Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.84.2.96-100

Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

The Impact of Learning Structure on Students'
Readiness for Self-Directed Learning
Linda Dynan , Tom Cate & Kenneth Rhee
To cite this article: Linda Dynan , Tom Cate & Kenneth Rhee (2008) The Impact of Learning
Structure on Students' Readiness for Self-Directed Learning, Journal of Education for Business,
84:2, 96-100, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.84.2.96-100
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.84.2.96-100

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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The฀Impact฀of฀Learning฀Structure฀on฀
Students’฀Readiness฀for฀Self-Directed฀
Learning฀
LINDA฀DYNAN฀
TOM฀CATE฀
KENNETH฀RHEE
NORTHERN฀KENTUCKY฀UNIVERSITY
HIGHLAND฀HEIGHTS,฀KENTUCKY

ABSTRACT.฀ Self-directed฀learning฀
(SDL)฀skills฀are฀the฀basis฀of฀lifelong฀learning.฀The฀authors฀present฀findings฀from฀a฀

classroom฀experiment฀to฀assess฀acquisition฀
of฀the฀skill฀of฀SDL฀under฀structured฀and฀
unstructured฀learning฀environments.฀The฀
authors฀found฀that฀structure฀match฀enhances฀
SDL฀skills฀and฀that฀courses฀designed฀to฀
enhance฀students’฀readiness฀for฀SDL฀can฀do฀
so.฀However,฀the฀majority฀of฀the฀students฀in฀
this฀study,฀who฀were฀likely฀to฀be฀similar฀to฀
other฀students฀at฀public฀universities฀in฀metropolitan฀areas,฀entered฀the฀course฀unprepared฀for฀SDL.฀The฀structured฀environment,฀
in฀which฀students฀model฀good฀learning฀
skills,฀provided฀a฀more฀suitable฀environment฀for฀improving฀student฀readiness฀for฀
SDL฀for฀more฀students.฀The฀authors฀make฀
recommendations฀for฀the฀development฀of฀
SDL฀across฀the฀college฀curriculum.

Keywords:฀learning฀environment,฀selfdirected฀learning,฀structure฀฀
Copyright฀©฀2008฀Heldref฀Publications

96฀


Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

A

t฀its฀best,฀teaching฀aims฀to฀achieve฀
at฀ least฀ two฀ essential฀ goals฀ for฀
students:฀to฀(a)฀increase฀knowledge฀with฀
respect฀ to฀ particular฀ content฀ and฀ (b)฀
develop฀ skills฀ that฀ will฀ serve฀ students฀
well,฀even฀beyond฀the฀content฀of฀a฀specific฀ course.฀ We฀ present฀ findings฀ from฀
a฀ classroom฀ experiment฀ designed฀ to฀
assess฀student฀performance฀with฀respect฀
to฀ the฀ second฀ goal฀ of฀ skill฀ acquisition,฀
specifically฀ the฀ skill฀ of฀ self-directed฀
learning฀(SDL).
According฀ to฀ Knowles฀ (1975),฀ SDL฀
“is฀ a฀ process฀ in฀ which฀ individuals฀ take฀
the฀ initiative,฀ with฀ or฀ without฀ the฀ help฀
of฀ others,฀ in฀ diagnosing฀ their฀ learning฀
needs,฀formulating฀learning฀goals,฀identifying฀ human฀ and฀ material฀ resources,฀

choosing฀ and฀ implementing฀ appropriate฀ learning฀ strategies,฀ and฀ evaluating฀
learning฀outcomes”฀(p.฀18).฀The฀skill฀of฀
SDL,฀ if฀ successfully฀ acquired,฀ equips฀
students฀ with฀ the฀ ability฀ to฀ be฀ lifelong฀
learners.฀The฀contribution฀of฀the฀present฀
study฀is฀to฀test฀whether฀having฀students฀
pattern฀ their฀ skills฀ after฀ their฀ professors’฀skills฀(structured)฀or฀practice฀their฀
own฀ (unstructured)฀ self-directed฀ skills฀
improves฀ readiness฀ to฀ engage฀ in฀ SDL.฀
An฀answer฀to฀this฀question฀will฀enhance฀
the฀ ability฀ of฀ educators฀ to฀ produce฀
graduates฀ capable฀ of฀ lifelong฀ learning.฀
Although฀ many฀ other฀ factors,฀ such฀ as฀
emotional฀ maturity฀ (Chickering,฀ 1969;฀
Keegan,฀1982;฀Perry,฀1970),฀are฀important฀ in฀ enhancing฀ student฀ readiness฀ to฀

