This dissertation is a comparative study, using a criterion-group design, examining the effectiveness of a blended instructional model and a distance instructional model in the teaching of a learning and motivation strategies class. Course effectiveness was determined based upon changes in student grade point averages over time from prior to course enrollment to one term beyond course completion. In addition to grade point averages, other student characteristics and demographics were examined for commonalities and differences between and among students in the two different instructional methods. Characteristics and demographics considered include: procrastination scores, Preferred Learning Orientation, age, gender, ethnicity and academic ranking.
The course used in this study is a college-level, credit-bearing elective course. The data used in this study suggests there is no significant difference between the blended version and the distance version of the course in terms of student GPA. In addition, there appears to be no significant differences in demographics. While students in the distance course are older and further advanced academically (this being consistent with other findings in distance education), the male-female ratio, ethnicity distributions, and scores on self-administered procrastination and learning orientation surveys are all approximately the same in the blended version as in the distance version of the course.