Blended course delivery and student success: An action research study

This action science research study explored the problem of student failure in Physical Education and Fitness courses at the research site. The intervention for this study consisted of adjusting the course delivery method to combine traditional face-to-face learning with online teaching approaches in order to improve student success. Student success was measured in terms of the mean score of final grade point average and the proportion of passing students. The study was a mixed methodology study including quantitative and qualitative data. The guiding following research questions yielded quantitative data: How does implementing blended course instructional delivery methods impact student success in regards to their final course grade point average? How does implementing blended course instructional delivery methods impact the percentage of passing students particular to this course? The following research question yielded qualitative data: What perceptions do students have in regards to the effectiveness of blended course instructional delivery methods? The population included in this study consisted of male and female undergraduate students varying in age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status enrolled in a course. Three sections of the traditional course format contained 20-25 participants enrolled in each section. Three sections of the blended course format contained 20-25 participants enrolled in each section. Data utilized in this research included the collection of final course grade point averages for the test group (blended course students) and the baseline group (face-to-face students) and a research journal. The theoretical context of this research included blended learning, action science research methods, systems theory, and organizational learning. Study data indicated that there was no difference in terms of grades and proportion of passing students between the traditional course and the blended course groups. Students in the blended course perceived this format of the course to have a positive impact on their completion. Implications of this study suggested that further research is necessary to explore if a blended learning method can improve student success rates specifically in physical education courses.