{"id":1078,"date":"2009-08-22T02:01:43","date_gmt":"2009-08-22T07:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/?p=1078"},"modified":"2009-08-22T02:05:57","modified_gmt":"2009-08-22T07:05:57","slug":"study-finds-on-line-education-beats-classroom-but-what-does-that-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2009\/08\/22\/study-finds-on-line-education-beats-classroom-but-what-does-that-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"Study finds on-line education beats classroom, but what does that mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/nicmcphee\/150947183\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"We are not quite ready to abandon classroom learning in favor of on-line education.\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/50\/150947183_5563ae0f0b_m_d.jpg?resize=240%2C160\" title=\"Awaiting remodeling\" width=\"240\" height=\"160\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">We&#39;re not quite ready to abandon classroom learning in favor of on-line education.<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nA recent study for the Department of Education (<a href=\"http:\/\/bits.blogs.nytimes.com\/2009\/08\/19\/study-finds-that-online-education-beats-the-classroom\/\">NY Times piece<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ed.gov\/rschstat\/eval\/tech\/evidence-based-practices\/finalreport.pdf\">full 93-page PDF report<\/a>) performed a meta-analysis of 99 students over the past 12 years, and found that students in on-line courses did slightly, but statistically significantly, better than those in traditional classrooms.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s an interesting study, and likely to spur a whole new slew of interest in on-line courses, but it&#8217;s really not clear what it <em>means<\/em>.  I&#8217;m sure there are a zillion ways I could pull together data showing an education advantage of X over Y, for a zillion Xs and Ys, but one would have to be very careful in the interpretation.  I&#8217;m willing to bet that most of my colleagues here at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.morris.umn.edu\/\">UMM<\/a> would teach better in English than Chinese, and most faculty in China would teach more effectively in Chinese than English, but that hardly means one is a better teaching language than the other.  Context is everything, and it&#8217;s not clear (at least in the survey study) what the contexts are.<\/p>\n<p>A few possible issues:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>12 years is an <em>eternity<\/em> in the history of the web and web-based teaching.  Are the studies from 12 years ago even talking about the same things as those now?<\/li>\n<li>What are we actually comparing? Face-to-face courses have all kinds of variance, and their effectiveness changes with the instructor, the students in a particular running of the course, and external events. Presumably on-line courses will as well.  Are we comparing the best to the best?  The median to the median?  I can easily imagine that an on-line course of a few dozen people can be a vastly better experience than a huge lecture hall of 800 students, even if the latter is still called &#8220;face-to-face&#8221; instruction.  Similarly, one person struggling to manage 150 on-line students is not likely to look good compared to an energetic classroom discussion section of 12 people.  The meta-survey doesn&#8217;t make it easy to see clearly what the comparisons are in the individual surveys, and I suspect that they probably vary <em>widely<\/em>, ranging from the pretty reasonable to apples-vs-kumquats.<\/li>\n<li>How much of this is simply a function of novelty, both in faculty putting a lot of effort into a cool new thing, and students being impressed by the shiny new toy?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Etc., etc., etc.<\/p>\n<p>I think the question isn&#8217;t, and can&#8217;t ever be, whether on-line is better than the classroom.  In the end it&#8217;s about finding a way for a particular instructor and a particular student (or group of students) to work well together, and that&#8217;s going to depend on an awful lot of things and almost certainly change over time as teachers, students, and the world changes.  On-line education and classroom education augmented with on-line components are clearly going to be an important (and probably increasing) part of that, but there will probably always be circumstances where a group of people are better served by some face time than by an on-line experience.<\/p>\n<p>This study also looks at courses as isolated experiences.  At a residential university <a href=\"http:\/\/www.morris.umn.edu\/\">like ours<\/a>,  the courses are crucial, but hardly the whole picture.  Students learn a <em>ton<\/em> from simply living together, eating, doing laundry, volunteering, going to the movies, dating, being in clubs, and generally making all sorts of vital transitions as they move from 18 to 22 (give or take).  Look at the important differences between someone&#8217;s who&#8217;s 16 and someone who&#8217;s 26, and an awful lot of that has nothing do to with courses.  A good university experience can play a critical role both in and beyond the classroom, and a heck of a lot of that is tied up in physical presence.<\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"st-post-tags \">\n\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/change\/\" title=\"change\">change<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/classroom-learning\/\" title=\"classroom learning\">classroom learning<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/department-of-education\/\" title=\"department of education\">department of education<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/education\/\" title=\"Education\">Education<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/face-to-face\/\" title=\"face-to-face\">face-to-face<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/morris\/\" title=\"Morris\">Morris<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/on-line-communities\/\" title=\"on-line communities\">on-line communities<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/on-line-learning\/\" title=\"on-line learning\">on-line learning<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/students\/\" title=\"students\">students<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/teacher\/\" title=\"teacher\">teacher<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/teaching\/\" title=\"teaching\">teaching<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/traditional-classrooms\/\" title=\"traditional