Influence of Structure and Interaction on Student Achievement and Satisfaction in Web-Based Distance Learning

This study examines the influence of instructional design and management style on student achievement and satisfaction in a web-based distance learning environment. From the literature review, two major instructional design and management styles in web-based distance education were conceptualized as structure and interpersonal interaction. To investigate the differences on learning output variables, two web-based instructional programs were developed as college level courses. One course was developed and implemented mainly with a resource-based highly structured self-learning mode with little interpersonal interaction, and the other course was developed and conducted mainly with interpersonal interaction without well-structured materials. Sixty seven and fifty six juniors were enrolled in each course at a cyber university for one semester. Questionnaires, achievement scores, satisfaction levels, and interview data were collected and analyzed. Findings indicated that self-learning with well-structured materials was not inferior to highly interactive instruction without well-structured materials in receptive learning achievement. This implicates that well-structured material can possibly replace a teacher's one to one interaction in receptive learning as early distance educators expected. However, students in the interactive course without well-structured materials, rather than in the well-structured course with little interaction, showed higher achievement in critical thinking learning. In terms of satisfaction, students in the structured course were more satisfied with structure, and students in the interactive course were more satisfied with interpersonal interaction. Implications of these findings and recommendations for further study are suggested.