engage฀in฀SDL,฀those฀are฀not฀the฀focus฀
of฀this฀study.
In฀ this฀ classroom฀ experiment,฀ we฀
assess฀ whether฀ upper฀ division฀ students฀

achieve฀ measurably฀ better฀ self-direction฀ skills฀ in฀ a฀ structured฀ or฀ unstructured฀learning฀environment.฀We฀ask฀this฀
question฀ to฀ better฀ understand฀ whether฀
students฀ at฀ this฀ educational฀ level฀ in฀ a฀
public฀ university’s฀ college฀ of฀ business฀
can฀ perform฀ with฀ intellectual฀ independence฀ and฀ self-direction.฀ This฀ study฀ is฀
motivated฀ by฀ an฀ earlier฀ one฀ by฀ Dynan฀
and฀ Cate฀ (2005)฀ in฀ which฀ the฀ authors฀
examined฀ whether฀ regular฀ structured฀
writing฀assignments฀in฀a฀class฀of฀mixed฀
majors฀ that฀ did฀ not฀ use฀ a฀ formal฀ textbook฀improved฀performance.฀The฀results฀
suggested฀that฀writing฀does฀matter,฀as฀it฀
significantly฀ improves฀ student฀ test฀ performance.฀This฀finding฀is฀true฀even฀after฀
control฀ for฀ variation฀ in฀ student฀ major฀
(Dynan฀&฀Cate).
To฀ the฀ extent฀ to฀ which฀ faculty฀ are฀
concerned฀with฀students฀mastering฀content,฀the฀structured฀writing฀assignments฀
appear฀effective.฀However,฀to฀the฀extent฀
that฀faculty฀are฀concerned฀with฀teaching฀
independence฀and฀self-direction—skills฀
essential฀in฀a฀global฀economy฀undergoing฀ significant฀ structural฀ change฀ that฀

requires฀ an฀ increasingly฀ flexible฀ and฀
continuously฀ educated฀ workforce—this฀
method฀ of฀ instruction฀ may฀ be฀ less฀
appropriate฀ for฀ instilling฀ skills฀ (Dynan฀
&฀Cate,฀2005).฀

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In฀ the฀ present฀ study,฀ we฀ used฀ a฀ pretest฀ and฀ posttest฀ experimental฀ design฀ to฀
understand฀how฀learning฀structure฀affects฀
skill฀ enhancement.฀ How฀ different฀ learning฀ structures฀ affect฀ readiness฀ for฀ SDL฀
is฀ measured฀ by฀ the฀ pretest฀ and฀ posttest฀
change฀ in฀ student฀ scores฀ on฀ a฀ survey฀
instrument฀ designed฀ to฀ measure฀ student฀
readiness฀ for฀ SDL.฀ We฀ used฀ the฀ pretest฀ survey฀ scores฀ to฀ determine฀ whether฀
matching฀ the฀ students’฀ initial฀ readiness฀
to฀self-direct฀with฀their฀learning฀structure฀
affects฀their฀acquisition฀of฀that฀skill.
฀ The฀ importance฀ of฀ understanding฀
SDL฀in฀this฀student฀population฀is฀underscored฀ by฀ the฀ increasing฀ prevalence฀ of฀

online฀learning฀for฀university฀work,฀nondegree฀ training,฀ and฀ skill฀ enhancement฀
intended฀to฀retool฀workers฀reentering—
or฀ transitioning฀ in—the฀ labor฀ market.฀
For฀students฀to฀benefit฀from฀this฀type฀of฀
course,฀they฀should฀possess฀at฀least฀some฀
minimal฀level฀of฀readiness฀for฀SDL.

