CAN SELECTED LEARNING STRATEGIES INFLUENCE THE SUCCESS OF ADULT DISTANCE LEARNERS IN AGRICULTURE?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether providing information about learning strategies to agricultural distance learners through a professionally developed videotape would result in their achieving intended learning outcomes to a greater degree and result in increased satisfaction with the distance learning experience. At the beginning of fall and spring semesters of the 1999-2000 academic year, 110 of the 218 students enrolled in 25 off-campus courses offered by 14 different departments in the Iowa State University College of Agriculture were randomly selected to receive the videotape and a book mark outlining six learning strategies that were recommended in the literature. At the end of each semester, all off-campus students were asked to complete a learning survey. Students who viewed the tape rated it very favorably in terms of its value to off-campus learners. Even so, students who watched the videotape did not earn higher grades for the semester in which they were involved in the study nor did they express a more positive attitude toward the distance-learning environment than students in the control group. Further analysis revealed that students who chose to participate in the study achieved a semester GPA 32% higher than students who did not participate. Those who may have been able to benefit most chose not to participate.