A new report found that college students using an
interactive learning online (ILO) system with one hour of classroom instruction
each week scored the same in standardized tests as students taking the same
course through traditional classroom methods. Results from the study may lessen concern about students’ learning results
when taking online courses.
“This method appears to have potential,” says Matthew
M. Chingos, a senior research consultant for Ithaka S+R. “I view this research as a proof of concept
that at least one instance of a high-quality online course can produce
equivalent outcomes, and hopefully future versions that are higher quality will
do even better.”
In fact, students in the hybrid course scored slightly
higher and devoted 25% less time to coursework, according to the report
Interactive Learning Online at Public Universities: Evidence from Randomized Trials. However, students also reported enjoying the
hybrid course less than students taking the traditional class.
Chingos says he believes the ILO course lacked features
students expected from an online course, which led to the lower score. He also
speculated that better features would produce better results.
“If you could imagine a future version of a course like
this, taking advantage of more addictive, interactive, exciting features,
getting students even more involved in it, the hope is that in the long run,
this won’t just produce the same outcomes in less time for less money, but will
actually improve the quality of the educational experience,” he says.
