Learner centered approaches to instruction have proven to be effective in conventional and distance education environments (Kagan, 1992)(Shutte, 1995). One factor in the success or failure of design; development and implementation efforts is definition and understanding of the audience.
The Adult
Distance education enrollment, like Community College enrollment, is comprised primarily of adults. Adult students have a different set of characteristics than younger "continuing" students.
First, adult students are normally re-entry students. This means that they have had significant breaks in their pursuit of education. Adult students are usually between the ages of 25 and 30 years of age. (Moore, 1996, pg. 153) Secondly, adult students are no longer in search of a social maturation. Instead, they are looking to improve the quality of their established life. And third, adult students have a much stronger need to meet expectations especially their own. (Moore, 1996, pg. 155)
The Model
Although each students' success or failure has an accumulated set of influencing factors (Moore, 1996, pg.160), some of those factors and their related effects are described in a model developed by Billings (1989).
The Billings' Model identifies sets of student characteristics; their relationship to each other and their relationship to successful completion of a distance education course. Billings identifies (1) the student's statement of "intent to complete" a course and (2) the timing in which the first assignment is submitted as the primary indicators of successful completion of a distance education course. I have found the assignment submission factor to be a true signifier in my teaching of a community college distance education course. In fact, I found that 95 percent of my students who submitted the first assignment, successfully completed the course.
Billings also identifies variables of "organization", "attitude" and "environment" as direct and indirect factors to an adult's successful completion of a distance education course. The final factor that the Billings Model identifies is "student background, including students' entrance exam scores and college prep classes. These factors are shown to not only impact successful completion of a course, but to also effect all the variables in the model.
This student doesn't take into account many of an adult student's individual characteristics.
The Self
Although personal characteristics may not be proven to be as reliable predictors as those identified in Billings' Model (Moore, 1996, pg. 162), I find them to be the primary contributors to my successful completion of courses, including distance education courses.
Most would identify me as a high achieving student. I had excellent scores on my college entrance exam, academic scholarships, an honors bachelor degree and have a good graduate school grade point average. I also failed high school typing and squeaked through Arizona History (required for my bachelors). This shows that academic concerns, such as perceived relevance (Moore, 1996, pg. 163) were significant factors in my educational success.
Additionally, other concerns like workload, health, and familial responsibilities contribute to my successful completion of a course. After all, most adult learners have other priorities.
Conclusion
The better definition of their audience that a designer or instructor can get, the more effectively they can achieve their objectives. Audiences can be defined generally as "adult learners" or more specifically as "high achievers" but in the end each individual has a certain set of accumulating factors contributing to their successful completion of a course. As instructors, we can only expect to understand the established factors, influence the undefined factors, and create the determinable factors.
Kagan, Spencer. (1992) Cooperative Learning. California, United States: Resources for Teachers, Inc.
Moore, M. G. and Kearsley, G. (1996) Distance Education: A Systems View, California, United States: Wadsworth Schutte, Jerald G. (1996)
Online
Virtual Teaching in Higher Education: The New Intellectual Superhighway or Just Another Traffic Jam? URL: http://www.csun.edu/sociology/virexp.htm