In response to COVID-19 restrictions, Durham College offered an alternative option (virtual lab delivery) in September 2021 and students were given an option to select their preferred lab option for one course – Fitness Assessment 1. To ensure the quality of online education this study investigated how a virtual lab option impacts self-directed learning (SDL), motivation, self-regulated learning (SRL), and academic success. This study recruited students from the virtual lab delivery group (n = 13) and from the traditional in-person lab delivery group (n = 10) who completed questionnaires at baseline (week 1) and following the course (week 14). The effect of motivation and SRL was measured by the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ) and the effects of SDL was measured by the self-directed learning readiness (SDLR) questionnaire. This impact of delivery method on academic success was measured by final calculated grade. Both delivery groups scored >150 on the SDLRS at both timepoints indicating a high readiness for self-directed learning. There was a significant effect of delivery method for the overall MSLQ composite score (p = 0.009) as well as the MSLQ learning domain (p = 0.005) with higher scores achieved by the virtual learning group. There was no significant impact of delivery on final academic grade. Students who selected the virtual learning option possessed a greater capacity to self-regulate their learning. This suggests that certain predispositions may make some students more likely to engage in self-directed learning and may require different educational strategies. Research Area (Please choose the topic area that is more appropriate to your research) Learning / Teaching Methodologies and Assessment (Apprentissage / Méthodologies d’enseignement et d’évaluation).

Author: Erin Dancey, Michael Williams-Bell

Published in: Canada International Conference on Education, 2022

• Date of Conference: 21-23 June, 2022
• DOI: 10.20533/CICE.2022.0017
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-913572-49-5
• Conference Location: Virtual (Mississauga, Canada)