A L L I A N CE

- Deena Betcher, Gordon Kaywin, Heymi Park, Tara Wang, Emily Weissman -

A Study of Leadership And Distance Learning

Why Distance Learning?

• Distance learning has become a key component of undergraduate and graduate educational institutions due to:

Worldwide adoption of the InternetAdvances in communication

technologiesAdditional revenue

Essential Technology

• Distance learning programs are dependent on various kinds of technology:

Personal Computer High-speed Internet Connection Email Discussion Boards Video (streaming, recorded)

Google+ Hangouts

Video Technology

Hypothesis

H1: The ease of use of technology by students and leaders allows students to be more satisfied with their distance learning experience.

H2: Leaders achieve student satisfaction in virtual teams through effective communication. Effective communication is defined by instructor responsiveness, and establishing clear expectations.

What has already been done and what does the research say?

• Technology

According to a 2010 Pew Internet Project survey, “when it comes to home broadband access, 95 % of undergraduate, and 93% of graduate students surveyed are home broadband users—well above the national adult average of 66%.

The overall percentage of broadband and wireless users is highest among undergraduate and graduate students (Pew Internet Project, 2010).

• Satisfaction

Group climate and cohesion is of the utmost importance to ensure the successful outcome of a group’s goal.

Trust must also be developed quickly in online communities, while eliminating feelings of isolation, which can, in turn, cause social loafing and groupthink elements.

All of these elements can all affect the social climate of a virtual group.

What has already been done and what does the research say?

• Leadership Functions

Task Focused Leadership: Help virtual team members perform the tasks by clarifying role/responsibility, and establishing protocols of decision making/meeting procedure (Rayner,1997).

Interpersonal Oriented Leadership: Creating ways to build “shared identity” (Hinds & Mortesen, 2005, p. 290), and to maintain the “group interaction” (Baker, 2004, p. 1), which helps the members of the distributed teams to stay connected to each other.

What has already been done and what does the research say?

• Instructors can foster participation in an online environment through effective communication

• Students exhibit similar expectations, but different learning styles in an online vs. traditional setting

• Empowerment is important: everyone on a team should have a piece of the leadership, and every team member needs leadership skills in order to function

What has already been done and what does the research say?

Methods

a. Survey of students on the following variables:

Leadership Communication (independent)Education Technology (independent)Satisfaction (dependent)

b. Survey based on:

Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES)

Student Educational Technology Survey

Methods Continued

Participants

Results

Reliability of Survey Scales

Results ContinuedOverall Rating of Variables

Ratings by Student Type

Correlation

Correlation Between Variables

Interviews

• Procedure:

15 questions Interviewed casually: Kurt Palmer

(Engineering) Kim Stephens (CMGT)

Recorded audio

Results: Kim Stephens

• Class climate Very Cohesive Student/Professor Bond - Building

relationships

• Disadvantage Emotions run high.

• Advantage Get to know students better.

Results: Kim Stephens• Special Tactics:

Clear Communication:

Email compulsively

Assignments well defined & reinforced

Technology:

Knowing and integrating technology -

Moodle, blackboard, Web cams, chat

box, Skype

Technology Support/Frustration

Misunderstanding in emails

Results: Kim Stephens

• Professor Stephens Leadership

Style:

Interpersonal-oriented

Results: Kurt Palmer

• Class climate Low interaction and cohesiveness

• Disadvantage Passive participation Time zone issue

• Advantage A variety of technology options

Results: Kurt Palmer • Special Tactics:

Clear Communication:Clarifying role/responsibilityEstablishing protocols

Technology:Knowing and adopting technology

quicklyIntroducing technology clearly in

the beginningSetting a stable learning

environment

Results: Kurt Palmer

• Professor Palmer’s leadership style:

Task-focused

Overview

• Differences between professors & programs

Importance of communication, relationships, empowerment.

• Common themes

MentoringStudents must want to be mentored,

proactive.

Comparison: Palmer & Stephens

Implications: The Professor

• “Correct, the answer to every social-scientific question is ‘it depends’.” – Professor Shipley

• Is communication important after all?

• Emphasize what students find important (i.e. CMGT value leadership over engineers)

Implications: For The Student

• Can’t be forced into a mentoring relationship, you have to be proactive

• Some validation for the hundreds of thousands of dollars schools are paying to improve the quality and efficiency of their distance learning technology

Limitations: The Study

• Small sample size (21 total respondents)

• Only USC grad students

• Only one section of the two different

majors

• Two very disparate majors (what if you

compared a COMM and CMGT program?)

• Two majors used different technological

platforms

Areas For: Future Research

• Expand study so it includes many different majors = more general implications can be drawn

• Survey students at different schools, even different countries where cultures are different

• What about partial online students?

• Would we have gotten different results if we had asked about the two independent variables separately ?

Conclusion

• Emotional Intelligence

• Hersey and Blanchard’s Scale  • Balance between transformational and

transactional leadership

• Leaders need to be adaptive

Thank You So Much For Your Time

A L L I A N C E

QUESTIONS?