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Study Finds Online Students Outperform Classroom Counterparts
Given the current state of the economy, the cost of tuition at a traditional four-year university can be particularly daunting for prospective students and their parents. But, according to an extensive 12-year study carried out by research and development group SRI International, students in online programs actually perform better on tests than do their counterparts who study in actual classrooms.
The study, conducted between 1996 and 2008, focused primarily on college and continuing education programs. The New York Times reports that online students ranked in the 59th percentile -- markedly higher than the 50th percentile score achieved by those in the classroom. The study's leader, Barbara Means, said that online learning "actually tends to be better than conventional instruction."
This doesn't mean that students should necessarily pursue an independent, isolated education, though. One academic professional, Philip R. Regier of the Arizona State University Online and Extended Campus program, still asserts that "learning has to occur in a community." That, he says, can easily transpire online with instant messaging and chat rooms. After all, supervision and interaction do foster better productivity than leaving students to their own devices (like, say, playing 'World of Warcraft' instead of doing homework). [From: The New York Times]
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Comments
5
Subscribe to commentsRON71167Aug 20th 2009 6:53PM
I'm an online student that switched from a traditional on-campus university. Online tests are easier because online institutions fair better with better grades.
It makes them look more sucessful, but the truth of the matter is in-classroom tests are harder. As for the supervision part, that is a bunch of hooey. There is no, little, or as much supervision in a classom university as there is in an online university. Higher education is all about self-motivation.
kmarcus118Aug 20th 2009 7:46PM
Very vague results. Can those students who pass tests actually do anything besides pass tests?
amyjo4libraryAug 23rd 2009 7:35PM
I think that would depend on what your degree is in- mechanical engineering may carry more benefits from an in-classroom training environment, than say, a degree in technical writing. But with the multimedia applications available today for online students (check them out at really good universitites), I think learning can be done just as or even more so efficiently. Most of my peers in my online courses for my Bachelor's Degree were self-motivated and just learned better through reading, writing and peer interaction versus the traditional lecture/testing environment.
CoriSep 17th 2009 10:32AM
I took an algebra and stats course in a real classroom BUT we did all our homework and quizzes using an online program called MyMathlab. At another university I did horribly in those classes until I used that program. It was AMAZING. It explains what you did wrong right there, so you learn THEN and not when you get your horribly graded homework back. And no, you can't just copy down the explanation, it changes up the equation so you have to use what you learned. Unfortunately, alot of professors are addicted to being infront of an auditorium and getting to feel important and pompous and stick to the old ways.
DeborahSep 23rd 2009 7:25PM
I can't imagine that this is an either or situation! Way too many variables and learning styles involved for both students and instructors. Having different format options must be a part of supporting successful students--so a range of options should provide access for more students. It's always worth mentioning that university professors generally never study how to teach but are subject experts--that's how university teaching evolved. I think more and more professors both in traditional classrooms and through online courses are working to address these issues. I would predict that faculty who teach online courses may be more open to new ways of teaching wherever they teach! That would make an interesting study!
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