Abstract:
Traditional universities are placing increasing emphasis on the development of online courses that provide access to specialized course content such as Introductory Turfgrass Science. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a newly created online turfgrass course by assessing the performance of thirty undergraduate Horticulture students. Two groups of students, traditional lecture or online, simultaneously received identical course content during a 16-week semester. Student performance was evaluated using quizzes, homework assignments and written exams. The mean exam grades were similar for each population, although online student scores were slightly (2-7%) lower. Similar percentages, 82 and 84% of online and traditional students respectively, earned a final course grade > C. When evaluating online student success factors, grade point average, > 3.0, academic success in prior Agriculture courses, and actual time spent online all contributed to higher overall grades. These data indicate that this online version of the course appears to be a suitable substitute for those students unable to take the traditional lecture version but wishing to gain fundamental knowledge related to turfgrass science. Furthermore, dedicated and highly motivated students with a previous positive academic history can earn a grade comparable, > B, to those earned in other courses.
Keywords:
student performance, online course, turfgrass
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