and฀ explain฀ why฀ one฀ is฀ better฀ than฀
another.฀ Although฀ all฀ of฀ these฀ skills฀
need฀not฀be฀well฀developed฀simultaneously,฀ reasoning฀ skills฀ must฀ advance฀
to฀ at฀ least฀ the฀ level฀ of฀ application฀ for฀
the฀ student฀ to฀ engage฀ in฀ independent฀
lifelong฀ learning฀ that฀ achieves฀ goals฀
beyond฀ self-improvement฀ projects฀ or฀
leisure฀activities.
The฀ability฀to฀engage฀in฀SDL฀is฀a฀skill฀
that฀ is฀ necessary฀ for฀ lifelong฀ learning.฀
With฀this฀skill,฀on฀the฀basis฀of฀Bloom’s฀
(1956)฀study,฀we฀proposed฀that฀students฀
will฀ be฀ able฀ to฀ do฀ the฀ following:฀ (a)฀

ask฀ an฀ appropriate฀ question฀ to฀ guide฀
their฀inquiry;฀(b)฀identify฀the฀appropriate฀
resources฀ and฀ tools฀ necessary;฀ (c)฀ use฀
the฀ tools฀ and฀ resources,฀ with฀ appropriate฀adjustments฀and฀modifications฀based฀
on฀ their฀ specific฀ needs,฀ to฀ satisfactorily฀
answer฀the฀initial฀question;฀and฀(d)฀question฀the฀assumptions฀and฀ideas฀that฀created฀the฀question฀in฀step฀(a).฀

PREVIOUS฀RESEARCH

Patterning฀or฀Practice?฀SelfDirected฀Learning฀Experiments

Essential฀Skills
Preparing฀ students฀ with฀ the฀ skills฀
necessary฀ for฀ independent฀ and฀฀
lifelong฀ learning฀ is฀ a฀ challenge฀ with฀
which฀ teachers฀ have฀ struggled฀ (Candy,฀
1991).฀ Learning฀ requires฀ that฀ internal฀
resources—that฀is,฀the฀ability฀to฀reason,฀
read,฀ or฀ cipher฀ (Confessore฀ &฀ Confessore,฀ 1992)—be฀ well฀ developed.฀ However,฀ this฀ limited฀ set฀ of฀ skills฀ produces฀
only฀ the฀ most฀ basic฀ learning.฀ In฀ the฀

language฀ of฀ Bloom’s฀ (1956)฀ taxonomy,฀which฀defined฀a฀hierarchical฀set฀of฀
learning฀ skills,฀ the฀ student฀ with฀ these฀
skills฀acquires฀knowledge฀(an฀ability฀to฀
define฀ basic฀ concepts)฀ and฀ comprehension฀(the฀ability฀to฀define฀basic฀concepts฀
to฀someone฀else).
However,฀more฀advanced฀reasoning,฀
as฀ presented฀ in฀ Bloom’s฀ (1956)฀ taxonomy,฀ is฀ essential฀ to฀ engage฀ in฀ SDL.฀
These฀higher฀order฀reasoning฀skills฀are฀
(a)฀application,฀the฀ability฀to฀apply฀the฀
basic฀ concepts฀ to฀ real-world฀ problems฀
or฀ situations;฀ (b)฀ analysis,฀ the฀ ability฀
to฀recognize฀and฀explain฀major฀underlying฀ assumptions;฀ (c)฀ synthesis,฀ the฀
ability฀ to฀ build฀ simple฀ models฀ based฀
on฀ principles;฀ and฀ (d)฀ evaluation,฀ the฀
ability฀ to฀ compare฀ and฀ contrast฀ the฀
costs฀ and฀ benefits฀ of฀ simple฀ models฀


During฀ the฀ 1960s฀ and฀ 1970s,฀
researchers฀(e.g.,฀Hiemstra,฀1975;฀Johnstone฀ &฀ Rivera,฀ 1965;฀ Penland,฀ 1979;฀

