INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A BLENDED FIRST-YEAR BIOLOGY COURSE

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INTRODUCTION

This chapter orientates the reader to the study topic. This study sets out to investigate student success in a specific course by means of a comprehensive analysis of student behavior1 and course design. This chapter provides an introduction to the research problem, the main aim of the study and the research goals. The purpose of this chapter is to sketch a brief background and rationale for the study and to highlight the importance and possible contributions of the research. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Poor academic performance and high dropout rates in higher education institutions are of concern nationally and internationally. Gumede (2017) reports that 47.9% of university students in South Africa did not complete their degrees in 2017.
A report by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) (2018) shows that only 29% of the students from the 2011 cohort graduated within three years and 58% graduated after six years. Success rates in the sciences are even lower, with only 21% of students graduating within three years and 51% graduating after six years. The success rates of South African students are comparable to those in the USA where only 59% of full-time students who had enrolled for the first time in 2006 to study toward a bachelor’s degree, had graduated by 2012 (Barton, 2015).
However, the major difference is that the participation rate in South Africa is about one-third of the USA rate and has remained at 18% (Council on Higher Education, 2018). It is widely acknowledged that higher education worldwide is characterized by growing student numbers, increased diversity of students and reduced resources (Cash, Letargo, Graether, & Jacobs, 2017). The challenge, however, is particularly acute in South Africa where students numbers have almost doubled since 1994, although the per capita funding for students has decreased (Education, 2016).
In conjunction with the increase in student numbers and reduced resources, the diversity and academic preparedness of students entering the tertiary education system has changed due to the many challenges faced by the South Africa schooling system (Ramdas, 2009; Roodt, 2018). There are a myriad root causes for the problems faced by the school system. Among these problems are the inequalities in school infrastructure, the lack of financial and educational resources, the discrepancies in the quality of teaching, the disadvantageous socio-economic levels of learners, and the poor literacy and mathematical skills of learners, among others (Maarman & Lamont-Mbawuli, 2017; Ramdas, 2009; Roodt, 2018).
Many international assessments of Mathematics, Science and Literacy also indicate that South African children are trailing behind their counterparts in the rest of world (Roodt, 2018). Spaull (2018) points out that the expenditure per capita in South Africa has declined dramatically over the last decade and that austerity measures may have influenced poor performance on these international assessments. Although per capita expenditure decreased, the proportion of educational expenditure relative to the GDP in 2012 and 2016 was 5.9%. This places South Africa among the top ten countries of the world in respect of expenditure on education (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2015; Roodt, 2018; The World Bank, 2018).
The challenges faced by the schooling system directly influence the preparedness of students, which has created a knock-on effect in higher education performance outcomes (Bunting, 2004; Govender, 2017; Rantsi, 2016). This increase in diversity and decrease in academic preparedness raises the question of how to support students who may not have the necessary skills, on a personal or academic level, to do well, despite having the inherent ability to succeed. It is a challenge to create an environment where increasingly diverse and academically underprepared students can thrive, while testing and stimulating high achieving students. Limited resources and increasing reliance on outside funding to increase student success and retention also exacerbate this problem. This is a challenge that many countries share (Heath & Leinonen, 2016). Many tertiary institutions are using technology to enhance teaching and learning and to extend access to a new population of students (Twigg, 2003). Blended learning has become commonplace in higher education institutions (Bonk & Graham, 2012; Means, Toyama, Murphy, & Baki, 2013). However, there is a danger that new technologies could become a “black hole” of additional expenses (Twigg, 2003, 2015) if the technologies are just added onto existing courses and facilities.
Redesigning initiatives to improve learning and reduce costs has had mixed results with almost all courses reducing their costs. However, only 50% of the studies have shown improved learning outcomes (Twigg, 2015). In a meta-analysis Vo, Zhu, & Diep (2017) analyzed many studies, comparing traditional classes with blended learning classes and concluded that in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, blended learning has a significant association with positive performance. Blended learning has been used frequently in science education but its impact has not been rigorously evaluated (Stockwell, Stockwell, Cennamo, & Jiang, 2015). Holistic research into the effectiveness and efficiency of blended learning, especially in sciences courses, has not been routinely conducted. However, while there are some studies that have attempted to determine the effectiveness of blended learning, these studies were typically conducted by means of randomized controlled trials designed to determine the effect of a single variable, such as the online component of a course.

Table of Contents :

• Dedication
• ABSTRACT
• Declaration
• Acknowledgements
• Table of Contents
• LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
• LIST OF FIGURES
• LIST OF TABLES
• LIST OF APPENDICES
• CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE
  • INTRODUCTION
  • BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
  • RATIONALE
  • THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK(s)
  • CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
  • RESEARCH AIM
  • CONTEXT AND STUDY POPULATION
  • METHODOLOGY
  • VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
  • ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
  • CONCEPT CLARIFICATION
  • POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY
  • STRUCTURE OF THESIS
• CHAPTER 2: LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR FIRST-YEAR BIOLOGY: TOWARD MOVING THE “MURKY MIDDLE”
  • ABSTRACT
  • INTRODUCTION
  • Self-regulated Learning
  • Present Study
  • METHODOLOGY: PARTICIPANTS AND CONTEXT
  • DESCRIPTION OF THE DATA SET
  • Biographical Data
  • Prior Achievement Data
  • Longitudinal Data
  • Data on Learning Strategies
  • RESULTS
  • Categorization and Validation
  • Difference in Learning Strategies between the Three Defined Groups
  • DISCUSSION
  • CONCLUSION
• CHAPTER 3: INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A BLENDED FIRST-YEAR BIOLOGY COURSE
  • ABSTRACT
  • INTRODUCTION
  • LITERATURE REVIEW
  • Research on Blended Learning
  • Principles of Good Practice
  • Learning Analytics
  • RESEARCH DESIGN
  • CONTEXT OF COURSE AND DESCRIPTION OF THE BLEND
  • Compulsory activities
  • Voluntary activities
  • METHODS AND DATA ANALYSIS
  • RESULTS
  • DISCUSSION
  • CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR COURSE DESIGN
• CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS and FUTURE WORK
  • INTRODUCTION
  • SYNTHESIS OF THE RESULTS
  • Conclusions from previous chapters
  • SUMMARY
  • LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
  • RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
  • CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE STUDY
  • PRACTITIONER’S REFLECTION
  • REFERENCES
  • APPENDIX A
  • Modified wording of MSLQ to fit South African Context
  • APPENDIX B
  • Summary of subscale ANOVA analysis with mean and standard deviation
  • APPENDIX C
  • Ethical clearance and consent form
  • Appendix D
  • Published article

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