classrooms\">traditional classrooms<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/umm\/\" title=\"UMM\">UMM<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/university-of-minnesota-morris\/\" title=\"University of Minnesota Morris\">University of Minnesota Morris<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/tag\/web\/\" title=\"web\">web<\/a><br \/><\/div>\n\n\n\t<h4>Related posts<\/h4>\n\t<ul class=\"st-related-posts\">\n\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2013\/03\/25\/remembering-richard-crandall\/\" title=\"Remembering Richard Crandall (25 Mar 13)\">Remembering Richard Crandall<\/a> (0)<\/li>\n\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2009\/05\/28\/huge-props-to-kindergarten-teachers\/\" title=\"Huge props to kindergarten teachers (28 May 09)\">Huge props to kindergarten teachers<\/a> (0)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent study for the Department of Education (NY Times piece; full 93-page PDF report) performed a meta-analysis of 99 students over the past 12 years, and found that students in on-line courses did slightly, but statistically significantly, better than those in traditional classrooms. It&#8217;s an interesting study, and likely to spur a whole new &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2009\/08\/22\/study-finds-on-line-education-beats-classroom-but-what-does-that-mean\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Study finds on-line education beats classroom, but what does that mean?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0},"categories":[17],"tags":[74,478,475,868,476,247,192,477,257,424,156,474,225,158,394],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p90sy-ho","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":254,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2005\/10\/30\/why-umm-students-need-to-vote-on-the-levy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1078,"position":0},"title":"Why UMM students need to vote on the levy","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"30 Oct 05","format":false,"excerpt":"Below is a letter to the editor for the University Register, UMM's student newspaper... Tuesday, the 8th of November, the residents of the Morris Area School District will turn out to vote on a proposed school levy. While most UMM students realize that they can vote in this election, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1213,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2010\/02\/20\/thomas-is-heading-to-the-minnesota-state-finals-for-poetry-out-loud\/","url_meta":{"origin":1078,"position":1},"title":"Thomas is heading to the Minnesota state finals for Poetry Out Loud!","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"20 Feb 10","format":false,"excerpt":"Thomas McPhee placed first at the 2010 Poetry Out Loud Lake Regional in Fergus Falls, and will go on to the state finals in the Fitzgerald Theater on Monday, 8 March 2010. This is the fourth straight year that at least one student from the Morris Area High School has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Award ceremony at the 2010 Poetry Out Loud regional, Fergus Falls, MN","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2749\/4374177624_0e8a8a6209.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":478,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2007\/02\/19\/its-hard-for-us-old-folks-to-get-it-or-teach-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":1078,"position":2},"title":"It&#8217;s hard for us old folks to get it (or teach it)","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"19 Feb 07","format":false,"excerpt":"John Naughton had a nice column in The Observer last month about the chronic problems with IT courses for kids. There had been a plan for a new required exam in information and communication technology (ICT) for 14 year olds in the UK, but enthusiasm for the requirement has waned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Computing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Computing","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/computing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":743,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2007\/12\/07\/in-praise-of-a-little-quirkiness\/","url_meta":{"origin":1078,"position":3},"title":"In praise of a little quirkiness","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"7 Dec 07","format":false,"excerpt":"UMM's brought in some outside consultants to assist us in our \"branding\". I find the term quite shudder inducing, but what little I've seen from these far off lands suggests that the people they've brought in are saying some useful things. One bit I liked from their recent report: UMM\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/81\/212107701_c9caf53219_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1542,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2011\/08\/13\/education-is-about-interaction-not-content\/","url_meta":{"origin":1078,"position":4},"title":"Education is about interaction, not content","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"13 Aug 11","format":false,"excerpt":"The scarcity of content through much of human history (remember when they used to chain books to shelves in libraries?) has allowed us to collectively confuse education with the delivery of content. It was about the lecture, in which rare and wondrous knowledge was imparted to eager young minds, not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":400,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2006\/11\/16\/science-buzz-from-morris-to-mn-and-beyond\/","url_meta":{"origin":1078,"position":5},"title":"Science buzz!!!  From Morris to infinity and beyond!","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"16 Nov 06","format":false,"excerpt":"Science buzz!!!, originally uploaded by Unhindered by Talent. The photo is of a neat sign at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul. Their Science Buzz program creates an on-line space where scientists make themselves available as a resource. Because we're just really cool, we currently have a couple\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1078"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1093,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078\/revisions\/1093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}