Using Distance Education in Math:

An Experiment with 5th Grade Students

India Crews
Mississippi State University
TKT 8713
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

01 Introduction of the 03 Methodology

Problem
3.1 Research Design
1.1 Purpose of the study 3.2 Sample
1.2 Justification 3.3 Instrumentation
1.3 Research question and hypothesis 3.4 Procedures
1.4 Definitions 3.5 Data Analysis

Citations and
02 Review of Literature
2.1 Overview
References
2.2 Body
2.3 Conclusion
Chapter 1:
Introduction of the
Problem
Purpose of the Study
Justification
Research Question
Hypothesis
Definitions
 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to compare the instructional

methods of distance education and traditional classroom
instruction in terms of its affect on math scores among 5th grade
students in the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School
District.
 Justification
• Rise and growth in distance education programs in elementary schools

• Development of online distance learning schools is a relatively new phenomenon

• Online virtual schools may be suitable to meet the needs of stakeholders calling for school choice, school
reform, and workforce preparation in 21st century skills.

• The growth in the numbers of students learning online and the importance of online learning as a solution
to educational challenges has increased the need to do research in this area.

• Due to the ever-changing nature of technologies, it is necessary to continue to conduct studies that
compare distance education to classroom teaching, especially in elementary education.

• Remediation and practice in math can improve skills and knowledge.

• Distance education learning for math skills uses remediation and practice to improve skills.
 Research Question

Will the instructional mode (distance

education vs. traditional education) make a
difference in 5th grade students’ learning
achievement in math?
 Definitions
The Following are key terms in the problem or question that are not clear and thus need to be defined:

Distance means “taking place via electronic media linking instructors and students who are not together in a classroom”
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2020).

Traditional is “following or conforming to tradition : adhering to past practices or established conventions”

(Merriam-Webster,2020).

Instruction means “the action, practice, or profession of teaching” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2020).

Achievement is “the quality and quantity of a student's work” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2020).

“method of education that includes the physical separation of teachers and students during instruction and the use
Distance of various technologies to facilitate learning and communication among students and teachers” (Merriam-Webster
Education Dictionary, 2020).
• Also called distance learning, e-learning, and online learning, virtual learning
 Operational Definitions
Distance education method of instruction
Means providing education in an environment where the teacher and student are separated
from each other during instruction
• Students will use technology to communication and learn synchronously in a virtual
environment
• Students will use interactive lessons along with computer activity practice exercises that
use remediation
• Distance education method is for students in the experiment group of this intervention
only.

Achievement
Refers to the academic success of fifth grade students measured by math tests before and
after intervention.
 Definitions
In this study the independent variable is the method of instruction.
• It is a categorical variable.
• Students will receive either distnace education or traditional
classroom instruction.
• The experimental group are the students who receive distance
education.
• The control group are the students who receive traditional classroom
instruction.
 Definitions
The dependent variable is math test scores which may be
influenced by the manipulation of the method of instruction.
• The math test scores are quantitative and measured as the
outcome variable.
• The test scores show how much change occurs as a result
of the method of instruction received by the students.
HYPOTHESIS

Fifth grade students who receive instruction

by means of a distance education program
for Math will have show no difference test
scores than those who receive traditional
classroom instruction.
Chapter 2: Review of
Literature

Introduction
Body
Conclusion
 Review of Literature
The literature review will address the specific question:
○Is distance education as effective as traditional classroom instruction for elementary education in terms of achievement?

The general reference tools used to conduct research:

○ EBSCO
○ ERIC
○ ScienceDirect

Search terms used:

○ distance education
○ distance learning
○ elementary school
○ virtual classroom

Scope of the review and inclusion/exclusion criteria:

○ Included studies must have compared distance education vs traditional classroom instruction
○ Included studies must have participants in elementary school; Grades K-5
○ Included studies must have been published in the last 20 years
○ Included studies must be scholarly peer reviewed
○ Exclusion of studies that were published more than 5 years ago
○ Excluded studies that included participants other than elementary school students
 Review of Literature
Topics and subtopics that emerged about distance education versus traditional classroom instruction:

Learners and parents of elementary students found that distance education course to be an effective learning experience more so
than older students in junior-high and high-school (Wallace, 2009).
● Difference in reasons for enrolling in distance education
● Show significant favorability toward distance educational instructors
● Course work less demanding

Online education programs are becoming increasingly more available to students of all grade levels.
● Expands options and provides access to courses that are not offered in school (Wallace, 2009)
● Provides appropriate and individualized levels of learning to a wider variety of learners (Angela Urbina & Drew Polly, 2017)

Challenges and risk of using distant learning strategies when compared to traditional classroom instruction
● Concerns for younger students in the ability to use certain software and technologies (Wallace, 2009)
● Teacher training and specialization for distance education for learning (Angela Urbina & Drew Polly, 2017)
●Interaction and communication and need for teacher presence (Limperos et al., 2015; Offir et al., 2008)
The effectiveness of distance education programs vary from across discipline(Bernard et al., 2004)
●Some disciplines are more suited for traditional classroom instruction rather than distance education
 Review of Literature

● There seems to be a lot of studies that focus on higher grade school, but little is known regarding how
well this method of instruction works for younger students.

