Abstract
This article evaluates student performance in an online basic hand graphics studio course at an accredited landscape architecture program in the United States. The study uses a control group design wherein online and face-to-face student projects were evaluated for graphic quality by three external faculty evaluators. These submissions, which included black-and-white as well as color graphics, were evaluated based on graphic conventions for schematic, plan view, sectional, and perspective drawings. Scores provided by the external evaluators were compared using a repeated measures ANOVA analysis of variance to determine if any statistical difference existed between student performance in the face-to-face and online course.
The work submitted by the face-to-face students was rated marginally higher than that of online students, but this was not statistically significant. These results may be affected by the lower levels of the social dynamics present in the online delivery, relative to their presence in traditional studio settings, such as decreased immediacy of feedback, difficulty observing the work of peers, and difficulty creating a learning community. Despite these shortcomings, students reported several benefits to the online studio course, including the ability to review course material from previous lectures, richer communication with the professor outside of scheduled class hours, and flexibility. These results imply that a hybrid or flipped course approach may be the most effective teaching approach for a graphics course.
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