Book Description

As online learning and traditional methodologies collide to create 21st-century educational delivery models, students with and without disabilities and their teachers are experiencing education in new ways. The purpose of this mixed methods study rooted in the pragmatic paradigm was to explore the relationships between several variables related to instructional methods and students' academic outcomes within an environment implementing a learning management system. Using a Convergent Parallel Design, quantitative data was collected using a pretest-posttest control-group design through administration of two forms of nationally norm-referenced diagnostic reading and mathematics assessments. Qualitative data gathered via focus group interviews with students and teachers documented perceptions and experiences about a learning management system's integration into a brick-and-mortar middle school. Factors such as educational delivery system, learner characteristics, and scores on diagnostic, norm-referenced academic assessments were included. The research explored what, if any, statistically significant differences existed between groups of learners. Additional data on patterns within students' and teachers' perceptions of the learning management system were also described. The study explored this central question: What is the impact of a learning management system on the two primary sixth-grade stakeholder groups within a public brick-and-mortar middle school? The study also included four sub-questions: 1.What significant differences exist on academic outcomes in reading between distinct groups of sixth-grade students exposed to diverse educational delivery systems? 2.What significant differences exist on academic outcomes in mathematics between distinct groups of sixth-grade students exposed to diverse educational delivery systems? 3.What are sixth-grade students' experiences and perceptions of academic outcomes within a learning management system? 4.What are teachers' experiences and perceptions of sixth-grade students' academic outcomes within a learning management system?