The Effectiveness of Online and Blended Learning: A Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Literature

By B. Means, Yukie Toyama, Robert F. Murphy, Marianne Baki. Teachers College Record, 2013

1,462 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Background/Context Earlier research on various forms of distance learning concluded that these technologies do not differ significantly from regular classroom instruction in terms of learning outcomes. Now that web-based learning has emerged as a major trend in both K–12 and higher education, the relative efficacy of online and face-to-face instruction needs to be revisited. The increased capabilities of web-based applications and collaboration technologies and the rise of blended learning models combining web-based and face-to-face classroom instruction have raised expectations for the effectiveness of online learning. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This meta-analysis was designed to produce a statistical synthesis of studies contrasting learning outcomes for either fully online or blended learning conditions with those of face-to-face classroom instruction. Population/Participants/Subjects The types of learners in the meta-analysis studies were about evenly split between students in college or earlier years of education and learners in graduate programs or professional training. The average learner age in a study ranged from 13 to 44. Intervention/Program/Practice The meta-analysis was conducted on 50 effects found in 45 studies contrasting a fully or partially online condition with a fully face-to-face instructional condition. Length of instruction varied across studies and exceeded one month in the majority of them. Research Design The meta-analysis corpus consisted of (1) experimental studies using random assignment and (2) quasi-experiments with statistical control for preexisting group differences. An effect size was calculated or estimated for each contrast, and average effect sizes were computed for fully online learning and for blended learning. A coding scheme was applied to classify each study in terms of a set of conditions, practices, and methodological variables. Findings/Results The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed modestly better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The advantage over face-to-face classes was significant in those studies contrasting blended learning with traditional face-to-face instruction but not in those studies contrasting purely online with face-to-face conditions. Conclusions/Recommendations Studies using blended learning also tended to involve additional learning time, instructional resources, and course elements that encourage interactions among learners. This confounding leaves open the possibility that one or all of these other practice variables contributed to the particularly positive outcomes for blended learning. Further research and development on different blended learning models is warranted. Experimental research testing design principles for blending online and face-to-face instruction for different kinds of learners is needed.

Subfields: Computer Science Applications, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Education

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/69773fab3800675e4a8ea7165bca911e3b3b9ff2

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Citations in the corpus

The Effect of Blended Learning on Student's Learning Achievement and Science Process Skills in Plant Tissue Culture Course (2019, result): “The result of this research, that blended learning environment improves the learning achievement averages of students, also supports findings by Abidoye (2015), Kazu and Mehmet (2014), Ismail et al (2014), Means et al. (2013), Dziuban et al. (2011), and Korkmaz and Karakus (2009).”
College students’ cognitive learning outcomes in flipped classroom instruction: a meta-analysis of the empirical literature (2019, background): “A controversy exists whether the inclusion of poorly designed and small-sample studies in a meta-analysis corpus might add undue weight to spurious effects (Means et al. 2013).”
Online vs. traditional learning in teacher education: a comparison of student progress (2018, background): “…studies on how students in online courses fare as well or better than students in more traditional face-to-face versions (Harrell & Harris, 2006; Means et al., 2013; Shachar & Neumann, 2010; Wu, 2015), it did not measure future progress and success in the teaching program, internship, and…”
A meta-analysis of blended learning and technology use in higher education: from the general to the applied (2014, background): “Interestingly, this average effect size is in the same ballpark as the ﬁndings for BL by Means et al. (2013) where a random effects average effect size of g ?”
Learner Engagement in Blended Learning Environments: A Conceptual Framework (2019, background): “…feedback, online tracking data, etc.) but potential technical difficulties (Azevedo & Bernard, 1995; Picciano, 2014; Shute, 2008); preservation of the humanness and spontaneity in face-to-face instructional activities; and increased learning time and instructional resources (Means et al., 2013).”
Facilitating flexible learning by replacing classroom time with an online learning environment : a systematic review of blended learning in higher education (2021, background): “Various factors influence the effectiveness of blended learning, and these can be divided into the moderator categories of methods, practice and condition (Means et al., 2013).”
The Struggle to Pass Algebra: Online vs. Face-to-Face Credit Recovery for At-Risk Urban Students (2017, background): “(2013) reviewed 45 studies of online learning and found that, on average, online instruction yields positive effects relative to f2f instruction (Means et al., 2013).”
Award-winning faculty online teaching practices: Course design, assessment and evaluation, and facilitation (2019, background): “As studies on the effectiveness of online learning have long been documented in the empirical research literature (Means et al., 2013), researchers and practitioners have spent a considerable amount of time trying to formulate the best practices and standards in online course design.”