Independent Study by Correspondence: Myths and Misconceptions

Notes and References

• The concept of this paper and many of its ideas are based on John Dodd's, The Credibility of Distance Educatin, DERG Papers Number 1, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: The Open University Distance Education Group, April 1981 Inspiration was drawn from a letter to the editor in The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 21, 1982, written by Lesley K. Cafarelli, Coordinator of Media-Assisted Instruction and Special Projects, Department of Independent Study, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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• Defining quality or excellence in an Independent Study course is a problem. How is it recognized? What are its hallmarks? The NUCEA Independent Study Division's Standards, established by the NUCEA Awards and Special Recognition Committee, provide general guidelines for evaluating courses, course materials, and instruction — the thoroughness and standards of the course preface, the units, and presentation methods. Materials are evaluated based on a combination of objective evidence of achievement and subjective judgment regarding the level of achievement. Independent Study Instruction — the interaction between instructor and student — requires evaluation like that common in classroom courses. An article by Stephen Bailey K. titled “Flexible Space-Time Programs: A Plea for Caution” (1972) warns of a number of “serpents” threatening independent study. Two of the serpents are cited in a paper by Kevin C. Smith (1982) as working in tandem. They are the serpent of academic shoddiness (undue rigidity or undue limpness) and the serpent of the garden path (luring unsuspecting students into the rigors of independent study without adequate educational and psychological support systems). The opportunity for innovation in independent study poses the danger of going too far in instructional inventiveness, to the point of faddism. The open-door policy toward enrollments can carry with it a misleading “anybody can do it” image. Truly rigorous courses are usually more difficult, in some respects, than classroom study, unless students are taught with the attention to individual differences that is implied in this form of instruction
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• Childs . 1971 . Studies by Bittner and Mallory (1933), Newman and Highland (1956), Farnam (1957), Crissy (1966) and Glatter and Wedell (1971) have found that students taught by correspondence achieve as well or better than classroom students. See E. Macken et al. Home-Based Education: Needs and Technological Opportunities. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; National Institute of Education, April 1976, pp. 26–29
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• 1981 . It should be noted that the overall grade point average of Auburn Univerity Independent Study students is 2.61 on a 4.0 scale. It has been found that persons with five or more years of college are most likely to participate in adult education activities such as independent study. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 31 percent of this group participated in adult education activities in
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• Drawn also from several secondary sources. Crump found no significant difference in the ultimate attainment of external and on-campus students. Dysinger's study found that the attainment of 41 correspondence students equaled or surpassed that of 157 classroom students. Larson found that correspondence students' achievement compared favorably with that of on-campus students. Feig's findings indicated that correspondence students performed better than classroom students
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• Ball . found in 1966 that only 34 percent of those aged 34 or under completed their courses, white 57 percent of those aged 35 and over completed their course work. Donehower (1968) suggests that adults with higher educational training are more likely to complete their courses. See E. Macken et al. pp. 10–11
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• Several studies , Bittner and Mallory . 1933 . Fairing and Hugfies, 1950; James and Wedemeyer, 1959; Hartsell, 1971; Kennan, 1940; Sloan, 1966) have examined the reasons for dropping out of correspondence courses. The main reasons have remained stable over the years: too little time, complaints about the course materials, too little human contact, a change of plans, illness, financial problems, and lack of library facilities. The relationship of course factors with completion rates has been studied. Ball et al. (1966) found the highest completion rate (62 percent) was for education courses and the lowest (24.3 percent) was for business administration. Bradt (1956) and James and Wedemeyer (1959) concluded that courses with clearly stated goals were more likely to be completed. See E. Macken et al., pp. 12–16.
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• Many studies have indicated that rapid completion of the first assignments increases the likelihood of course completion. James and Wedemeyer (1959) concluded that a student who submits the first third or fourth of the course work is more likely to complete the course. Donehower (1968) found that students who submit work soon after enrolling are more likely to complete the course. See E. Macken et al., p. 11
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• Ball , S. J. , Kim , H. Y. and Olmsted , A. D. 1966 . Correspondence Study Evaluation Project - Stage I. Seattle, Washington : University of Washington. .
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• Bittner , W. S. and Mallory , H. F. 1933 . University Teaching by Mail. New York : Macmillan. .
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• Bradt , W. 1956 . “Servicemen Who Take Correspondence Courses: A Research Report on Their Problems.” . Journal of Education Research , 50 : 113 – 119 .
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• Childs , G. B. 1971 . “Recent Research Developments in Correspondence Instruction”. ” . In The Changing World of Correspondence Study. Edited by: MacKenzie , O. and Christensen , E. L. University Park : Pennsylvania State University Press. .
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• Crissy , W. S.E. 1966 . “Evaluation of Effectiveness of Naval Officers Correspondence Courses.” . The Home Study Review , 1 : 22 – 35 .
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• Crump , Robert E. 1928 . “Dissertation,” Columbia University. .
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• Donehower , G. M. 1968 . “Variables Associated with Correspondence Students: A Study to Test Twelve Hypotheses.” Reno : University of Nevada. .
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• Fairing , R. L. and Hugfies , C. R. 1950 . “An Analysis of Students' Reasons for Failing to Complete Correspondence Study.” General Extension Division, University of Florida. .
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• Feig , Charles A. 1932 . “The Effectiveness of Independent Study.” The Pennsylvania State University, Educational Resources Information Center, U.S. Office of Education. .
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• Glattner , R. and Wedell , E. G. 1971 . Study by Correspondence. London : Longman. .
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• Hartsel , C. 1971 . “Correspondence Dropouts. Why?”. ” . In Correspondence Study: A Review of Research and Development Literature. Edited by: Mathieson , D. E. New York : Syracuse University. .
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• James , B. J. and Wedemeyer , C. A. 1959 . “Completion of University Correspondence Courses by Adults.” . Journal of Higher Education , 30 : 87 – 93 .
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• Kennan , R. B. 1940 . The Private Correspondence School Enrollee. New York : Teachers College, Columbia University. .
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• Larson , Arthur . 1929 . “A Study of the Relative Ability and Achievement of Class Extension, Correspondence, and Resident Students at the University of Kentucky.” , M.A. Thesis University of Kentucky. .
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• Macken , E. , van den Heuvel , R. , Suppes , P. and Suppes , T. April 1976 . Home-Based Education: Needs and Technological Opportunities. April , U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; National Institute of Education. .
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• Newman , S. E. and Highland , R. W. June 1956 . “The Effectiveness of Four Instructional Methods at Different Stages of a Course.” June , Lackland Air Force Base: Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center. .
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• Sloan , D. 1966 . “Survey Study of University Dropouts and Cancellations.” . The Home Study Review , 7 : 9 – 16 .
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• Smith , K. C. 1982 . “Putting the Student First.” . The Knute O. Brody Lecture, ICDE Twelfth World Conference . June 1982 , Vancouver.
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