John Soares, author of Writing College Textbook Supplements
I have a lot of friends who teach online college courses, so I’ve started paying attention to how online instruction affects both students and instructors.
The Inside Higher Ed website just posted an article about the effectiveness of online education versus traditional face-to-face learning in the classroom.
Online learning has definite advantages over face-to-face instruction when it comes to teaching and learning, according to a new meta-analysis released Friday by the U.S. Department of Education.
The study found that students who took all or part of their instruction online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through face-to-face instruction. Further, those who took “blended” courses — those that combine elements of online learning and face-to-face instruction — appeared to do best of all.
…the positive results appeared consistent (and statistically significant) for all types of higher education, undergraduate and graduate, across a range of disciplines, the study said.
You can read the U.S. Department of Education‘s entire study, “Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies.” Here’s the abstract:
A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size. As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes—measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation—was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face. Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se. An unexpected finding was the small number of rigorous published studies contrasting online and face-to-face learning conditions for K–12 students. In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K–12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education).
Frankly, I’m a bit surprised at these results, but when I taught college nearly all instruction was in the classroom, so I have little experience with online instruction.
What are your thoughts on this study? I’d love to hear from both students and instructors.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I have taught both in the classroom and online for two community colleges over the years and have been wonderfully surprised how effective the online format has been.
I was very skeptical at first because I didn’t want to comprise my content’s quality by switching to an online version. After much trial and error I figured out how to best convert the courses to the website.
Very often my students commented on how much they loved the convenience of the online format and how surprised they were to have participated as much as they did. They would explain how in a traditional classroom they were shy and spoke up as little as possible. Online gave them the opportunity to express themselves and be thoughtful in their answers. As one student said, “I feel equal to all the other students and my shyness didn’t inhibit my ability to learn.”
Thanks for the post and study link, John!
Stephanie, thanks for sharing your experience as an online instructor.
I think you have pointed out one of the main advantages of online courses: they provide a very good way for students to participate without dealing with many of the barriers to participation that exist in the classroom.
John:
I think another important aspect of the online class format is that while they are online, the students are paying attention to the class content, and that they will attend online when they are ready to pay attention. Compare this to a night-owl student who isn’t alert before noon, but was forced to schedule the class at 8 am, because that was the only open session available. I preferred scheduling evening classes to early mornings, and I was a student when online classes were not yet an option.
In addition, fast learners, who are bored by repetition they don’t need, can work at the fast pace comfortable for them without waiting for their colleagues to catch up. Those who want to back up and review more thoroughly before submitting their own homework answers move at the slower pace comfortable for them.
My daughters, who grew up with computers, prefer the online format. My youngest, at Georgia Tech, does much of her class homework online in conjunction with attending traditional lecture classes.
Excellent observations Margaret. I was initially skeptical of online courses, but I’m now seeing they have many advantages over the traditional classroom setting.
Three that just popped into my head:
1. Students save time by not having to travel to the campus and get to the classroom, plus they don’t have to spend time dressing and getting ready to be in public.
2. Students save money on transportation costs.
3. Less carbon dioxide and pollutants in the atmosphere from travel.
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