How Classroom Environment and Student Engagement Affect Learning in Internet-based MBA Courses

Abstract

While the number of college courses being delivered via the Internet is increasing rapidly, our knowledge of what makes these courses effective learning experiences for students is still limited. Therefore, I conducted a study that examined the effects of technological, pedagogical, and student characteristics on student learn ing in Internet-based MBA courses. Of these characteristics, I found that only those reflecting instructor efforts to create an interactive classroom environment were significantly associated with student learning. Other characteristics such as the perceived ease of use of the course software package, the perceived flexibility of the online classroom environment, and the amount of time students spent logged onto the course Website were not significantly associated with student learning. These findings suggest that while some level of technological sophistication may be important, teaching expertise may be the primary criterion for teaching success in the online classroom environment. Therefore, instructors may need to spend more time developing and cultivating instructional skills such as simultaneously working with several smaller groups of students, developing interesting discussion questions, and fostering intimacy. To support this faculty development, business schools will likely need to make substantial infrastructural investments to ensure that their online course offerings are pedagogically and technologically conducive to student learning.