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Distance Education Research Review Activity

Sydney Gennuso

ISTC 717

Towson University
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Summary of the Article

Research Problem

The article “Using Distance Learning in Organizing Independent Work of Full Time

Students Learning ‘Practical Grammar’” discusses the use of distance technologies that could

promote the learning of the grammar knowledge and skills needed to learn a second language.

The problem that E.A. Popova and M.N. Klevina presented was how the methodology affected

the construction of grammatical skills in students. Their main focus was using distance

technologies to help organize independent work outside of the traditional classroom in order for

students to develop competency in the foreign language in order to communicate effectively

(Popova & Klevina, 2019). The integration of distance technologies is believed to promote the

formation of cognitive abilities within students when comprehending grammar rules and

structures.

The researchers targeted the results of first-year university students’ independent work,

which is completed away from the classroom and without the supervision of an instructor. By

giving students the opportunity to use distance education technologies, Popova and Klevina

believe that students would gain better self-control skills, effective organizational skills, a better

grasp of time management, and increase motivation when completing their independent work.

Participants

The participants that were used for this research study on distance education in a practical

grammar course were freshman students that were earning their undergraduate degree in

education. Many instructors feel that freshmen undergraduate students are not prepared to

complete independent work during their first year at university. They found that these students
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had difficulty with organizational skills, self-control, time-management, and noted a decrease in

motivation when completing independent work that was not integrated with distance technology

(Popova & Klevina, 2019).

Within the participants, there was a control group and an experimental group. The

control group was made up of students that did not use any distance education technologies to

complete their independent work. However, the control group had the advantage of being able to

focus more on conditional speech and their corresponding exercises with the instructor present.

The control group also took tests at the end of each unit and a final exam. The experimental

group was made up of students that used distance technologies to complete their independent

work, with the researchers believing that these technologies will solve the issues that many first-

year students have. The students within the experimental group were able to develop their

grammar skills at their own pace, learn the content on their own time, receive quick feedback and

help from instructors, and complete all tasks an unlimited amount of times. Both groups were

studied for the duration of a semester in order to gain accurate results on whether the integration

of distance education technologies promotes the learning of grammar skills when learning a

second language.

Review of Results

Instructors used the eLearning Server 4G portal to post independent work for the students

in the experimental group (Popova & Klevina, 2019). The instructors were able to vary the

structure of presentational material, upload extra tasks that allowed students to better

comprehend the grammar content, and better organize the grammar skills needed to become

proficient in a foreign language. Instructors were also able to upload text and audio tasks which

allowed the experimental group more opportunities to practice their speech exercises.
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Both groups were given a survey to complete that factored into the results of the research.

From the survey, 94% of students believed that distance education technologies are convenient

when participating in a class. It was also noted that 82% of students believed that testing through

distance education was more positive than in a traditional classroom setting due to there being

less pressure and stress on the students because they are completing the tests in their own home.

The final question in the survey revealed that 79% of students believed that they would be more

organized with their independent work by being able to test at the end of each topic studied

through distance education (Popova & Klevina, 2019).

When comparing the results of the control group’s and experimental group’s grades, the

research proved that the experimental group, which used distance education technologies to

complete their independent work, received 31% higher scores on the final exam at the end of the

semester. Due to the experimental group being able to redo their tests as many times as they

wanted after individual lessons when they were not satisfied with their results, the students were

more prepared for their final test because they constantly exposed themselves to the material and

better prepared than the students in the control group. The experimental group was better

prepared due to their desire to want to correct their errors on their online tests themselves than

the control group, which received the traditional form of error correction of allowing the teachers

to correct for them.

Overall, the experimental group was more successful by using the distance educational

technologies to complete their independent work because they were able to build organization

skills, create a better sense of self-control, and set goals in mastering the content on their own

and at their own pace.

Opinion about the Importance and Potential Impact of the Paper

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With the growing use of technology in the educational field, every subject will be highly

impacted, even foreign languages. When successfully integrated, distance educational

technologies can promote success within students because they are completing tasks at their own

learning pace and at their own time. I truly believe that by giving students multiple opportunities

to use distance educational technologies to complete work from home, they will become more

mature, self-sufficient, and organized human beings, which was proven in the research by

Popova & Klevina in 2019.

