1. Sultan Qaboos University
College of Education
Instructional and Learning technologies
(TECH4102)
Comparative & Non-comparative
Studies
Submitted to: Dr. Alaa Sadik.
Done by:
1. Hamed Al-Maqbali 68719
2. Saif Al-Talbi 68708
Spring 2010

2. Title:
Comparing Student Learning and Attitudes
Type of study:
Perception and Performance study.
Author:
Renee Smith and Linda Palm
Purpose:
This study compared students in traditional and distance sections of PHIL
101: Introduction to Philosophy in terms of both objective learning outcomes
and student attitudes in the form of students' anticipated and perceived
learning and course satisfaction.
The Audience:
141 students who enrolled in Introduction to Philosophy during the fall
semester of 2005 or the spring semester of 2006 at Coastal Carolina
University.
The technology used:
Traditional format VS distance format
Instrument:
Survey
Conclusion:
The results of the study indicated that the traditional and distance students
did not differ significantly in their in performance on graded assignments, their
expectations for learning at the start of the course, their perception of what

3. they had learned at the end of the course, and their willingness to take
another philosophy course.
Distance students anticipated enjoying specific course activities more than
traditional students, but at the end of the semester, reported enjoyment of
these activities did not differ.
Students in the traditional classes, however, rated the lectures as more
interesting and rated the course, overall, as more enjoyable than students in
the distance classes. The implications of these findings for philosophy
instructors considering the use of the distance format are discussed.
Title:
Comparing the Impact of Two Different Designs for Online Discussion
Author:
Yuankun Yao
The purpose:
This study compared two ways of designing the discussion forums in an online
class for teacher candidates. The purpose was to find out if requiring students to
respond to one another with little intervention from the instructor would lead to
increased student participation and more significant student learning, as
compared to a design that required students to directly respond to the original
discussion topic followed by an instructor response.
The audience:
Students of University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg located 35 miles from
suburban Kansas City in USA.
The technology used:
Online Discussion

4. Instrument:
Observation
Conclusion:
This study examined the impact of two different designs of online discussion on
student participation in the discussions and the type of learning that was
generated.
The results showed that when students were given an opportunity to respond to
each other with the instructor mostly absent in the discussion process until the
end of the discussions, they would visit the discussion forums more frequently.
They were also more likely to pose follow-up questions for their classmates and
engage in meaningful inquires. On the other hand, when the instructor posted
frequently in the discussion forums, students would respond to him instead of
their peers, and the discussions were seldom carried forth in much depth.
References:
1. Smith and Palm, Renee and Linda. (2010). Comparing Student
Learning and Attitudes. 13th January.
2. Yao, Yuankun.Comparing the Impact of Two Different
Designs for Online Discussion.