Developmental mathematics instruction in a community college: A comparison of online and face-to-face delivery

The purpose of the study was to compare face-to-face and online developmental mathematics instruction. The study centered on a comparison of online and face-to-face instructional delivery methods, in a mid-level developmental mathematics course. The online format was delivered through Blackboard Developmental Education, the course lecture component was delivered through both synchronous and asynchronous methods. The lab portion for the online course was delivered through MyMathLab software developed by Pearson Education. The face to face lecture component was delivered in a traditional lecture classroom setting and the face-to-face lab component was delivered through the MyMathLab software. The need to accelerate the developmental education sequence and also allow online student to have the ability to enroll in a developmental mathematics course without a face-to-face component was a focus of this study. Many students enrolled in face to face developmental coursework but were enrolled in an online and/or hybrid format for all the additional courses in which they took. Some students were enrolled in only one course, while others took a full course load. The THECB required that if a student was enrolled in credit coursework but were deficient in one or more areas of the TSI, they were required to be concurrently enrolled in a developmental course. With the growing number of students who choose to enroll in online courses, this places an enormous burden upon developmental education programs, to provide a viable alternative to the traditional developmental coursework delivered solely in a face-to-face classroom setting.;The study found no significant difference in the comparison of success rates between the face-to-face and the online course delivery formats. The study implies that students must be provided the necessary tools which will allow them to succeed and persist through developmental mathematics and allow them to carry that success into credit bearing mathematics courses.