Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 66

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015
course quality. Table 2 shows the results of t-tests to examine statistical significance. The
null hypothesis of each research hypothesis presents that there was no difference between
the treatment group and control group in the average values of the corresponding dependent
variables. The significance level of each t-test was set to 0.05, with 0.1 as the threshold for
marginal significance (Craparo, 2007). The p-values of t statistics indicated that one
difference was significant at the 0.05 level, three differences were marginally significant at
the 0.1 level, and one difference was not significant.
Table 2 Hypothesis Testing
Hypothesis t p-value
H1: Training ! Learning Objectives 1.39 0.08
H2: Training ! Outcome Assessments 1.35 0.09
H3: Training ! Instructional Materials 1.24 0.10
H4: Training ! Learner Interactions 2.10 0.02
H5: Training ! Course Technologies 0.61 0.27
Specifically, there was supporting evidence for Hypothesis Four (H4) on the effect of
faculty training on learner interaction. Hypotheses One, Two and Three (H1, H2, and H3)
were marginally supported, indicating that faculty training had some impact on learning
objectives, outcome assessments, and instructional materials. However, faculty training did
not improve the use of course technology as perceived by students.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
The relationship between faculty training and student perceptions of online course
quality was investigated. The author of this study hypothesized that if instructors had
participated in Quality Matters training, students who took their online courses would have
more positive perceptions in terms of a) learning objectives, b) outcome assessments, c)
instructional materials, d) learner interactions and e) course technologies. Observations were
collected from a quasi-experiment in which students were divided into a control group and a
treatment group depending on faculty training status. The results suggest that faculty
training significantly enhances learner interaction. The effects on learning objectives,
outcome assessments, and instructional materials are marginally significant. Yet, faculty
training does not seem to have much influence on the use of course technology.
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