ONLINE LEARNING AND TIME-ON-TASK: IMPACT OF PROCTORED VS. UN-PROCTORED TESTING

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of proctored versus un-proctored testing on practice time and learning for a self-study, online course in medical terminology. Participants included 120 college students in a pharmacy curriculum. Subjects were randomized to one of three groups utilizing textbook with proctored assessment, online instruction with proctored assessment, or online instruction with unproctored assessment. A pre-test and post-test was administered to all three groups to evaluate learning. Content page “hits” and practice quiz access was tracked for participants. Learning, as defined by pre/post-test change score, was greatest in the presence of proctored assessment (online and text) (p = 0.027). In addition, use of practice quizzes had a stronger relative correlation with learning (r = 0.401; p<0.001) when compared to content page “hits” (r = 0.257; p = 0.024). Online course content paired with meaningful time-on-task (e.g. practice quizzes) was most effective when paired with proctored assessment.