| Teacher feedback and interaction are factors of success and satisfaction in online courses, but courses designed for computer-assisted instruction (CAI) require less communication between a teacher and student. The goal of this research was to examine the impact of teachers' feedback in online self-paced secondary math courses where CAI was embedded. The outcomes of interest were student achievement, retention and satisfaction. The overarching purpose of the study was to contribute to the literature on pedagogical best practices for online secondary math courses.;In this experimental study, secondary students who enrolled in an online math course at an online high school were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group. The courses were self-paced, but had to be completed within four months. Each course was comprised of units with a pretest, quizzes, and a posttest. CAI software was used for practice and assessment, and provided students with immediate corrective feedback on responses. Four teachers received training on providing feedback that was standards-based, instructional, positive and timely. The teachers were instructed to provide feedback to treatment group students on all quizzes and posttests. Students were asked to complete a satisfaction survey at the conclusion of their course, regardless of whether they completed the course or not.;Following the study, teachers self-reported the fidelity of their use of effective feedback and the feedback was evaluated by external raters to determine adherence to the effective feedback model. Consistent with research, a discrepancy was found in the teachers' perceptions of their feedback with the raters' evaluation of it. Students' pretest and posttest mean scores indicated no significant difference in student achievement between groups. Evaluation of students who completed and dropped their course indicated teacher-generated feedback did not contribute to increased retention in the online courses. Though the response rate for the satisfaction survey was low, those who chose to respond were satisfied with their course regardless of whether they received feedback or not, even among those who did not complete the course. Future research on frequency and content of student-teacher interactions specific to self-paced courses is recommended. |
