By: National Research DETA Center | March 9, 2015
One activity in the grant included the identification of top research questions of interest to IHEs and the distance education community. Specifically, what are the research questions that will best enhance the understanding of distance education across institutions and populations. These research questions were derived and prioritized by the experts in the field at the 2015 DETA Summit at the ELI Annual Meeting.
| Table Name | Research Questions | Number of Votes | |
| Wicked Hop | What are the definitions of success from students’ perspective? | 33 | |
| Rochambo | What are the different design components (content, interactivity, assessments) that impact student learning? | 29 | |
| Safe House | What patterns of behaviors lead to increased student learning for different populations? | 26 | |
| Benelux | How can we define and measure student success beyond traditional outcomes? | 25 | |
| Rochambo | What support structures are critical to providing quality access to online instruction? | 22 | |
| Lakefront | What is the currency of student learning beyond the existing credit hours? | 22 | |
| Hollander | What are the key components that promote a sustainable and an effective teaching and learning ecosystem? | 21 | SD=9.09 |
| Three Lions | What variables are institutions looking at and using to define student success? | 18 | |
| Lakefront | How can we develop student-driven metrics of success? | 18 | |
| Hollander | What differences are there between subgroups of online learners? (Using PIRS; post-secondary institutional rating system) | 17 | |
| Three Lions | What is the currency of student learning and success? Time? Demonstration of Skills/Knowledge? | 14 | |
| Hollander | What types of faculty preparedness lead to positive student outcomes? | 14 | |
| Wicked Hop | What are the definitions of success for programs/university/faculty? | 13 | |
| Comet | Research agenda: Looking at bridging the pre-college and college. Students expectations of college: Do they align with institution’s expectations? | 12 | |
| Safe House | What are the social and institutional support factors across student segments? | 11 | M=11.09 |
| Wicked Hop | What are the variables that will impact the definition of success? | 10 | |
| Three Lions | What are the small number of definable, measurable characteristics that make research rich for student success in distance education? | 8 | |
| Benelux | How can we democratize and increase access to digital higher education? | 8 | |
| Comet | Can we benchmark at state (larger-level?) looking at systematic differences in online and in-person students? | 7 | |
| Lakefront | How can open educational resources lead to affordability and accessibility? | 7 | |
| Benelux | What was good about the old academy, and what is good in this new digital environment? | 7 | |
| Safe House | What is the impact of different practicies on institutional outcomes looking downstream (post-course, post-program)? | 6 | |
| Lakefront | How can tech-based assessment truly assess learning and skills? | 5 | |
| Hollander | What are the institutional drivers? | 4 | |
| Safe House | How can student voice/perspective impact effective design? | 4 | |
| Rochambo | What are the students’ user experiences in their online course? | 3 | |
| Three Lions | What methods/measurements are being utilized at our institutions to assess student success? (e.g. PAR, NSSE, etc.) | 3 | |
| Lakefront | How can policy and research be linked? | 3 | |
| Three Lions | Who is looking at institutional success data? | 2 | |
| Three Lions | What data is accessible at your institution? | 2 | |
| Rochambo | What characteristics are most critical for “good” online instruction? | 1 | |
| Comet | Influence on student readiness and providing support? | 1 | |
| Benelux | How can we re-design the professoriate/academic career? | 1 | |
| Comet | How can we build on existing knowledge looking at desired outcomes? | 0 |
Citation: National DETA Research Center, March 9, 2015, “Top Research Questions”, Retrieved from: https://uwm.edu/deta/?p=209