Wasted on the Young? Comparing the Performance and Attitudes of Younger and Older US Adults in an Online Class on Geographic Information

JGHE Annual Lecture

Bibliographic Data

ID11955352
AuthorsDavid Dibiase (John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, Pennsylvania State University, corresponding author), Khusro Kidwai (John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, Pennsylvania State University)
Year2010
Volume34
Issue3
Pages299-326
Publication date2010-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Geography in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0309-8265 • E-ISSN: 1466-1845
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03098265.2010.490906
OpenAlexW2122868637
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited16

This study investigates the counter-intuitive observation that older students tend to thrive better than younger students in online classes. We use a variety of measures to compare performance and attitudes of undergraduates and continuing adult professionals in separate but nearly identical class sections led by the same instructor at a US university during the same nine-month study period. Findings are consistent with theoretical predictions about differences in readiness of younger and older adults for self-directed learning experiences. Results also suggest that online educators should be proactive in stimulating younger students' participation in class discussions, and should find ways to evaluate explicitly the tacit learning that online discussion can foster

Class (philosophy · Developmental psychology · Mathematics education · Medical education · Variety (cybernetics · Computer Science · Innovations in Educational Methods · Medicine · Online and Blended Learning · Online Learning and Analytics · Psychology · Social Psychology

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