A comparison of online instruction and in-class instruction as related to graduate students' achievement, attitudes, and learning-style preferences

The growing popularity of online instruction across colleges and universities prompted researchers to begin exploration into this young pedagogy. Recent researchers on online instruction provided contrary results, inconclusive and often opposing findings on the appropriateness of online instruction for different students. This researcher sought to expand the current body of knowledge on online instruction.; Specifically, this study represented the researcher's attempt to further current understanding of the impact of online instruction on graduate students' academic achievement and attitudes. Three major purposes of this researcher were to examine (a) the differences in graduate students' academic achievement in online versus in-class courses, (b) the differences in graduate students' attitudes in online versus in-class courses, and (c) the relationships among graduate students' learning-style preferences and their subsequent achievement in online versus in-class courses. This study was especially important for the target population, graduate students, because of the increasing number of online courses being offered at that level.; The study sample included 107 graduate students enrolled in a master's degree program in School Building Leadership at a large, private university. Participants were enrolled in either an online or in-class course in Educational Administration. They completed a general questionnaire that provided demographic data, an attitude assessment, and a learning-style assessment. Participant information and scores on these assessments and their final course grades were collected for data analysis.; An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that the two groups of students, online and in-class, did not differ significantly on final course grades, a measure of achievement. An ANOVA also indicated that the two groups did differ significantly in their attitudes toward computer-based learning, F(1,93)=4.122, p=.045, with the online group clearly possessing more positive attitudes toward online instruction. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify relationships among learning-style preferences and achievement. These analyses indicated that the learning-style preferences of in-class students did not significantly contribute to their final course grades. However, the preferences of online students did contribute significantly to their final course grades. Three learning-style preferences emerged as significant contributors to the dependent variable of final grade. These included preferences for verbal internal kinesthetic stimulation (t=2.161, p=.056), early morning (t=-2.73, p=.055), and varied sociological modes of learning (t=2.321, p=.043).; This study contributed to narrowing an existing gap in the research on online instruction but much valuable information has yet to be discovered by scientific inquiry. The study of the role of learning style in online instruction is still in its infancy. The results of this study provide evidence to encourage social scientists to continue this investigation.