Comparing Three Modes of Instruction in a Graduate Social Work Program

Educational outcomes are compared for students taking a social work administration course in 3 formats: traditional, Internet, and hybrid. The traditional group had face-to-face instruction, whereas the Internet students received all instruction through the Internet. The hybrid students had a balance between the 2. Course readings and assignments were the same for each group. The results indicated no difference among these 3 groups in knowledge gain, course content self-efficacy gain, or student satisfaction. These data add to the growing body of research suggesting that online instruction achieves outcomes comparable with the traditional format.