Tough,฀1979)฀documented฀the฀extent฀of฀
adult฀involvement฀in฀SDL฀projects.฀Two฀
other฀ lines฀ of฀ inquiry฀ have฀ contributed฀
to฀ our฀ understanding฀ of฀ adult฀ involvement฀in฀SDL.฀The฀first฀is฀the฀classroom฀
experimentation฀approach฀used฀by฀Hall฀
and฀ Steele฀ (1971)฀ and฀ McCauley฀ and฀
McClelland฀ (2004).฀ The฀ second฀ is฀ the฀
curriculum฀ development฀ and฀ implementation฀approach฀associated฀with฀the฀
Adult฀ Education฀ Guided฀ Independent฀
Study฀ program฀ at฀ Columbia฀ University’s฀ Teachers฀ College฀ (Bauer,฀ 1985)฀
and฀the฀Guided฀Self-Directed฀Learning฀
Strategies฀ at฀Alverno฀ College฀ (Thompson฀&฀Wulff,฀2004).
The฀ aforementioned฀ studies฀ had฀ at฀
least฀ two฀ problems.฀ First,฀ the฀ studies฀
did฀ not฀ focus฀ on฀ the฀ analysis฀ of฀ the฀
learning฀ aspect฀ of฀ adult฀ involvement฀
in฀ SDL฀ projects.฀ Second,฀ they฀ did฀ not฀
examine฀the฀extent฀to฀which฀professors฀
qua฀ role฀ models฀ of฀ SDL฀ principles฀ in฀
action฀affected฀student฀learning.

Guglielmino฀ (1977)฀ addressed฀ the฀
first฀ problem.฀ As฀ part฀ of฀ her฀ doctoral฀
dissertation,฀ Guglielmino฀ developed฀
the฀ Self-Directed฀ Learning฀ Readiness฀

Survey฀ (SDLRS)฀ instrument฀ consisting฀ of฀ 58฀ items฀ to฀ which฀ participants฀
responded฀ using฀ a฀ 5-point฀ Likert-type฀
scale฀ranging฀from฀1฀(Almost฀never฀true฀
of฀me;฀I฀hardly฀ever฀feel฀this฀way)฀to฀5฀
(Almost฀always฀true฀of฀me;฀there฀are฀very฀
few฀ times฀ when฀ I฀ don’t฀ feel฀ this฀ way).฀
Studies฀ have฀ evaluated฀ the฀ statistical฀
reliability฀ of฀ the฀ instrument฀ (Delahaye฀
&฀ Choy,฀ 2000;฀ Guglielmino฀ &฀ Klatt,฀
1993;฀Reio฀&฀Davis,฀2005).฀One฀study฀
(Brookfield,฀ 1985)฀ concluded฀ that฀ the฀
SDLRS฀is฀suited฀to฀measuring฀the฀readiness฀for฀SDL฀of฀adults฀who฀have฀average฀ or฀ above-average฀ levels฀ of฀ formal฀
education฀ and฀ rely฀ on฀ books฀ and฀ periodicals฀for฀information.
For฀the฀second฀problem,฀Grow฀(1991),฀
noting฀that฀a฀mismatch฀between฀students’฀
levels฀of฀self-direction฀and฀teaching฀style฀
could฀ reduce฀ student฀ learning,฀ argued฀
that฀good฀teaching฀required฀a฀mixture฀of฀
different฀ teaching฀ styles฀ and฀ advocated฀
the฀adoption฀of฀a฀more฀humanistic฀teaching฀style.฀In฀the฀present฀study฀the฀authors฀
extended฀ Grow’s฀ mismatch฀ hypothesis฀ to฀ the฀ structure฀ of฀ the฀ classroom’s฀฀
learning฀environment.฀
More฀Versus฀Less฀Structure
In฀the฀unpublished฀explanatory฀materials฀that฀come฀with฀the฀scored฀tests,฀Guglielmino฀(1977)฀claimed฀that฀a฀person’s฀
score฀can฀be฀changed:฀“Most฀persons฀with฀
low฀ or฀ average฀ levels฀ of฀ self-directed฀฀
learning฀ readiness฀ can฀ increase฀ their฀
readiness฀with฀awareness฀and฀practice”฀
(6467A).฀ High฀ scores฀ are฀ desirable฀
because฀high฀scores฀are฀associated฀with฀
better฀ performance฀ in฀ jobs฀ that฀ involve฀
problem฀solving,฀creativity,฀and฀change฀
(Guglielmino฀ &฀ Klatt,฀ 1993).฀ In฀ the฀
general฀ population,฀ the฀ average฀ SDL฀
readiness฀ score฀ is฀ 214,฀ whereas฀ in฀ a฀
sample฀of฀successful฀entrepreneurs,฀the฀
mean฀was฀248฀(SD฀=฀25.59฀[Guglielmino฀&฀Klatt]).
According฀ to฀ Guglielmino฀ &฀ Klatt฀
(1993),฀ high฀ scorers฀ prefer฀ SDL.฀Average฀scorers฀succeed฀in฀more฀independent฀
situations฀but฀are฀not฀fully฀comfortable฀
with฀identifying฀their฀learning฀needs฀or฀
planning฀and฀implementing฀their฀learning.฀ Low฀ scorers,฀ on฀ the฀ other฀ hand,฀
prefer฀ structured฀ learning฀ options.฀ In฀
the฀present฀study,฀we฀tested฀outcomes฀in฀
the฀relation฀between฀structure฀and฀score,฀
November/December฀2008฀

