Distance Learning Student Participation in Online Supplementary Courses of a Science Degree Programme – A Pilot Study
- June 9, 2021
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: IJRISS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue V, May 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
K.D.V.F. Siriwardana
The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
Corresponding author*
Abstract: This study was conducted in 2018 in distance learning students. The objectives of the study were to: identify the views on the importance/usefulness of Online Supplementary Components on educational experiences of the students at Level 3 (First Year) of the Faculty of Natural Science B.Sc. Degree Programme, identify the student participation in Online Supplementary Components offered by the Faculty of Natural Science at Level 3 in the B.Sc. Degree Programme, identify any associations between Leaner Support Programmes and student participation in Online Supplementary Components at Level 3 of the B.Sc. Degree Programme, identify any associations between geographical regions and student participation in Online Supplementary Components at Level 3 of the B.Sc. Degree Programme.
This is a telephone questionnaire based sample survey, using closed questions. The population of the study was the 1327 students who enrolled to the B.Sc. Degree programme(BSDP) in the academic year 2016/2017 (conducted from 1st March 2017 to 21st February 2018 in the regional centres at Colombo, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna, Anuradhapura, and Batticaloa) in the Faculty of Natural Sciences in the Open University of Sri Lanka. In this study, the On-Line Supplementary Components (OLSC) offered in the discipline based courses at Level 3 in the BSDP were considered. The faculty learner support progamme – Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) was conducted, in all disciplines only in Colombo and Kandy regional centres. Randomly selected 107 students, who were active learners, comprised of 42 students (Kandy -12, Colombo -30) who attended the PASS and 65 students (Anuradhapura -3, Batticaloa -4, Colombo -30, Jaffna -5, Kandy – 17, Matara -6) who did not attend the PASS, were interviewed. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample.
Overall, 94% students agreed that OLSCs are important/useful for their educational experiences. Therefore developing OLSCs for more courses in the BSDPs has to be encouraged. However, majority of students have used the OLSCs to ‘download the past papers’ (82%) and ‘Scheduling /Administrative matters’ (67%). The online participation to some of the activities such as ‘using online supplementary materials’, ‘answering of quizzes’, ‘interacting with the teacher for academic matters’, ‘interacting with the peers for academic matters’ are not at satisfactory levels. Large scale studies are recommended to find out the hidden factors curbing the online participation in these activities and take measures to mitigate them. Found statistically significant positive associations with the Learner Support Programme, PASS and utilising the OLSC (P < 0.05). Further, introducing online components to Leaner Support Programme designed to motivate the students in developing the necessary skills and using educational technology are recommended. Difference in participation of students in OLSCs was evident between regional centres at Colombo and Kandy (p = 0.035). Since the study indicates less online participation in regions away from Colombo, necessary measures, including providing accessibility to communication infrastructure and making awareness on technology, have to be adopted to address the online learning participation of the students in regions remote from the main city