I do, however, feel that distance educational technologies should not replace foreign

language teachers in younger students. I feel this way because even though it was proven that

the students in the experimental group became better overall students, I believe that this

happened because they were older and more mature, thus making them understand the situation

that they were in. From my own classroom experience, I have observed that younger students

struggle with becoming independent and do not adhere to change very well. Due to this, I

believe that distance educational technologies should be integrated within the curriculum,

allowing for students to practice what they have learned at home, on their own time, and at their

own pace. This not only allows for younger students to still have the structure that they need

while learning in a traditional classroom setting, but it also allows for students to become more

independent and self-sufficient in their learning while using the distance educational

technologies at home to complete learning modules or tasks.

I, myself, am trying to implement more distance educational technologies within my

classes this year in order to build better proficiency skills of my students within themselves,

promote better study skills, and promote time management skills. I integrate different

technologies and offer my classes opportunities to become more proficient in the language. I
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often implement Quizlet, which allows students to study and play with vocabulary flashcards

online. I also use Quizziz, which is a question and answer online quiz website that allows

students to answer at their own pace and gives me live feedback on what I may need to reteach to

the entire class or within small groups. I also pose optional discussion questions, which permit

the students to interact with each other online using the target language and builds better

interpersonal writing skills. I also post additional readings and videos online that relate to the

content that is currently being taught for my students with comprehension question quizzes,

which give the students live feedback, and the students are allowed to retake if they are not

happy with what they earned. All students have the opportunity to complete these additional

tasks at home and on their own time. From my observations, the students that take advantage of

these resources perform at a higher academic level and are more successful in the class than the

students that do not take advantage of the resources. I have shared my observations with the

administrators and the STAT teacher at my school and they are impressed with what I have

observed.

Application of Results in the Field

I believe that these results will greatly impact the fields of distance education and foreign

language education. It was proven that the integration of distance educational technologies

within the foreign language curriculum yielded better results from students, made students more

comfortable when completing tasks, and helped develop the student’s self-sufficiency and life

skills needed to perform well in school.

I believe that the results will impact distance education because, again, it proved that

students performed better in the course when using distance educational technologies in a foreign

language course. I do not believe that these results would only happen in a foreign language
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course. I believe that students can and will perform better when distance educational

technologies are implemented in all curricula across all contents. Students will be able to better

prepare themselves when learning because they are learning in a comforting environment, at

their own time, and at a pace that is appropriate to them.

I also feel that with the integration of distance educational technologies in a traditional

classroom setting, there will be a lot of push back from veteran teachers because it could be

something unknown to them and may not know how to implement. Teachers must understand

that they must individualize, create lessons or modules that are interactive for students in an

online setting, create lessons or modules that appropriately implement distance learning

technologies in the educational process, and allow for the proper level of input learning to form

the new skills within students, which is what teachers should be doing every day in every lesson,

but may be lost when trying to put it in the frame of technology. However, with the proper

professional development and training, I believe that teachers may slowly jump on board and

include distance educational technologies in their traditional classroom lessons.

I also believe that the results of the 2019 research by Popova and Klevina will impact the

field of foreign language education. By allowing students to learn a language and the grammar

skills that form competency in communication at their own pace, instead of in a traditional

classroom with a variety of learners and distractions that could vary the learning process and

hinder learning within students, students will be more prepared and better acclimated with the

content that is being taught to them.

Conclusion

Overall, the implementation of distance educational technologies in all content areas will

create better learning opportunities for students as well as build self-sufficiency skills within
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them. I believe there will be more research completed on this topic. I feel that it would be

beneficial to see research studies completed on the integration of distance educational

technologies in primary and secondary educational settings, due to younger students needing

more classroom structure and support to feel comfortable in the learning process than students in

a higher-educational setting. It would also be beneficial to see research on how the integration of

distance educational technologies varies from school to school. Would students that attend a

school that has a better socioeconomic status perform better in classes when using distance

educational technologies than students that attend a school that has a lower socioeconomic

status? I would also like to see research done on schools or content areas that have low teacher

retention rates and rely on long-term substitutes to give substitute work for students to complete

in the middle of the year. Would they benefit from distance educational technologies without

direct instruction from a teacher or would they be unsuccessful due to the lack of direct

instruction? I look forward to reading more research on distance education and especially look

forward to reading on how to successfully integrate it within a foreign language classroom.

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References

Popova, E. A., & Klevina, M. N. (2019). Using Distance Learning in Organizing Independent

Work of Full Time Students Learning “Practical Grammar.” Scientific Newsletter of

Voronezh State University of Architecture & Civil Engineering, 27(4), 72–80.