● There are many challenges and risk of using distant learning strategies when compared to
traditional classroom instruction.

● Due to the ever-changing nature of technologies, it is necessary to continue to conduct studies

that compare distance education to classroom teaching, especially in elementary education.

● Based on the review of literature, I would conclude that there will be significant difference in
the math test scores of 5th graders who receive instruction by distance education or who receive
traditional classroom instruction.
Chapter 3:
Methodology

Research Design
Sample
Instrumentation
Procedures
Data Analysis
Research Design
This study uses a quantitative experimental research design to compare teaching
methods; distance education vs. traditional classroom instruction and how they
affect math scores among 5th grade students.
• The experimental group is distance education.
• The comparison group is traditional classroom instruction.
• 100 5th grade students from the Starkville Oktibbeha School District are
randomly assigned to either the distance education group or the traditional
classroom instruction for math classes.
• Both groups will be measured twice using a math test. The first measurement
serves as the pretest, the second as the posttest.
 Sample
● 100 5th grade students from Overstreet Elementary School in
Starkville Oktibbeha School District will participate in this study.
● The study will be comprised of both genders and mixed race.
● The Students will be randomly placed into two groups: a control
group and an experimental group.

● The simple random sampling technique using a table of random

numbers will be used to select the participants from Overstreet
Elementary 6th grade.
 Instrumentation
• In order to measure the math achievement of the participants, pretest and posttest tests scores will be
collected for analysis.

• In this design, which uses two groups, one group is given the treatment and the results are gathered at the
end. The control group receives no treatment, over the same period, but undergoes the same tests.

• The instrument used to measure the students learning will be norm referenced pre/post test that will
completed by the participants in the study.
• The development of pre/post test is a researcher and teacher collaboration.

• Sources that will be used to develop pre/post test:

• Nasional Assessment of Educational Programs
• Mississippi Department of Education
• Common Sore Math Standards

• The format will be multiple choice computer-administered test.

 Procedural Details
• The study will be performed on fifth grade students from Overstreet Elementary at the beginning of the
2020-2021 school year.

• The 100 students would complete a pretest before the research period begins.

• The pre-test score will be used as a covariate to control for possible initial differences between the
treatment and the control group

• Students will be randomly assigned into two groups with fifty students in each group.
• One group would receive math lessons through distance education for 90 days. This group would
be the experimental group.
• The other group would receive the classroom traditional classroom math instruction for 90 days.
This group is the control/comparison group.

• Both treatment and control students in the sample school will be administered the mathematics pre-test
and post-test that are constructed for this study based on 5 th grade Common Core State Standards.

• I will compare the differences between the pre- and post-test scores of the experiment group and control
group.
 Data Analysis
The pre-test score will be used as a covariate to control for
possible initial differences between the treatment and the
control group.

I will use a basic Analysis of Covariance Design (ANCOVA) in

this pretest-posttest randomized experimental design since the
pretest and posttest measure is the same.
• ANCOVA removes variability

Independent samples t-test procedures were used to test the

hypotheses and probe the research question of interest
 References
Angela Urbina, & Drew Polly. (2017). Examining elementary school teachers’ integration of technology and enactment of TPACK in
mathematics. The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 34(5), 439–451. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJILT-
06-2017-0054
Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Lou, Y., Borokhovski, E., Wade, A., Wozney, L., Wallet, P. A., Fiset, M., & Huang, B. (2004). How Does
Distance Education Compare With Classroom Instruction? A Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Literature. Review of Educational
Research, 74(3), 379–439. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074003379
Limperos, A. M., Buckner, M. M., Kaufmann, R., & Frisby, B. N. (2015). Online teaching and technological affordances: An experimental
investigation into the impact of modality and clarity on perceived and actual learning. Computers & Education, 83, 1–9.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.12.015
Offir, B., Lev, Y., & Bezalel, R. (2008). Surface and deep learning processes in distance education: Synchronous versus asynchronous
systems. Computers & Education, 51(3), 1172–1183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2007.10.009
Wallace, P. (2009). Distance Learning for Gifted Students: Outcomes for Elementary, Middle, and High School Aged Students. Journal
for the Education of the Gifted, 32(3), 295–320. https://doi.org/10.4219/jeg-2009-855
THANKS
Do you have any questions?

India.crews@msstate.edu

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