Understanding the Impact of Online Instruction and Blended Learning Methods for an Undergraduate Business Decision Making Course

Abstract

With the advent of laptop technology, the conventional classroom delivery of an introductory class to quantitative decision making has to be re-evaluated. Two distinct forms of instruction are presented: a) completely online delivery and b) a blended approach.  Using the same course material, content and course learning outcomes, we observe that in the online mode, students found the course intensive and only the extremely dedicated students completed the course successfully.  The recordings were found to be an essential part of the learning experience.  For the blended mode, where recorded lectures were optional, students reported that the recordings improved their confidence in the material being mastered and helped in achieving overall course objectives. For both forms of instruction, an electronic homework delivery system was used. A strong correlation was observed between course grade and average homework grade for both the online and the blended model.

Keywords: e-learning, blended learning, web-based learning