TEACHING STATISTICS ONLINE: COMPARING COMPETENCY-BASED AND TRADITIONAL LEARNING.

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences
• Education

Background:

• Undergraduate students in healthcare fields require statistical competence for research interpretation.
• Students often experience anxiety learning statistics, impacting their academic progress.
• This study focuses on interdisciplinary undergraduates in nursing and related fields.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare statistical knowledge and self-efficacy between online competency-based and traditional learning statistics courses.
• To assess the impact of different learning modalities on undergraduate students' statistical skills.
• To identify differences in learning outcomes for introductory statistics courses.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study comparing pre- and post-test scores.
• Participants included 20 undergraduate students from a Midwestern University.
• Statistical knowledge and self-efficacy were measured using standardized instruments like CSSE and SELS.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in statistical knowledge were observed in hypothesis testing, central tendency, and research design.
• No significant overall difference in mean scores between competency-based and traditional learning groups.
• Both learning methods led to significant improvements in Current Statistics Self-Efficacy (CSSE) and Self-Efficacy to Learn Statistics (SELS) scores.

Conclusions:

• Both online competency-based and traditional learning effectively enhance statistical knowledge and self-efficacy in undergraduates.
• Online competency-based learning provides flexibility, enabling students to achieve mastery through repeated content engagement.
• The findings support the efficacy of diverse learning approaches in statistics education for healthcare-focused students.