Online Learning Efficacy Research Database

Less than optimal student success in gateway courses figures prominently in college noncompletion. Past findings suggest that U-Pace instruction holds promise for increasing student success. However, all published studies of U-Pace instruction were conducted in the gateway course context of introductory psychology. The objective of this research was to rigorously evaluate the efficacy of U-Pace instruction in introductory sociology and introductory political science for students at-risk for college noncompletion and students not at-risk. The findings from both randomized controlled trials indicate that regardless of risk status, U-Pace students outperformed their conventionally taught face-to-face counterparts earning a greater percentage of final grades of A or B and higher scores on a proctored cumulative assessment of learning, independent of final grades. The results not only confirm previous findings of greater academic success and greater learning associated with U-Pace instruction but also clearly demonstrate that U-Pace instruction produces greater learning and greater academic success. Further, the findings of this research reveal that these student outcomes generalize across courses in two disciplines for both students at-risk for college noncompletion and students not at-risk, providing strong support for the efficacy of U-Pace instruction. 
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This research seeks to identify the student behaviors and course design features that foster student learning in a quantitative business course, and seeks to determine if successful teaching and learning practices differ for on-campus and online learning environments. Hypotheses connecting measures of student effort, course structure, student engagement, student background characteristics and student learning are developed and tested. Course components intended to promote learner-content interaction were developed and incorporated. Individual assignments and interactive study modules were required in both the campus-based and online sections while student discussions were required for the online sections. The results suggest learner-content interaction has a positive impact on student learning while student effort, measured as amount of time spent studying, is either negatively related or not related to this outcome. Further analysis reveals that students’ perceptions of their performance ability mediate the relation between student effort and student learning. 
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Hybrid or blended learning (BL) has been shown to be equivalent to or better than face-to-face (FTF) instruction in a broad variety of contexts. We randomly assigned students to either 50/50 BL or 100% FTF versions of a research methods and statistics in psychology course. Students who took the BL version of the course scored significantly lower on measures of quantitative mastery of statistical concepts than those who took the FTF version; however, the size of this effect was quite small. We detected no significant difference between BL and FTF in the expression of critical thinking through writing or writing mechanics. The greatest difference in performance was among instructors regardless of instruction type. We discuss these results in the context of increasing online and BL instruction, particularly with regard to teaching psychological statistics, research methods, and critical thinking. 
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The 21st century is considered to be the electronic age. This electronic age brings opportunities for new ways to deliver a lecture or a whole course in higher education. By offering courses online, universities are trying to reach the population of students that cannot attend classes on campus. Professors also utilize technology in a variety of ways to help them teach traditional classes. Valdosta State University (VSU) offers a variety of courses online including College Algebra (Math 1111). While we are trying to reach more students through the online courses, we should also examine the impact to student learning and success in College Algebra. In the fall 2016 and spring 2017 terms, VSU offered the first online sections of Math 1111 with 27 and 23 students, respectively. The course retention rate and the students’ performance on the departmental final exam for the treatment group, online section (OS), versus the control group, traditional section (TS) of 350 students, were compared. The OS had a statistically significant higher departmental final exam average, but there was no statistically significant difference in retention rate. 
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Blended learning seems to be an emerging trend in education and has caught the interest of many educators and researchers as a new approach to encourage students in their learning process. Though blended learning has proven its success and efficiency in teaching and learning of English writing skills in many ESL and EFL contexts, no attempts had been made to investigate its effectiveness in teaching English writing skills in K.S.A. To fill in this gab, the current study attempts to examine the impact of blended learning approach on improving Saudi EFL students’ English essay writing. Moreover, it examines Saudi students’ perceptiveness toward implementing blended learning approach to develop English essay writing. Sixty participants were selected out of sixty eight English majors based on their scores on a piloted proficiency test. They were then randomly divided into two equal groups undergoing control and experimental conditions. The experimental group was taught through the use of blended learning approach whereas the control group was taught through traditional lecture method. To achieve the study aims, the researcher adopted a mixed method research design so as to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Data collection instruments were pre and post writing essays tests, questionnaire, and interviews. Teaching experiment was conducted for ten weeks in March-April 2017. The researcher used the following statistical methods to reach the results: (Mean, Standard Deviation, and T-Test). The results of the independent-samples t-tests showed that participants of the blended learning group significantly outperformed the control group in their writing performance. The study findings also revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the scores of the paired experimental group in the pre and post achievement test in favour of the post-test. This improvement was ascribed to the use of blended learning approach in teaching essay writing. Moreover, the analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaires and interviews indicated that students in the experimental group had positive perspectives towards the use of blended learning approach in teaching English essay writing. Finally, the findings of the study hold a number of pedagogical implications for EFL learners, language teachers, material developers, and those interested in essay writing. 
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Here, we describe the implementation a hybrid general chemistry teaching laboratory curriculum that replaces a portion of a course’s traditional “wet lab” experiences with online virtual lab modules. These modules intentionally utilize representations on all three levels of the chemistry triplet - macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic. The implementation of this curriculum allowed an opportunity to evaluate this new course structure. First, student performance was assessed based on pre- and post-assessments. Second, dialogue from students working through the traditional and module versions of one lab was analyzed for how each format encouraged students to engage with the chemistry triplet. Data suggest both formats led to positive learning gains, but the differences between formats were not statistically significant. However, there was a significant difference in student engagement with the chemistry triplet, with module students showing a higher overall amount of triplet-related dialogue and more continuous dialogue segments connecting multiple levels of the triplet. 
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Abstract not available. 
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Utilization of technology in the teaching and learning process has brought a significant impact to the education sector. Technology offers educators and learners a new learning experience to encourage and enrich the teaching and learning process. The study used descriptive-correlation to know the effectiveness of the different learning environment through pretest and post-test and to determine the satisfaction rating of the respondents towards the different kinds of learning environment. It was found out in the result that blended learning shows an effective tool to enriched student performance in programming. It is recommended to use different learning mode of delivery to shows a significant increase and improvement in the academic performance. 
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Background
Despite the increasing uptake of information and communication technologies (ICT) within healthcare services across developing countries, community healthcare workers (CHWs) have limited knowledge to fully utilise computerised clinical systems and mobile apps. The ‘Introduction to Information and Communication Technology and eHealth’ course was developed with the aim to provide CHWs in Malawi, Africa, with basic knowledge and computer skills to use digital solutions in healthcare delivery. The course was delivered using a traditional and a blended learning approach.

