What counts as evidence in this work?
Authors observe various types of courses, students and implementation environments.
Evidence included both pre- and post-course questionnaires administered to students. Behavioural and qualitative data were also collected were differences between the Virtual classroom and traditional classroom were brought out.
How do the two explicit research questions relate to the design of the research?
- Is the Virtual Classroom a viable option for educational delivery?
- What variables are associated with especially good and especially poor outcomes in this new teaching and learning environment?
First question was tackled by contrasting the virtual classroom withthe traditional classroom. Difference in grades, response to questionnaires and perceptions.
Variables included;
- Students cognitive maturity
- Students writing skills
- Students access to a computer
In what ways is the wider literature used in the paper?
Research on this issues being explored in this study. This is seen in the sections; ‘learning in the virtual classroom’ and ‘the concept of collaborative learning’. Maybe such literature on issues pertaining to this study were still at an early phase and thus authors were limited in this regard.
What views of education and learning underpin the research?
CMC and the concept of collaborative learning
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