97

not฀ the฀ relation฀ between฀ preferences฀฀
about฀ the฀ environment฀ and฀ score.฀ The฀
hypotheses฀that฀we฀tested฀follow:฀
Hypothesis฀1฀(H1):฀A฀structured฀environment฀ will฀ improve฀ students’฀ preparedness฀ for฀ SDL฀ to฀ a฀ greater฀ extent฀
than฀does฀an฀unstructured฀environment.
H2:฀ Students’฀ scores฀ on฀ the฀ SDLRS฀
will฀ show฀ greater฀ improvement฀ when฀
the฀ learning฀ structure฀ matches฀ the฀ students’฀ initial฀ scores.฀ By฀ matching,฀ we฀
mean฀ that฀ high฀ scorers฀ will฀ improve฀
more฀ in฀ an฀ unstructured฀ environment฀
and฀the฀converse.

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METHOD
Data฀ from฀ eight฀ sections฀ of฀ the฀
course,฀ The฀ International฀ Context฀ of฀
Business,฀with฀an฀enrollment฀of฀approximately฀ 250฀ students,฀ were฀ collected.฀
Four฀ sections฀ in฀ the฀ spring฀ of฀ 2006฀
were฀conducted฀in฀a฀structured฀learning฀
environment.฀Four฀sections฀in฀the฀fall฀of฀
2006฀were฀conducted฀in฀an฀unstructured฀
learning฀environment.฀
In฀ the฀ structured฀ learning฀ environment,฀students฀were฀asked฀specific฀questions฀ related฀ to฀ their฀ work฀ each฀ week.฀
They฀ were฀ given฀ explicit฀ and฀ detailed฀
instructions฀ for฀ completing฀ each฀ of฀
their฀ assignments฀ and฀ semester฀ projects.฀Ability฀ for฀ students฀ to฀ self-define฀
their฀ work฀ was฀ intentionally฀ limited.฀
In฀ this฀ method฀ the฀ authors฀ tested฀ the฀
hypothesis฀ that฀ students฀ would฀ learn฀
how฀ to฀ develop฀ learning฀ projects฀ by฀
continual฀ modeling฀ of฀ their฀ professors’฀
line฀of฀inquiry.
In฀ the฀ unstructured฀ environment,฀
students฀ were฀ afforded฀ much฀ greater฀
opportunity฀ to฀ shape฀ their฀ work,฀ both฀
in฀ the฀ weekly฀ assignments฀ and฀ for฀ the฀
semester-long฀ project.฀ The฀ weekly฀
assignments฀were฀open฀questions฀based฀
on฀ an฀ unpublished฀ syllabus฀ that฀ asked฀
the฀ students฀ to฀ address฀ the฀ following฀
(Locke,฀2005):
1.฀Ideas฀ and฀ arguments฀ in฀ the฀ readings฀
that฀ the฀ student฀ found฀ important,฀
interesting,฀or฀stimulating.
2.฀Questions,฀concerns,฀or฀disagreements฀
the฀ student฀ has฀ with฀ claims฀ or฀ ideas฀
presented฀in฀the฀assigned฀material.
3.฀Connections฀among฀the฀material,฀lectures,฀ and฀ experiences฀ the฀ class฀ has฀
explored฀for฀this฀course.
98฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

