THE APPLICATION OF WEB-BASED PROJECTS AND DISCUSSION BOARDS IN AN ONLINE ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

摘要

Educators have, for many years, noticed that some students prefer certain methods of learning. These traits, referred to as learning styles, form a student's unique learning preference and aid teachers in the planning of small-group and individualized instruction. The purpose of this study was to compare the student learning styles of an online graduate course "Optimization Methods" with an equivalent on-campus class at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). The main reason for this study is to define the variations in learning styles and analyze the differences of learning levels between online and on campus students. This study was mainly focused on the semester projects assigned in class, in which the project teams made by the combination of online and on-campus students. The results showed that students who enrolled in the distance education class received the same level of knowledge and understanding with the students in the equivalent on-campus class by the end of the semester.