The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if instructors' use of mini audio presentations (MAPs) in online discussions serves as an effective facilitation method, particularly when the content contains specific facilitation markers including reinforcement, recognition, and reward (three Rs). Instructors posted MAPs as audio file attachments…

Student attrition from distance and limited-residency doctoral programs is significantly higher than that from traditional programs. The focus of this paper is the development and application of a survey instrument, the "Doctoral Student Connectedness Scale", designed to identify students at risk of dropout. The study focused exclusively on…

To better understand causes of attrition from a limited residency doctoral program, this paper describes the results of a seven-year study wherein the author collected data reflecting a given student's preference for information perception and focus. These constructs, based on Jung's theory of psychological type, have been hypothesized to be…

Describes a study that tracked doctoral students during the coursework phase in a Web-based learning environment. Explains the use of Kolb's Learning Style Inventory to test the hypothesis that learning style would predict completion of the required courses and suggests implications for future research. (Author/LRW)