The฀students฀were฀given฀an฀opportunity฀to฀define฀their฀research฀projects฀on฀
the฀ basis฀ of฀ a฀ choice฀ of฀ five฀ different฀
readings.฀In฀this฀environment,฀students฀
were฀ given฀ the฀ practical฀ opportunity฀
to฀ define฀ and฀ implement฀ work฀ of฀ their฀
own฀design.฀
Skills’฀ outcome฀ variables฀ were฀ collected฀ using฀ the฀ SDL฀ Readiness฀ Scale,฀
developed฀ by฀ Guglielmino฀ (1977),฀ at฀
the฀beginning฀and฀end฀of฀the฀semester฀in฀
each฀section฀of฀the฀course.฀The฀analysis฀
covered฀the฀change฀in฀the฀scores,฀importance฀of฀learning฀structure฀on฀improving฀
these฀scores,฀the฀importance฀of฀students’฀
initial฀ readiness฀ to฀ self-direct,฀ and฀ the฀
environment฀in฀which฀they฀are฀placed฀for฀
the฀development฀of฀SDL.฀The฀scores฀are฀
numeric,฀but฀interpreted฀within฀ranges฀of฀
readiness฀to฀learn฀as฀follows:฀A฀score฀of฀
58–176฀indicates฀low฀readiness;฀a฀score฀
of฀ 177–201฀ indicates฀ below-average฀
readiness;฀a฀score฀of฀202–226฀indicates฀
average฀ readiness;฀ a฀ score฀ of฀ 227–251฀
indicates฀ above-average฀ readiness;฀ and฀
a฀score฀of฀252–290฀indicates฀high฀readiness.฀ In฀ repeated฀ samples,฀ Guglielmino฀
and฀ associates฀ found฀ an฀ adult฀ mean฀
readiness฀of฀214฀(SD฀=฀25.59).
The฀ impacts฀ of฀ the฀ students’฀ initial฀
SDL฀ readiness฀ scores,฀ the฀ environment฀
(structured฀or฀unstructured),฀and฀the฀initial฀ score’s฀ match฀ to฀ the฀ environment฀
on฀ skill฀ enhancement฀ were฀ assessed.฀
Students฀ with฀ low,฀ below-average,฀ and฀
average฀ readiness฀ to฀ self-direct฀ were฀
said฀ to฀ match฀ if฀ the฀ environment฀ was฀
structured.฀Above-average฀readiness฀and฀
high฀ readiness฀ to฀ self-direct฀ matched฀
to฀ the฀ unstructured฀ environment.฀ An฀
alternative฀ grouping฀ that฀ changed฀ the฀
classification฀ of฀ an฀ average฀ score฀ from฀
matching฀to฀the฀structured฀environment฀
to฀ unstructured฀ environment฀ was฀ also฀
tested.฀Although฀the฀results฀were฀robust฀
(the฀ results฀ retained฀ direction฀ and฀ significance)฀ for฀ this฀ alternative,฀ they฀ lost฀
some฀magnitude.
Control฀ variables฀ that฀ we฀ thought฀
affected฀performance฀were฀collected฀by฀
surveys฀in฀the฀classes.฀Other฀explanatory฀
variables฀included฀indicator฀variables฀for฀
the฀learning฀structure,฀the฀match฀between฀
initial฀readiness฀score฀and฀structure,฀day฀
or฀evening฀class,฀and฀professor.
The฀ hypotheses฀ were฀ tested฀ by฀฀
difference-in-means฀and฀multiple฀regression฀analyses.฀

