Investigation of Blended versus Fully Web-Based Instruction for Pre-Teacher Candidates in a Large Section Special Education Survey Course

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the results of a quasi-experiment conducted to determine the relative effectiveness of preparing pre-teacher education university students using a fully web-based course conducted asynchronously versus a blended model of instruction using the same LMS for forty percent of instructional time. The project evaluated two large sections of SPED 2100, “Introduction to Students with Special Needs.” Data was collected to evaluate the extent to which pre-teacher education students developed understanding of critical information related to human development factors, psychological, sociological, and policy foundations of teaching students with special needs. Further, data collection examined student preferences in learning and the extent to which students developed comparable perception of preparedness for the future teaching roles. Results indicated no significant differences regarding content knowledge, but varying perspectives on the potential for success in fully web-based courses dependent largely on learner profile and the point of development in university coursework.