received from this trial and the suggestions of Dr. Newberry, I changed some of the questions containing arbitrary scales to convert to Likert scales to better compare student data.

To date, the only portion of my research paper that needs to be completed is my Literature Review. My Method section and Research Questions are listed below.


As I developed the Research Instructional Measurement with Instructors at the community college where the research will be conducted, other questions emerged to ascertain potential considerations among students which may either make the program successful or not successful as a tool for completing class requirements. An example would include a student who does not have a computer for use at home - this limitation may cause the student to have a negative attitude toward the program or may limit the student's access to the program, and thus not be fully utilized for their class.

Method

To best determine the effectiveness of the Hawkes Online Learning Program, structured research methods were developed to assist in clarifying this relationship. For this study, research participation, instrumentation and implementation are included and outlined forthwith.
Participation

For this study, participation was first sought from four different instructors at a community college who teach MAT-952 and use the Hawkes Online Learning Program. The textbook used by all teachers for the class comes with a CD and license for using the program. However, consideration was given to be sure that instructiors utilized the program. For the study, two day and two evening classes were selected at random, once instructor participation was taken. Two classes from each time were selected to attempt to encompass different student demographics at the community college. Typically, older students who are fully employed during the day attend classes in the evening. Instructors and students were all informed that all information would remain anonymous.

Instrumentation

The instrumetation used for the study will come in two forms. The first instrument will be student information that will give the total time spent in the program and the student grade in class. With this information, no student will be identified by name, so there will be no risk of personal information being released. The second insturment is in the form of a student survey that will be given to students to answer. The purpose of the survey will be to collect data to address several research questions pertinent to the study. The questions were developed under the advisement of Professors at California State University at San Bernardino, and with the close direction of instructors familiar with many of the features of the program and the math class in which the program is used. After several considerations, the following research questions were formulated:

Research Question 1: Is there a correlation between the time spent in the Hawkes learning math system and the final average a student receives in a remedial math class?

Research Question 2: What features of the Hawkes online learning system are beneficial, or not beneficial, in learning remedial math?

Research Question 3: What characteristics (student or instructional) may contribute to success (or lack thereof) with the program?

From the research questions, several specific questions in each of the three questions were included based on feedback from several instructors. Whereas students were asked for some personal information, most questions required participants to select on a Likert Scale 1-5 on several components within different parts of the Hawkes Online Learning System, including technical components, as well as how it is successfully (or not successfully) incorporated within their class by the instruction.

In the beginning of the survey, students are informed about the source of the survey and that their participation is anonymous and voluntary. They are also informed that their instructor will not have access to the information collected and that there will be no consequences whether they choose to participate or not participate.