Learning Management Systems and Student Performance

Abstract

In today's technology driven societies, academic institutions, especially at the tertiary level, are incorporating Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), utilizing learning management systems (LMS) and adopting blended learning approaches to improve student performance and enhance student learning. Currently a good deal of research is conducted to assess the effectiveness of such techniques and technologies on student learning and performance. A great deal of this research deals with LMS's, e-learning platforms, such as Blackboard, but not much is being conducted on LMS's provided by publishing companies, like McGraw Hill Education, whose course management systems are available for a range of courses and being used throughout the world. This paper examines the effectiveness of McGraw Hill Education's Connect on improving student grades in a pre-calculus course at a university in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country. Using simple and multiple linear regression analysis to investigate whether there was a relationship between the Connect online assignments' grades and the total course grade of students in the course, and two independent sample t-tests to compare the grades between two pre-calculus courses (one taught using the Connect component, and the other taught in the traditional format) results show that using Connect has positive impact on student grades.