While there is no recognised sub-discipline of "the philosophy of higher education", there has been a steady flow of writings having just such an orientation, a flow that has increased in recent years. That flow has mainly taken two courses. On the one hand, those of a conservative persuasion hold to an ideal of higher education largely separate…

Within the online environment, social interactivity is a necessity to the formation of knowledge. Learning, in order to be truly effective, must embody a social element that nurtures an individual through the multi-intelligences of a group while it also embraces and fosters an individual to recognize self-efficacy. The idea of successful learning…

While online learning is nothing new, research regarding student perceptions of online courses is limited and has generally focused on those who have taken online courses. Data were collected from 180 students taking criminal justice courses on campus at a large 4-year university in the Southwest and 100 students taking criminal justice courses in…

Distance education has created new challenges with respect to the course evaluation process. This study aimed to determine if the adopted Telecourse Evaluation Questionnaire (TEQ) could be used to effectively evaluate a course developed for multisite distance delivery and taught by a team of instructors. It utilized a pretest and posttest…

The North Carolina Virtual Public School completed its first session during the summer of 2007. Evaluation results revealed differences between accelerated and credit recovery students, including a significantly higher likelihood for accelerated students to rate their courses as high quality, to express interest in taking another online course,…

This study examined whether the jigsaw model might be used in an online higher education course to produce the key characteristics of successful cooperative learning: interdependence, individual accountability, development of social skills, and promotive interaction. The authors employed a qualitative case study design to examine a 6-week online…

The purpose of this study is to determine whether "equivalent learning experiences" ensure equivalency, in the Internet-based and face-to-face interaction methods on learning results and student satisfaction. In the experimental process of this study, the effect of the Internet-based and face-to-face learning on the equivalency in learning…

This study investigated undergraduate student experiences during an online class. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of (a) how student context influences students' experiences, how students adapted to the classes, how students' mindsets changed, and how students expressed buy-in or lack of buy-in. The data revealed that…

Online instructors today search for ways to engage students in authentic activities in their courses to create real-world learning experiences. Collaborative grouping is 1 way that instructors promote students' creativity and productivity during the teamwork process. The present study is an attempt to enhance our understanding of students'…

Communication in the virtual environment can be challenging for participants because it lacks physical presence and nonverbal elements. Participants may have difficulties expressing their intentions and emotions in a primarily text-based course. Therefore, the use of visual communication elements such as pictographic and typographic marks can be…

This phenomenological study explored 5 undergraduate students' experiences in a Web-based general science course through the lens of social cognitive theory. Thematic analysis was used to examine their self-regulated learning (SRL). Our findings revealed that the participants exerted a variety of SRL strategies in the Web-based learning…

Web-based distance instruction has become a popular delivery method for education. How are learning strategies helping make the connection between Web-based technologies and educational goals? The purpose of this study was to examine learners' use of self-regulated learning strategies in a Web-based course. Twelve students from an information…

Previous research has indicated that instructor immediacy is associated with learning outcomes, satisfaction, and motivation. However, few researchers have examined instructor immediacy in the context of online learning. This study is the first large experiment (n = 433) to empirically investigate the effects of instructor immediacy behaviors…

This study examined the effects that online asynchronous dilemma discussions have on moral reasoning scores of pharmacy students. In contrast to face-to-face group discussions, asynchronous threaded discussions afford all participants time to reflect and respond during discussions. Anonymity features may lessen inhibitions in responding critically…

Online instruction, courses, and degree programs are rising in popularity in higher education and corporations. Novice and experienced instructors face increased demands from administrators and students to teach online, in a higher education environment long noted for face-to-face, residence-based instruction. Viewing the shift from face-to-face…