Online Learning Efficacy Research Database

In this article, we describe and evaluate a Web-based interactive tutorial used to present hypothesis testing concepts. The tutorial includes multiple-choice questions with feedback, an interactive applet that allows students to draw samples and evaluate null hypotheses, and follow-up questions suitable for grading. Students either used the interactive tutorial (n = 15) or completed a standard laboratory assignment (n = 10) covering the same topics. Students who used the tutorial performed better (p =.06) on a quiz than students who completed the standard laboratory, supporting the effectiveness of this freely available online tutorial. A second group of students (n = 112) who did not participate in the assessment overwhelmingly rated the tutorial as easy to use, clear, and useful. 
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This study investigates the association between the learning outcomes of students and two teaching models: a traditional face-to-face lecture/tutorial teaching model and a hybrid flexible delivery model. The hybrid flexible model is delivered using a combination of face-to-face seminars and electronic delivery and communication tools. It is found that academic performance is higher for students who studied under the flexible delivery model, achieved higher marks in prerequisite units, were female, or were younger. Evidence is provided that flexible delivery teaching models utilizing electronic delivery media can be used to achieve the benefits of small class sizes when teaching large student numbers. The results should be of interest to administrators and educators as they attempt to address the challenges of supplying tertiary education to an increasing number of students as well as meeting the perceived demand for flexible course delivery in a manner that can enhance students' learning outcomes. 
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Describes studies with undergraduate business students concerning the use of technology for teaching. Findings indicated that the commonly-accepted “no-significant-difference effect” did not occur; in fact, students performed better when offered face-to-face interactions 
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As universities extend their distance education offerings to reach more time- and place-bound students, the degree to which online students are successful, as compared to their classroom counterparts, is of interest to accreditation review boards and others charged with assessment. Teaching faculty use information about the effectiveness of their instruction to evaluate and improve the learning experience. By comparing persistence and performance measures from the author's five semesters of online and traditional sections of a required undergraduate business statistics course, this paper provides evidence that while there are significant differences in persistence between the two cases, accomplishment of the learning objectives, as measured by the final grade in the course for those students who persist, is independent of the mode of instruction. 
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Advances in technology coupled with increasing student enrollment numbers have led some universities to begin offering on-line classes. This paper discusses a study comparing a traditional offering of elementary statistics with a "hybrid" offering. In the hybrid offering the class met once a week, but students were required to learn the material on their own using web-based materials and a textbook. We examined differences in student performance, student satisfaction and investment of both student and instructor time. Performance of students in the hybrid offering equaled that of the traditional students, but students in the hybrid were slightly less positive in their subjective evaluation of the course. 
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Few teachers use scholarly literature to improve their professional practice because they do not perceive the connection between research and practice (Kennedy, 1997). Although Kennedy does not suggest why this is occurring, other studies have indicated that students lack the requisite skills to access and retrieve information effectively (Fox & Weston, 1993; Greer, Weston, & Aim, 1991; Maughan, 2001). A s a minimum, graduate education should improve teachers' ability and self-efficacy in library research. In addition, extensive changes in library information systems, combined with a proliferation of field-based courses, have further confounded students' ability to access information effectively. Although many libraries are creating Web-based tutorials to accommodate a growing body of off-campus students, little research has been conducted that compares Web-based and traditional library instruction effectiveness. Therefore, three hypotheses were suggested:
1. Higher levels of library skills self-efficacy would be positively correlated to library skills quiz scores.
2. Both library skills self-efficacy levels and library skills quiz scores would increase after treatment.
3. Library skills self-efficacy levels and library skills quiz scores would not vary significantly across learning environment. 
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The proliferation of economics courses offered partly or completely online (Arnold Katz and William E. Becker, 1999) raises important questions about the effects of the new technologies on student learning. Do students enrolled in online courses learn more or less than students taught face-to-face? Can we identify any student characteristics, such as gender, race, ACT scores, or grade averages, that are associated with better outcomes in one technology or another? How would the online (or face-to-face) students fare if they had taken the course using the alternative technology? This paper addresses these questions using student data from our Principles of Microeconomics courses at Michigan State University. 
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This paper assesses the differences in performance and attitudes of students taught online versus onsite. Students completed a course evaluation designed to determine student satisfaction in specific areas. Student performance was measured by means of a comprehensive exam that tested all material covered in the course. Results support the contention that students in online courses learn as much or more than students in traditional onsite courses and are as satisfied with the course and the instruction as their onsite counterparts. 
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The purpose of this study was to compare students enrolled in an introductory family and consumer sciences undergraduate consumer economics course on selected academic, perceptual, and demographic characteristics by whether they received instruction in a traditional classroom setting or through an electronic classroom format (specifically the Internet). Students enrolled in the online section of the course scored higher on the achievement posttest after controlling for pretest differences in the groups. In addition, students in the online section self-reported that they spent more time working on the course assignments. Researchers recommended that future research incorporate more extensive demographic characteristics to determine if they interact with the type of instruction received. In addition, experimental methods were recommended for further studies to more effectively remove the effects of extraneous variables. 
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Outcomes assessments were conducted with a pretest/post-test desin in an online non-majors' biology course that included laboratory and lecture components. Data were compared with those of students at the same college enrolled in the same course with the same instructor on-campus. No significant differences were found in outcomes for students in the two modes of instruction. 
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