This assignment started off by giving us the choice of watching a TED talk or reading an article, in which I chose to read the article. Next, we had to imagine that someone we know found out we are taking an online class and asks us if online education works and why. Next, we had to make a discussion board post including the results of the US Department of Education’s report, explanations of what meta-analysis, random assignment, and effect size are, and explain if online education works by referencing the article we read to start the assignment.

From the article, I learned that there are 3 main advantages of online education, which are leverage, time savings, and individualized teaching/new technologies. For leverage, Tabarrok talks about how his one TED talk has reached more viewers than he has taught in his whole offline career, and how online teaching allows the best teachers to teach way more students. For time savings, online lectures can take less time since you only have to say each thing once, and you don’t have to worry about transportation to and from class. For individualized teaching/new technologies, questions can be asked at any time during online lectures, and the development of computer-adaptive learning will lead students to learn where they are at.

Next, in my discussion board post, I first explained the main finding from the US Department of Education’s report. I mentioned that students in online classes performed moderately better than students in face-to-face classes. I also discussed a couple of the other findings very briefly.

I then explained the definitions of meta-analysis, random assignment, and effect size, and explained how they were important in the US Department of Education’s study. For meta-analysis, I explained that it allowed them to look holistically at the differences between online learning and face-to-face instruction, and draw stronger conclusions than a single study would. For random assignment,  it allowed them to ensure there were no systematic differences between groups, and that the results were due to mode of instruction rather than differences in the people. For effect size, it allowed them to conclude how different the online learning conditions were from face-to-face conditions, leading them to draw their conclusions in the study. 

I then went on to explain why online education works, using the points from the Tabarrok article I already explained. I described how it brings leverage, time savings, and individualized teaching/new technologies. I closed by describing there are certainly more reasons why online education works, and that it will continue to grow with the coming years.

Reflecting on this assignment, it was cool how this connected with what we learned in a previous assignment. Two assignments prior, we read the articles about meta-analysis, random assignment, and effect size, and we had to use that knowledge and apply it to this assignment. That was a great way to reinforce that we really understood the concepts, by testing our memory of them and revisiting them.

Additionally, reading an article that directly talked about the benefits of online education was really cool, especially when I am taking this online class right now. It reinforces my decision to take this course and allows me to feel confident in online education as a whole. It makes me more willing to take more online courses in the future!

Also, imagining this conversation with someone we know is valuable, so we can actually explain it if it comes up in a conversation! For example, many old people I know, such as my grandparents, are pretty skeptical about new technology and like the typical old ways of doing things. So, I would imagine that they are not very trusting in online courses. So, if the topic comes up that I am in an online course currently, I will be able to explain the advantages of it to them, both from the Tabarrok article, as well as what I have previously learned in the course.

Also, this is a minor point, but I really appreciate that we were given a choice in if we wanted to watch the video or read the article. Most courses are very professor driven, where students have little or no power to make choices. So, I appreciate how professor Gernsbacher has structured the course and has given us choices in assignments as well as for the term project!

This assignment started off by requiring us to read 4 articles about meta-analysis, random assignment and effect size. Following this, we read the executive summary of a US Department of Education report called “Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies”. The article stated 12 main findings, and we had to choose one, and write on the discussion board about it and what we think the finding means.

From the articles on meta-analysis, I learned that it is a form of statistical analysis that combines the results from many different studies. Additionally, I learned that this form of analysis increases power, you can generalize to larger populations, and publication bias can be investigated. These are a few of the many benefits that come with meta-analysis

The article on random assignment explained it as using a chance procedure to randomly place human or animal participants into different experimental groups. This method should always be used, as it ensures that results are not spurious or deceptive.

The article on effect size defines it as the quantification of the difference between 2 groups. It is easy to calculate, takes a more scientific approach, and places emphasis on the important part of an intervention. However, unfortunately, effect sizes are typically only used for meta-analysis.

The US Department of Educations report’s main takeaway was that on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those in face-to-face conditions. I won’t dive through all of the other key findings, but I will address the one from my discussion board post. This finding was that “Frequent online quizzes do not appear to influence the amount that students learn in online classes. The research does not support the use of a commonly recommended online learning practice – the practice of providing online quizzes. Frequent online quizzes do not seem to be more effective than assigning homework”.

I wrote about how this means that although online quizzes are frequently used in college courses, they aren’t a good way for kids to learn. Students can find answers online or in a textbook to answer questions, and they are much more focused on their grade than they are on mastering the material. I think this also means that other forms of assignments, such as frequent, smaller point assignments like in this class, can be more effective for students to learn the material.

Reflecting on this assignment, reading the articles served as a good review for me. In college, I have taken both statistics as well as research methods, so I had already learned about meta-analysis, random assignment, and effect size. However, reading through information about them again allowed me to strengthen my knowledge of each term. Especially when getting a psychology degree, it is important to have a firm foundation of knowledge in the topics surrounding research.

Additionally, I did learn some new things from the US Department of Education report. For example, even the main finding, about better learning outcomes in online conditions, somewhat surprised me. We are all socialized to believe in the method of in-person learning, but this report showed me that online learning is just as good, if not better.

Writing about just one of the findings was a great idea because it really allowed me to think more deeply about what that finding meant. Rather than other courses that may just have you list all of the findings, this required more conscious thought, rather than the busy work of typing out a list of information. This method will allow me to remember the finding I wrote about in the future, whereas if it was assigned differently I probably wouldn’t have retained it.

Reading research articles and about research allows me to become more confident in my knowledge of the topic. I can apply this when reading articles in the future, and explain the concepts to my friends who aren’t well versed on the topics. This assignment helped me retain valuable information that I can use moving forward!