Progress 06/29/11 to 11/01/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience was undergraduate students in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications at Texas A&M University. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Distinguished Research Poster, Southern Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education Research Conference, Orlando, FL., 2013.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Strong, R., & Irby, T. L., & Dooley, L. M. (2013). Factors influencing students' behavioral intentions: Examining the potential use of mobile technology in agricultural education courses. Journal of Agricultural Education, 54(4), 149-161. doi: 10.5032/jae.2013.04149
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities: The PI collected the data through survey instruments using Qualtrics and hand delivered questionnaires. The PI taught the content gained through project TEX09477 during each of his seven courses during 2012. The courses were ALED 426, ALEC 613, ALEC 640 x 2, and ALEC 695 x 3. Events: The PI and graduate students presented the portions of the research at the 2012 Annual Conference of the Southern Association for the American Association for Agricultural Education in Birmingham, Alabama during February to 18 academic peers. The PI and graduate students presented the second portion of the research at the 2012 Annual Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education in Nakorn Province, Thailand during May to 11 global academic peers. The PI and graduate students presented the third portion of the research at the 2012 Annual Conference of the Association for Leadership Educators in Key West, Florida during July to 22 academic peers. Services: Products: PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project are undergraduate and graduate students and adult clientele of the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications at Texas A&M University. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Findings from this project broaden the knowledge base of McClelland's (1987) motivational needs theory and Tu and McIssac's (2002) social presence theory. Learning environment constructs related to the motivational needs theory and the social presence construct were significantly correlated p < .05. The results of this project indicated the combined theories of McClelland's (1987) motivational needs and Tu and McIssac's (2002) social presence accounted for the variance in students' satisfaction in eLearning courses. Results from the project built upon the three needs identified by McClelland (1987), achievement, affiliation, and power. Achievement was met through the need of instructor support. Students' with a need for achievement will strive for individual success and eLearning instructors should assist students' in attaining that success. A student will strive for progressive improvement in a particular task in order to meet their need for achievement (McClelland, 1987). According to McClelland (1987), eLearning instructors should routinely mentor, guide, and challenge students' with responsibilities that will improve their prospects for academic success. The second motivational need McClelland (1987) identified was power. The need for power addressed student autonomy in eLearning courses in this project. The scores for student autonomy indicated students need to maintain a certain amount of power in an eLearning course. Students with a need for power may search for situations in an eLearning course that enable the student to assert specific objectives. The objectives may have been defined by the student or an organization the student represents (McClelland, 1987). Affiliation paralleled students' interaction and collaboration with one another and the instructor of the eLearning course. Students seeking affiliation will develop relationships among other students and the instructor (McClelland, 1987). The need for affiliation is met when an individual feels accepted and establishes a mutual positive relationship with peers and a mentor. Affiliated students will accept compromises or find common ground when working with peers on course projects and assignments (McClelland, 1987). The results from this project were congruent with Tu and McIssac's (2002) social presence theory. Social presence had the largest effect on students' satisfaction with eLearning courses. Tu and McIssac (2002) said interactivity, social context and online communication were a part of social presences. Students' preferred to participate in active learning opportunities versus lecture based instruction with online formats (Tu & McIssac, 2002). The results from this project aligned with Walther's (1992) research in that students' preferred establishing a sense of identity. The interactivity dimension revealed students' preferred interaction and collaboration and instructor support (Tu & McIssac, 2002). Results indicated students' preferred to develop relationships with other students and maintain their individual identity in online courses simultaneously.
Publications
- Irby, T.L., Wynn, J.T., and Strong, R. (2012). A descriptive evaluation of agricultural education eLearning courses: Students' perspectives. NACTA Journal, 56(3), 70-76.
- Strong,R., Irby, T.L., Wynn, J.T., and McClure, M.M. (2012). Investigating students' satisfaction with eLearning courses: The effect of learning environment and social presence. Journal of Agricultural Education, 53(3), 98-110. doi: 10.5032/jae.2012.03098
- Strong, R., Irby, T.L., Wynn, J.T., and McClure, M.M. 2012. The effect of learning environment and social presence on students' satisfaction with eLearning courses. Page 550-564 in Proc. 62nd Southern Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education Annual Meeting. Birmingham, AL.
- Irby, T.L., Wynn, J.T., and Strong, R. 2012. Assessing eLearning courses from a students' perspective: A descriptive approach. Pages 503 to 514 in Proc. 62nd Southern Region of the American Association for Agricultural Education Annual Meeting, Birmingham, AL.
