| The purpose of the study was to compare the achievement of undergraduate students in a second-semester accounting principles course as a function of instructional design: traditional lecture plus completion of homework textbook assignments manually versus traditional lecture plus completion of assignments by accessing an Internet site, utilizing the course management program, WebCT, and performing the assignments found there corresponding to the textbook and chapter for the assigned homework. The study was performed with four intact classes, with two classes per instructional design group, based on random assignment.; The variables of students' locus of control, learning styles, and various demographics (age, gender, college major, prior Internet experience, prior accounting knowledge, grade point average, class standing, and final course grade in the first principles of accounting course) were measured to determine to what extent, if any, they affected achievement, which was measured by the final exam administered at the end of the second-semester accounting principles course.; Compared with course enrollment patterns during the two previous years, the attrition rate for the course improved during the semester in which the research was conducted. There were no significant differences in student achievement between the two instructional design groups. There were also no significant interactions between instructional design and students' locus of control as well as instructional design, students' locus of control, and students' learning styles. Significant interactions for students' achievement scores were found between instructional design and students' learning styles, as well as between instructional design and students' college major. Achievement scores for students with an assimilator learning style were significantly higher in the WebCT group than in the traditional group. Accounting majors in the traditional instruction group scored significantly higher than undecided business majors in the computer-mediated instruction group. Overall, the results indicate that students achieve similarly in traditional and WebCT classes. At a minimum, the introduction of the computer and the Internet into the accounting curriculum did not diminish the achievement of the students. |