RESULTS
We฀received฀approval฀from฀an฀institutional฀review฀board฀(IRB)฀for฀the฀present฀
study.฀ The฀ IRB฀ required฀ that฀ participation฀ be฀ voluntary.฀ The฀ students฀ were฀
accordingly฀ informed฀ that฀ they฀ were฀
to฀ be฀ the฀ participants฀ of฀ a฀ study.฀ Both฀
semesters฀ achieved฀ 100%฀ participation.฀
However,฀ outliers฀ (students฀ who฀ had฀
changes฀ in฀ their฀ SDL฀ readiness฀ scores฀
greater฀ than฀ 1฀ standard฀ deviation฀ [SD฀
=฀ 26฀ points])฀ were฀ removed฀ from฀ the฀
sample.฀ The฀ spring฀ sample฀ contained฀
8฀ outliers฀ (8.3%),฀ and฀ the฀ fall฀ semester฀ had฀ 14฀ outliers฀ (10.9%).฀ In฀ part,฀
this฀ arrangement฀ controlled฀ for฀ student฀
response฀bias฀from฀either฀students฀hoping฀to฀impress฀their฀professor฀or฀students฀
perhaps฀hoping฀to฀sabotage฀their฀professor.฀ The฀ usable฀ response฀ rate฀ for฀ the฀
spring฀ of฀ 2006฀ was฀ 66%฀ =฀ 88/133฀ and฀
for฀the฀fall฀of฀2006฀was฀76%฀=฀97/128.
Table฀1฀presents฀the฀mean฀values฀for฀
the฀ dependent฀ and฀ independent฀ variables฀ included฀ in฀ the฀ analysis฀ for฀ the฀
structured฀ and฀ unstructured฀ samples.฀
The฀ results฀ of฀ difference-in-means฀ (or฀
sample฀proportions)฀tests฀across฀the฀two฀
samples฀are฀also฀presented.
The฀characteristics฀of฀the฀spring฀and฀
fall฀ sections฀ of฀ the฀ course฀ are฀ similar.฀ However,฀ several฀ significant฀ differences฀ should฀ be฀ noted.฀ First—and฀
most฀ important—the฀ share฀ of฀ students฀
that฀ do฀ match฀ to฀ the฀ environment฀ in฀
which฀ they฀ undertake฀ the฀ course฀ is฀
much฀ greater฀ in฀ the฀ structured฀ semester.฀It฀is฀interesting฀that฀the฀majority฀of฀
students฀(59%฀in฀the฀spring฀and฀61%฀in฀
the฀ fall)฀ are฀ not฀ ready฀ for฀ independent฀
learning฀at฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀semester.฀ Second,฀ the฀ fall฀ semester฀ had฀ far฀
fewer฀night฀students฀than฀did฀the฀spring฀
semester.฀ This฀ difference฀ was฀ because฀
of฀ scheduling฀ demands฀ in฀ the฀ department.฀ There฀ was฀ also฀ some฀ variation฀
in฀ the฀ mix฀ of฀ student฀ major฀ across฀ the฀
semesters.฀ With฀ these฀ few฀ exceptions,฀
the฀ student฀ populations฀ were฀ roughly฀
similar฀ across฀ semesters.฀ The฀ preponderance฀ of฀ students฀ in฀ both฀ semesters฀
was฀seniors.฀However,฀imminent฀graduation฀distractions฀affect฀both฀semesters฀
because฀ graduations฀ take฀ place฀ in฀ the฀
spring฀and฀the฀fall.฀
In฀ each฀ semester,฀ we฀ estimated฀
the฀ difference-in-means฀ tests฀ of฀ the฀฀

TABLE฀1.฀Difference฀in฀Means฀or฀Sample฀Proportions

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:46 11 January 2016


Variable฀
Final฀
Pretest฀score฀
Posttest฀score฀
Change฀
Negative฀change฀
Actual฀match฀
Night฀
Male฀
Age฀
Grade฀point฀average฀
Number฀of฀dependents฀
Hours฀paid฀work฀
Years฀in฀college฀
Information฀systems฀
Accounting฀
Economics/finance฀
Management฀
Business฀administration฀
Marketing฀
Senior฀
Instructor฀1฀

Structured฀
(n฀=฀88)฀

Unstructured฀
(n฀=฀97)฀

Difference

80.32฀
222.82฀
225.70฀
2.89฀
0.38฀
0.57฀
0.49฀
0.55฀
25.10฀
3.12฀
0.38฀
27.11฀
5.40฀
0.09฀
0.19฀
0.19฀
0.13฀
0.13฀
0.27฀
0.94฀
0.44฀

79.56฀
216.71฀
221.57฀
4.86฀
0.29฀
0.39฀
0.27฀
0.51฀
24.85฀
3.15฀
0.37฀
28.67฀
5.37฀
0.07฀
0.22฀
0.08฀
0.27฀
0.14฀
0.22฀
0.93฀
0.44฀

0.97
5.23
3.50
–1.73
0.07
0.19*
0.21*
0.04
0.04
–0.04
–0.03
–1.99
–0.02
0.01
–0.02
0.11**
–0.13**
–0.02
0.06
0.02
–0.01

*

p฀