Developing a Self-Paced, Web-Based Instructional Module for Dissertation Preparation

Abstract

As the number of part-time doctorate students increases, institutions offering evening or online Ph.D. programs need to re-evaluate the effectiveness of their dissertation preparation courses to help these part-time learners succeed. The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa offers a college-wide Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Educational Technology (ETEC). The ETEC Ph.D. program is campus-based, but courses are offered in the evenings with many courses offered in hybrid or online formats. ETEC 750e “Educational Technology Issues: Research” is a seminar that ETEC doctoral students must complete before advancing to candidacy and it plays an important role in dissertation preparation. However, due to the number of topics covered in the seminar, instructors have expressed concern over students’ concept attainment of one the seminar topics, prospectus writing. To improve students' prospectus writing skills, the author developed a self-paced, web-based instructional module on prospectus writing to supplement a class lecture, and implemented a formative evaluation to ensure the quality of the module. Five of the eight students enrolled in ETEC 750e in spring 2014 completed the online module, and the data showed a positive shift in their knowledge and attitudes towards prospectus writing. Implications of the project are also discussed.