Student Attitudes to Learning Business Statistics: Comparison of Online and Traditional Methods

Worldwide, electronic learning (E-learning) has become an important part of the education agenda in the last decade. The Suan Dusit Rajabhat University (SDRU), Thailand has made significant efforts recently to use Internet technologies to enhance learning opportunities. The results reported here are part of a pioneering study to determine the effectiveness of a new online learning course in the subject “Business Statistics”. This paper compares two groups of students, one studying using a traditional lecture-based approach, and the other studying using e-learning. The comparison is based on students’ attitudes towards statistics measured using a validated questionnaire, both before and after the 16-week course, and for each of the modes of study. Comparisons are also made with students studying by distance, although the numbers in these groups are too small for sensible statistical analysis. The questionnaire data are augmented by material from interviews and other student reports of their experience. The results showed highly significant differences in attitudes towards statistics between the students studying online and the students using a traditional approach.

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