A meta-analysis is a grouping of multiple studies of the same topic that have their results statistically combined. Meta-analyses work well for looking at the result of multiple studies, which all likely have some degree of error; however, when those studies are put together, their results are much more relevant to the real-world and can seen as more credible than individual studies because more data and research backs up the final result. Meta-analyses are so powerful, in fact, that they are often used to prove the credibility of new medical treatments or drugs.
Meta-analyses don't simply back up one common finding, but they can also be used to point out multiple interesting relationships between various findings. Various research studies of one topic don't generally look the same. Rather, each study of that topic builds upon the next, digging into the future research questions of the past study. Therefore, when a group of studies of one topic are viewed together, the various studies have often used different variables to answer similar questions, and those differing variables, when viewed together can answer new questions through the meta-analysis.
The great thing about a meta-analysis is that it is "better" at proving a finding. For instance, if a single study shows that drinking coffee every day aids in weight loss, this study may be viewed as a fluke, but if a meta-analysis of multiple studies demonstrates that drinking coffee every day helps people lose weight, then in general, we could conclude that if I were to add coffee to my diet, I could lose a few pounds.
So, how do meta-analyses relate to our topic of "Educating Via the Internet" for Unit 3 of Psych 532? In the year 2010, the U.S. Department of Education Completed a Meta-Analysis of multiple studies about online education. They expressed the result of each of the experiments included in the analysis as an effect size, which is a way to quantify the difference between the control group and the experimental group often used in meta-analyses. Among 50 studies, 11 were incredibly positive in favor of online learning or learning blended with classroom studies.
Additionally, the study came up with 12 key findings that demonstrate some of the positive effects of online education.
1. Students perform better when they learn online than when they learn in a classroom.
2. Students spend more time on-task in an online class.
3. Online classes work the best when students work collaboratively with other students or have direct instruction from professors rather than learning material on their own.
4. Most of the adjustments to online learning courses did not effect the effectiveness of the course significantly.
5. Online courses work for nearly everyone, regardless of their style of learning.
6. Online courses work for many subjects, and effectiveness of learning via online courses is not significantly impacted by changing the subject matter.
7. If courses are just online or if courses are partially online and in-person, the effectiveness of these two options are very similar.
8. Quizzes do not increase or decrease the amount that students learn.
9. Online learning can be improved by asking learners to reflect on what they're learning or self-monitoring their understanding of the material.
10. Online courses ask the students to operate on the material individually. This appears to be more effective than a teacher talking to multiple students at once. Individual engagement is better than listening to a lecture.
11. Extensive use of videos in online classes does not help the learners.
12. When comparing online classes and in-person classes with the same material, the effect sizes of the two were more different if the classes were given different curriculum.
Seeing these findings from the analysis provoked one major thought for me about my hometown school. Could we implement this in small schools to save money on building costs? Since this major analysis of so many studies has proven that online learning or classroom and online blended learning can improve students learning, is this an option that should be seriously considered for students?
My hometown high school recently passed a huge referendum to purchase a new heating system. Another rural high school close by recently started a petition for a referendum to make building updates. I wonder if people would be so eager to pay for new buildings if they knew that online education could be so beneficial to students learning.
Obviously, this is huge question, and there are many more things to consider about students switching to online courses than simply cutting building costs. However, I hope that in the future, more schools take time to learn about the research behind online courses, and I hope that we can make the best decisions about the future of education.
