Student Assessment Comparison of Lecture and Online Construction Equipment and Methods Classes

MANY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS ARE beginning to integrate online classes into their curriculums. The newness of the Internet delivery method raises many questions about class administration and quality assurance. Issues of online class quality are just being explored. Comparisons to traditional lecture delivery classes are just being documented. It has been found "that the learning of the online students is equal to the learning of inclass students," comparing pre and post-tests of knowledge for both groups of participants (Schulman and Sims 1999). This quantitative comparison is a direct indicator that the online learning environment can be as effective as the traditional lecture environment. A convenient means of gathering or line class assessment would be to use criteria already in place for lecture classes. Success can be evaluated by comparing lecture and online class assessments and final outcomes. However, this raises a primary question. "Can online classes be judged by the same quality standards as traditional lecture classes?" There has been little documentation concerning student perceptions comparing online to traditional lecture class quality. At the April 1999 National Construction Industry Education Forum (NCIEF) in Las Vegas, Nevada, discussion about online construction courses focused on quality assurance. During this discussion it was recognized that online construction classes should meet the same quality standards as traditional lecture classes and these standards can be evaluated the same way. Part of the NCIEF discussion focused on the Construction Equipment and Methods classes offered Spring 1998 and 1999 by the University of Oklahoma (OU) Construction Science Division (CNS). Twenty-five construction students from nine geographically separate universities successfully completed the online classes. As part of the lecture and online class evaluations the instructor used the, OU College of Architecture (CoA) Non-Studio Course Evaluation to gather student, ratings concerning the course instructor, course content and student performance. The CNS 4913: Construction Equipment and Methods Classes The 1998 and 1999 Classes During the Spring 1998 semester, a Web-based construction equipment and methods class was taught in conjunction with a 26 student lecture class meeting twice a week at the OU. The online class was administered from a custom-built Web site designed, implemented and maintained to replace the traditional class methodology (http://www.ou.edu/architecture/dcns/cns4913/). The online teaching model required students to check the site regularly in the same fashion as the traditional teaching model required traditional class students to attend lectures. The site was formatted like a "book" of organized information to be used as a class information resource. Class participants were required to use Windows 95 and Office 97 for assignments. They used e-mail, the telephone, the chat feature and limited desktop video conferencing for communication between each other and the instructor. Participating construction programs included Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Auburn, East Carolina and Cincinnati. Participants in the 1998 OU CNS 4913 lecture class did not have access to the class Web site this semester, but course content and sequence were the same for both classes. Students in both classes were given the same homework assignments and exams at approximately the same times during the semester. Class assessment for both groups was mostly closed-book and required a faculty proctor for all examinations. The purpose of this parallel delivery was for direct performance assessment and administration comparison between the two instructional strategies. An interesting observation was made as the semester progressed and the instructor became more familiar with the class administration. The lectures typically contained and followed information in the Web site. …