Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Richard C. Conrath

Committee Member

Ami McNally

Committee Member

Maryellen Maher

Keywords

Continuing Education/Continuing Education Units/Distance Education/Online Courses

Abstract

The purpose of this applied dissertation was to determine an appropriate method for establishing the number of contact hours to award for online continuing education courses in physical therapy. The plan was to incorporate that method into course development process for online continuing education at the subject college and to advocate for incorporating the method into the approval process of the New Jersey Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.

The researcher reviewed literature investigating current practices in education and industry and identified several methods and selected the pilot study as an appropriate method. The researcher performed a gap analysis. Using ex post facto data, the researcher compared the methods--pilot study and teacher judgment--and the number of contact hours determined by these methods for the courses under study. Results indicated that time on task, as reported by the students in the pilot study, was greater than that estimated by the instructor, with discrepancies ranging from 10 minutes to over 3 hours.

The researcher concluded that using quantitative data in determining contact hours instead of relying on an instructor's estimate was necessary. She also found the outcome of a course pilot study to be an appropriate criterion for determining contact hours in an online continuing education course.

Further research was needed to validate the pilot study method, including developing and validating an instrument for capturing time on task in online learning. The researcher recommended that the pilot study method be adopted and included in the process of determining contact hours for online continuing education courses.

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