| Currently, debate in academia exists regarding whether or not online and hybrid courses are equivalent in terms of quality. Teaching presence, or the relationship between student and teacher, is an important component in any class environment. As online education enrollment grows, the need for an effective model for teachers creating and teaching courses exists. Data for this study was derived from 1,017 (N=1017) students taking online or hybrid courses in an adult learner accelerated program at a private, non-profit university. The researcher examined final grades and responses to end-of-course surveys that measured teaching presence in addition to the relationship between the number of online forums, postings, and replies. No statistically significant differences in median grades or teaching presence levels were found using the Mann-Whitney U Test leading to the acceptance of the null hypothesis that there is no statistically significant difference between online and hybrid classes in terms of final course grades or teaching presence levels. In addition, using binary logistic regression, high levels of forums were found to increase the likelihood of high teaching presence while high levels of replies decreased the likelihood of high teaching presence. |
