Influences Of Online Course Design Through The Elaboration Theory Framework On Academic Performances And Retention

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of a course in Distance education which was planned through Elaboration Theory (ET) on the academic performance and the persistency of learning among the students. The research was carried out in the Distant Education Program of Computer and Teaching Technologies Department. The program which consists of three different topics of the course Programming Languages given at the second grade of the program was applied on 46 students for 5 weeks. In the research which quasiexperimental research methods of the quantitative research approach were used, the design of pretest to posttest control group was used. In the experimental group, the courses were taught according to the designs and strategies within the frame of ET while the content which was traditionally organized in the control group was given through direct teaching. It was found, at the end of the research, that the course of programming languages designed within the frame of ET in Distance education provided positive contributions to the academic achievement and the persistency of students among the students.