A Meta-Analysis of Three Types of Interaction Treatments in Distance Education

Abstract

This meta-analysis of the experimental literature of distance education (DE) compares different types of interaction treatments (ITs) with other DE instructional treatments. ITs are the instructional and/or media conditions designed into DE courses, which are intended to facilitate student–student (SS), student–teacher (ST), or student–content (SC) interactions. Seventy-four DE versus DE studies that contained at least one IT are included in the meta-analysis, which yield 74 achievement effects. The effect size valences are structured so that the IT or the stronger IT (i.e., in the case of two ITs) serve as the experimental condition and the other treatment, the control condition. Effects are categorized as SS, ST, or SC. After adjustment for methodological quality, the overall weighted average effect size for achievement is 0.38 and is heterogeneous. Overall, the results support the importance of the three types of ITs and strength of ITs is found to be associated with increasing achievement outcomes. A strong association is found between strength and achievement for asynchronous DE courses compared to courses containing mediated synchronous or face-to-face interaction. The results are interpreted in terms of increased cognitive engagement that is presumed to be promoted by strengthening ITs in DE courses.

Does digital competence and occupational setting influence MOOC participation? Evidence from a cross-course survey

“…This result was consistent with previous research which showed how interaction skills were more important than information skills for taking advantage of and being successful in online courses (Bernard et al 2009;Castaño-Muñoz et al 2014). …”

A predictive study of student satisfaction in online education programs

“…Online learners may spend most of To increase learner-content interaction, it is necessary to understand the attributes of technologies that support interaction and instructional design that fits specific learning contexts (Anderson, 2003;Wagner, 1994). Compared to other settings (e.g., synchronous, hybrid), learner-content interaction has greater influence on learning outcomes in asynchronous settings (Bernard, Abrami, Borokhovski, Wade, Tamim, Surkes, & Bethel, 2009). Inclusion of tasks that involve collaboration and searching online resources may help enhance learners' interaction with content.…”

Exploring the Link between Online Behaviours and Course Performance in Asynchronous Online High School Courses

“…The inclusion of student-student interaction is central to the design of online courses based on constructivist learning theories (Anderson, 2003) because constructivists believe that learners need to co-construct knowledge -and therefore to interact with each other -in order to learn and retain what they have learned (Jonassen, 1999). In higher education, student-student interaction in online courses has long been considered essential for both learning and for motivation (Bernard et al, 2009). In the K-12 online environment, the need for student-student interaction has been integrated into course quality standards (i.e., Southern Regional Education Board, 2006;iNACOL, 2011).…”