A comparison of online and teacher-directed instruction: On-task behavior of students with emotional behavioral disorders

This study compared the on-task activity of students with emotional/behavioral disorders when they were engaged in an online class to their on-task behavior when they were in a face-to-face class. Using momentary time sampling, two observers recorded at five-minute intervals a "1" for students who were on task and a "0" for students who were not. Eight students were observed in the normal classroom for 15 periods. The 40-minute periods were divided in 20-minute segments and the class was divided into two groups, one group spending the first 20 minutes online and then changing to a face-to-face class. The second group spent the first 20 minutes in a face-to-face class and then switched to online. The online program chosen for the class covered the same material the certified special-education teacher was covering in her face-to-face class. Using a Genmod (Generalized linear model) procedure from SAS (Statistical Analysis System) the study shows that the students observed were consistently more on task when they were online.