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The study was implemented as an assessment of Texas A&M University's graduate student satisfaction in agricultural education eLearning courses, and therefore, results from this study are not generalizable to all graduate students in agricultural education departments nationwide. However, the findings do provide factors that affect the variance of graduate student satisfaction in eLearning courses. Based on the results of this study, it can be seen that the primary deficiencies in delivering eLearning education at the graduate level fall within the interpersonal and social contexts. Those students who reported a high level of satisfaction with the coursework generally reported that eLearning education was not their preferred method of delivery. According to the data, there is strong evidence suggesting that this is due to the impersonal nature of the curriculum. In contrast to the reported deficiencies in active learning and personal relevance, the high degree of autonomy and interaction among students was considered to be a strong positive component of eLearning by respondents. Autonomy and interaction among students can be capitalized upon by the instructor to provide a richer and more robust educational experience. Levy (2007) said students' satisfaction is an indicator of retention and dropout rates in eLearning courses. Future research is needed regarding the tools that may increase students' social presence in eLearning courses. Researchers should examine the use of social media tools as potential avenues to improve students' social presence in eLearning courses. Other institutions offering agricultural education eLearning courses should continue to examine and assess student satisfaction. Schott, Chernish, Dooley, and Lindner (2003) indicated higher education budget deficiencies have challenged institutions to increase student availability regarding coursework. Agricultural education researchers should implement longitudinal studies to assist eLearning instructors, within the profession, address students' satisfaction and needs (Roach & Lemasters, 2006). Agricultural education eLearning instructors should evaluate courses to ensure that students are able to participate in collaborative learning environments (Sims, Dobbs, & Hand, 2002), and share the results with the broader academic community in order to improve student learning and advance the profession (Smart & Cappel, 2006). PARTICIPANTS: The researcher utilized three graduate assistants to assist with this project during 2011. The researcher meets with the three graduate students on a weekly basis. The graduate assistants will be co-presenting the data produced from this project at our research conferences. The graduate assistants will be co-authoring the manuscripts submitted to journals for publication. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience in this study consisted of graduate students enrolled in agricultural education eLearning courses at Texas A&M University (N = 164) and n = 109 responded to the study. Most of the participants were female (n = 73, 66.97%), white (n = 97, 88.99%), between 25 to 34 years old (n = 69, 63.30%), and lived in the Bryan/College Station area (n = 61, 55.96%). PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Findings from this study broaden the knowledge base of McClelland's (1987) motivational needs theory and Tu and McIssac's (2002) social presence theory. Learning environment constructs related to the motivational needs theory and the social presence construct were significantly correlated p < .05. The results of this study indicated the combined theories of McClelland's (1987) motivational needs and Tu and McIssac's (2002) social presence accounted for the variance in students' satisfaction in eLearning courses. Results from the study built upon the three needs identified by McClelland (1987), achievement, affiliation, and power. Achievement was met through the need of instructor support. Students' with a need for achievement will strive for individual success and eLearning instructors should assist students in attaining that success. A student will strive for progressive improvement in a particular task in order to meet their need for achievement (McClelland, 1987). According to McClelland (1987), eLearning instructors should routinely mentor, guide, and challenge students' with responsibilities that will improve their prospects for academic success. The second motivational need McClelland (1987) identified was power. The need for power addressed student autonomy in eLearning courses in this study. The scores for student autonomy indicated students need to maintain a certain amount of power in an eLearning course. Students with a need for power may search for situations in an eLearning course that enable the student to assert specific objectives. The objectives may have been defined by the student or an organization the student represents (McClelland, 1987). Affiliation paralleled students' interaction and collaboration with one another and the instructor of the eLearning course. Students seeking affiliation will develop relationships among other students and the instructor (McClelland, 1987). The need for affiliation is met when an individual feels accepted and establishes a mutual positive relationship with peers and a mentor. Affiliated students will accept compromises or find common ground when working with peers on course projects and assignments (McClelland, 1987). The results from this study were congruent with Tu and McIssac's (2002) social presence theory. Social presence had the largest effect on students' satisfaction with eLearning courses. Tu and McIssac (2002) said interactivity, social context and online communication were a part of social presence. Students preferred to participate in active learning opportunities versus lecture based instruction with online formats (Tu & McIssac, 2002). The results from this study aligned with Walther's (1992) research in that students' preferred establishing a sense of identity. The interactivity dimension revealed students' preferred interaction and collaboration and instructor support (Tu & McIssac, 2002). Results indicated students preferred to develop relationships with other students and maintain their individual identity in online courses simultaneously.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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