Online Learning Efficacy Research Database

With the dramatic increase of online business degree programs, the question of the effectiveness of online courses has been front and center. Do these once primarily face-to-face courses successfully transfer to online-only formats without losing student productivity? Do the new formats still reach students, and is it reflected in final grades? Research was focused on evaluating the efficacy, measured by student performance, of undergraduate business statistics courses taught online classes, as compared to traditional, face-to-face classes and web- enhanced courses. Are there differences in how male and female students perform in both class formats?

Performance in the classroom is traditionally measured by the grades, namely the final grade. This study looked at the impact of online learning facilities in a course with traditionally difficult content for undergraduates with regard to gender. Results found that students overall performed better in face-to-face business statistics courses than in online. When gender was analyzed, the final grade for female students were significantly decreased from face-to-face to online courses, as compared to male students, whose grades were not significantly different in the two course formats. 
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Web-augmented traditional lecture, fully online, and flipped sections, all taught by the same instructor with the same course schedule, assignments, and exams in the same semester, were compared with regards to student attitudes; statistical reasoning; performance on common exams, homework, and projects; and perceptions of the course and instructor. The Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics-36 (SATS-36) instrument and eight questions from the Statistical Reasoning Assessment (SRA) were given both at the beginning and end of the semester to measure change. The students selected their own sections, but the students in the sections were similar demographically, with similar pre-course college grade point averages. The SATS-36 showed increases in affect, cognitive competence, and perceived easiness and decreases in value, interest, and effort from beginning to end of the semester for all sections. Only affect and perceived easiness showed any differences for section, with traditional higher than online on average for both. Results from the SRA questions showed an increase in correct statistical reasoning skills and decrease in misconceptions for all sections over the semester. Traditional students scored higher on average on all three exams, but there were no significant differences between sections on homework, the project, or on university evaluations of the course or instructor. Results are contextualized with prior educational research on course modalities, and proposals for future research are provided. 
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This article has two main objectives. First, we describe the design of an e-learning system for a University Income Tax Law course. Second, we analyze and explore learning results in terms of students’ learning satisfaction and learning achievement. Learning achievement was examined by questions derived from the course content while learning satisfaction was analyzed based on an adaptation of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).

Results indicate that neither gender nor the school system affect students’ e-learning system satisfaction. Since students’ knowledge and exposure to computers are equal regardless of gender or educational background this reduces the significance of both these variables. Participating samples are divided into three groups: traditional, fully on-line and blended learning. We find, however, a statistically significant difference existed in learning achievement among groups. The blended learning group, combining on- line learning with paper-and-pencil testing, has the best learning achievement among the three groups. 
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Most physics professors would agree that the lab experiences students have in introductory physics are central to the learning of the concepts in the course. It is also true that these physics labs require time and money for upkeep, not to mention the hours spent setting up and taking down labs. Virtual physics lab experiences can provide an alternative or supplement to these traditional hands-on labs. However, physics professors may be very hesitant to give up the hands-on labs, which have been such a central part of their courses, for a more cost and time-saving virtual alternative. Thus, it is important to investigate how the learning from these virtual experiences compares to that acquired through a hands-on experience. This study evaluated a comprehensive set of virtual labs for introductory level college physics courses and compared them to a hands-on physics lab experience. Each of the virtual labs contains everything a student needs to conduct a physics laboratory experiment, including: objectives, background theory, 3D simulation, brief video, data collection tools, pre- and postlab questions, and postlab quiz. This research was conducted with 224 students from two large universities and investigated the learning that occurred with students using the virtual labs either in a lab setting or as a supplement to hands-on labs versus a control group of students using the traditional hands-on labs only. Findings from both university settings showed the virtual labs to be as effective as the traditional hands-on physics labs. 
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Considering the significant growth in online and distance learning, the question arises as to how this different delivery method can affect student learning. Specifically, this study compares the student learning outcomes on both a “basic” and “complex” assignment given in the same course, but using two different delivery methods of traditional face-to-face and online, across five undergraduate business courses taught at Elon University during the summer 2007 session. This study includes data from over 120 students and, after controlling for other factors known to affect student performance, the results indicate that delivery method has no significant difference in student learning. 
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With the shift in pedagogy from learning in the traditional classroom setting (face-to-face mode) to online learning, it is important to find out how students are faring in the online mode and if equivalence in learning is achieved in the two modes. To answer these questions, the course results of students studying a first year undergraduate mathematics course in the two different modes at The University of the South Pacific were compared. The study revealed that there was no statistical significant difference in the pass rates of the students studying in the two modes but the students studying in the online mode had a significantly higher attrition rate. From the results, it was also discovered that students studying via the online mode achieved higher coursework marks but lower exam marks compared to students studying via the face to-face mode. Yet the students' total marks in the two modes were similar, which led to the conclusion that students studying in the online mode are faring just as well as students studying in the face-to-face mode. It was evident that equivalent learning was occurring in the two modes albeit in different ways. The coursework assessments methods in the two modes were also compared. 
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This study examines the effects of a technology-intensive course design on students' final grades in a criminology program at an upper-division university in the southwest. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses indicated that the presence of a technology-intensive curriculum alone did not significantly improve student performance. However, interaction effects revealed that the technology-based curriculum enhanced student learning for online students compared to those in hybrid and (FTF) courses although students completed fewer technology projects in online sections. These findings reveal barriers to teaching with technology that are not overcome through the use of systematic training for instructors and students. The study further reveals that adult and traditional learners do not significantly differ in learning when exposed to a technology-intensive curriculum or mode of course delivery. 
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Traditional lecturing has been shown again and again to be a less effective teaching method regarding student engagement and promotion in the sciences. Studies that compare different teaching methods often face limitations because, over time, courses are either substantially changed and/or are taught by different instructors. This article presents a comparison of the success rates of students (percentage of students earning a grade of C or higher) enrolled in a general biology course with laboratory for majors in a community college. The data spans a 6-year period and includes a total of 670 students. The same professor taught all students and used a common final examination. The only difference among the sections taught was the teaching method: lecture, blended, and hybrid. The lecture method involved lecturing with the use of clicker-style questions and laboratory. The blended method was a fusion of the lecture and laboratory. The hybrid method consisted of online lectures with in-class weekly laboratory sessions. On average, the highest success rates for students were observed for those students taught with the blended method, followed next by the hybrid method, and then by the lecture method. 
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The purpose of the research was to compare student performance in an online or face-to-face (F2F) required Psychology course on three distinct sets of variables (i.e., pre-course, course, and post-course variables). Analyses revealed mixed significant and nonsignificant results. Students did not differ in terms of such variables as hours transferred to the university from prior schools, total hours earned toward their degrees, and number of hours currently attempted. However, online students had significantly lower grade point averages, missed significantly more grade opportunities, and were significantly more likely to fail the course compared to their F2F counterparts. These and other results are discussed in relation to potentially developing a different lens through which to view student performance in online courses. 
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Online learning is on the rise, but research on outcomes and student satisfaction has produced conflicting results, and systematic, targeted research on underprepared college students is generally lacking. This study compared three sections (traditional, online, and 50% hybrid) of the same upper-level psychology course, taught with identical materials by the same instructor. Although exam scores were marginally higher in the traditional course, final grades and written assignments did not differ across sections, nor did student satisfaction. Student engagement predicted outcomes online. Taken together, these results suggest that outcomes and satisfaction are equivalent in online, hybrid, and traditional courses, and that a student's own diligence and drive might better predict success in online learning. 
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