论文信息 - Relative Proximity Theory: Measuring the Gap Between Actual and Ideal Online Course Delivery

Relative Proximity Theory: Measuring the Gap Between Actual and Ideal Online Course Delivery

Based on the Theory of Transactional Distance and Needs Assessment, this article reports a procedure for quantitatively measuring how close the actual delivery of a course was to ideal, as perceived by students. It extends Zhang’s instrument and prescribes the computational steps to calculate relative proximity at the element and construct level. Radar graphs are shown to provide a useful visualization of relative proximity. Stepwise multiple regression is used to determine the impact of changes in construct relative proximity on student satisfaction. This allows for the implementation of a systematic, data-based, continuous course improvement process.

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