The Impact of Contact Sessions and Discussion Forums on the Academic Performance of Open Distance Learning Students

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of face-to-face contact sessions and online discussion forums on the academic performance of students at an Open Distance Learning (ODL) university (N = 1,015). tTests for independent samples indicated that students who attended a written assignment preparation contact session performed significantly better in the written assignment than those students who did not attend this contact session [t(813) = 4.64, p = 0.00]; students who attended an examination preparation contact session did not perform significantly better in the examination than those students who did not attend this contact session [t(892) = 1.12, p = 0.26]; while students who used an online discussion forum performed significantly better in the final examination than those students who did not use this forum [t(1,013) = 4.04, p = 0.00]. Reasons for these mixed results are subsequently discussed. The study also found that the attendance of contact sessions and the utilisation of an online discussion forum by students were extremely low, and possible reasons for this are also given. Implications for the use of contact sessions and online discussion forums to improve the academic performance of ODL students are also discussed.

Teacher Presence and Social Presence in Virtual and Blended Courses

“…It was also found that for students in need of intensive feedback, differential feedback is likely to lead to the development of individual abilities of students to assess their achievements and to reinforce their academic confidence. This finding emerged also from previous studies Birch, 2013;Bransford et al, 2000;Bruff et al, 2013;Chickering & Gamson, 2000;Francis & Shannon, 2016;Garrison et al, 2001;Olivier, 2016;Poon, 2013;Tan, 2016;Tempelaar et al, 2015;Zilka & Zeichner, 2017).…”

“…Numerous studies conducted among students at academic campuses (Birch, 2013;Bruff, Fisher, McEwen, & Smith, 2013;Francis & Shannon, 2016;Leners & Sitzman, 2006;Olivier, 2016;Poon, 2013;Tan, 2016) suggest that feedback is one of the most significant factors in the success of teaching and learning processes in VCs and BCs. Researchers have stressed the fact that the teacher must provide intellectual, emotional, and differential feedback.…”

“…Researchers (Birch, 2013;Bruff et al, 2013;Francis & Shannon, 2016;Olivier, 2016;Poon, 2013;Tan, 2016;Zilka & Zeichner, 2017) have argued that feedback is one of the most significant factors in the success of the teaching process in VCs and BCs. The present study found that 18% of students claimed that they lacked concrete personal feedback on every assignment they submitted, which would help them determine whether the task was properly understood.…”

Teacher Presence and Social Presence in Virtual and Blended Courses

“…Researchers ascribe great importance to feedback. Numerous studies conducted among students at academic campuses (Birch, 2013;Bruff, Fisher, McEwen, & Smith, 2013;Francis & Shannon, 2016;Leners & Sitzman, 2006;Olivier, 2016;Poon, 2013;Tan, 2016) suggest that feedback is one of the most significant factors in the success of teaching and learning processes in VCs and BCs. Researchers have stressed the fact that the teacher must provide intellectual, emotional, and differential feedback.…”

Professional Development of Adult Learners through Open and Distance Learning

“…It is commonly known that full-time staff often has been trained in the conventional education system; (h) limited appreciation of principles of ODL; (i) shortage of infrastructure and human capital in ODL institutions; and (j) lack of transformation of ODL policies and procedures to accommodate the growing number of learners. The growing number of learners at ODL institutions has placed more pressure on ODL institutions to provide more services, especially learner support [19,39,44,46].…”