Does Lecture Style Matter in Asynchronous Online Interteaching?

Abstract

Background Although substantial empirical evidence supports interteaching, few studies have investigated the clarifying lecture component, and none have evaluated it in an online course format. Objective This study evaluated the necessity of a clarifying lecture in an asynchronous online course and compared a clarifying lecture (based on student feedback) to brief standard lecture (covering material the instructor thought was difficult). Method Participants were undergraduates ( N = 116) across three sections of an online Psychology of Learning course. An alternating treatments design was used to vary the order of three brief lecture conditions across weeks in the courses: (a) clarifying lecture; (b) standard lecture; and (c) no lecture. Results There were no significant differences in exam scores across the three conditions. However, students scored significantly higher on weekly exams when the lecture conditions were collapsed and compared to no lecture. Most students reported a preference for the clarifying lecture. Conclusion Our findings suggest that both styles of asynchronous lectures positively impacted weekly (but not cumulative final) exam scores. Teaching Implications The efficacy of interteaching was not decreased by altering lecture style. This flexibility eases the course preparation burden on instructors given they could prepare lectures prior to gathering student feedback.