Methods
Two questionnaires were developed and tested for face validity and reliability in a pilot course with 20 CHWs. Those were designed to measure CHWs’ knowledge of and attitudes towards the use of ICT, before and after each course, as well as their satisfaction with each learning approach. Following validation, a randomised controlled trial was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the two learning approaches. A total of 40 CHWs were recruited, stratified by position, gender and computer experience, and allocated to the traditional or blended learning group using block randomisation. Participants completed the baseline and follow-up questionnaires before and after each course to assess the impact of each learning approach on their knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction. Per-item, pre-post and between-group, mean differences for each approach were calculated using paired and unpaired t-tests, respectively. Per-item, between-group, satisfaction scores were compared using unpaired t-tests.

Results
Scores across all scales improved after attending the traditional and blended learning courses. Self-rated ICT knowledge was significantly improved in both groups with significant differences between groups in seven domains. However, actual ICT knowledge scores were similar across groups. There were no significant differences between groups in attitudinal gains. Satisfaction with the course was generally high in both groups. However, participants in the blended learning group found it more difficult to follow the content of the course.

Conclusions
This study shows that there is no difference between blended and traditional learning in the acquisition of actual ICT knowledge among community healthcare workers in developing countries. Given the human resource constraints in remote resource-poor areas, the blended learning approach may present an advantageous alternative to traditional learning. 
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This action research study follows a between-subject design strategy and attempts to identify whether a departure from a direct instructional teaching strategy towards a flipped learning pedagogy results in increases in student performance over time. In particular, the study considers the effects of integrating flipped learning pedagogic instruction into a Year 1, second-semester undergraduate Computer Architecture module. The first year of the study represented a baseline year in which a traditional direct instructional teaching method was used. The three subsequent years of study involved the inclusion of increased proportions of flipped learning instruction. When removing the baseline year from the study and focusing on the years that included a flipped proportion of instruction only, the analysis showed statistically significant increases in learner performance for mature students as the module migrated towards a fully flipped delivery model. Positive increases associated with continuous assessment components of the modules were also observed across the population as the module migrated towards a flipped learning model. However, this apparent increase in learner performance showed no impact on the terminal examination scores across years, indicating that improved performance in continuous assessments was probably due to shallow learning. 
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