Facilitating flexible learning by replacing classroom time with an online learning environment: A systematic review of blended learning in higher education

Higher education institutions are trying to provide more flexibility and individualization, which is mainly realized through the use of new technologies and implemented in online or blended learning designs. This systematic review aims to investigate the impact of replacing classroom time with an online learning environment. The meta-analysis (k = 21 effect sizes) applied strict inclusion criteria concerning research design, measurement of learning outcomes and implementation of blended learning. The estimated effect size (Hedge's g) was positive, although not significantly different from zero and the confidence interval [-0.13, 0.25], suggesting that overall differences between blended and conventional classroom learning are small, and, at best, very small negative or moderate positive effects are plausible. This means that despite a reduction in classroom time between 30 and 79 per cent, equivalent learning outcomes were found. Consequently, blended learning with reduced classroom time is not systematically more or less effective than conventional classroom learning.     

Individual and cultural factors in teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion: A meta-analysis

The success of inclusive education is dependent upon classroom teachers implementing adaptations for children with disabilities. Given that willingness to make such adaptations is influenced by teacher attitudes, the current study examined teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education through a meta-analysis of 64 samples that were found via a systematic literature search. The results indicated that teachers hold a positive attitude towards inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools and that these attitudes are moderated by an interplay of cultural and demographical factors. The findings offer a renewed basis for intervention research into improving educational opportunities for children around the world.     

虚拟社区知识共享意愿与行为的影响因素及其调节变量:元分析研究

[目的/意义] 针对已有虚拟社区知识共享意愿与行为影响因素实证研究结果之间的不一致问题,对该领域相关实证研究加以梳理和再分析。[方法/过程] 利用元分析方法,通过系统收集和虚拟社区知识共享意愿与行为相关的实证研究文献,梳理和识别影响知识共享意愿与行为的关键因素,并通过异质性检验和分组分析,探索不同研究之间存在不一致性的原因,从而检验调节变量的影响。[结果/结论] 研究发现,对知识共享意愿与行为具有显著正向影响的因素分别有10个、14个,其中利他主义和知识共享态度对知识共享意愿的影响最大,结果期望、共同语言、主观规范和身份认同是影响知识共享行为最显著的变量。同时,研究识别了社区类型和研究情境是不同研究异质性的部分来源,具有一定的调节效应。通过梳理和识别知识共享意愿与行为的影响因素和调节因素,可为虚拟社区管理者提供参考,为该领域后续研究提供更好的理论基础。     

“人以群分”适用于大学生的学业成就吗——基于社会网络分析和Meta分析的方法

嵌入班级网络中的大学生在交往中形成不同的小群体,这些小群体间的学业成就是否具有显著性差异?研究者将社会网络分析方法中的整体网分析与元分析(Meta分析)相结合,在对大学生班级内小群体的学业成就差异进行多项独立研究的基础上,运用元分析技术将29项研究(N=1076)的结果予以综合分析,得到如下结论:(1)每个班级的大学生都在互动过程中形成了不同数量的小群体,且每个小群体中的学生数量不同;(2)大学生学业成就存在着“人以群分”现象,即同一班级的大学生在互动中产生的小群体在学业成就上存在显著性差异。因此,大学生应加强与高学业成就水平的小群体之间的互动以提高学业成就;而高校管理者也应采用科学的方法识别班级中的不同小群体,从而采取相应的学业成就提升策略。     

Self-regulated learning partially mediates the effect of self-regulated learning interventions on achievement in higher education: A meta-analysis

It is often assumed that interventions aimed at supporting students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) are effective for improving achievement because these interventions support SRL activity. In this study, meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) was used to test whether SRL activity indeed mediates the effect of SRL interventions on achievement in higher education. Contrary to popular belief, the results only provide evidence for partial mediation. Furthermore, three separate meta-analyses were performed to investigate the role of possible moderators of the relations between: (1) SRL interventions and achievement, (2) SRL interventions and SRL activity, and (3) SRL activity and achievement. Although SRL interventions were effective in improving SRL activity and achievement, most of the study, measurement, and intervention moderators did not explain significant variance of the investigated effect sizes. Other factors, such as task motivation and time on task, potentially influence the effectiveness of SRL interventions. Practical, theoretical and methodological implications are provided.     

Revisiting the effects of project-based learning on students’ academic achievement: A meta-analysis investigating moderators

Project-based learning is generally considered an alternative to traditional, teacher-led instruction. However, there is a noticeable lack of meta-analyses with regard to determining its overall effects on students' academic achievement, and what study features may moderate the impacts of project-based learning. This study thus performed a meta-analysis to synthesize existing research that compared the effects of project-based learning and those of traditional instruction on student academic achievement. Forty-six effect sizes (comparisons) extracted from 30 eligible journal articles published from 1998 to 2017 were analyzed, representing 12,585 students from 189 schools in nine countries. The results showed that the overall mean weighted effect size (d₊) was 0.71, indicating that project-based learning has a medium to large positive effect on students' academic achievement compared with traditional instruction. In addition, the mean effect size was affected by subject area, school location, hours of instruction, and information technology support, but not by educational stage and small group size.     

Antecedents predicting health information seeking: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Numerous reasons regarding why people should seek health information exist, but empirical evidence has indicated that factors that influence health information seeking (HIS) differ according to the context. To make suggestions based on explicit and judicious use of the best available evidence, a meta-analytic review was undertaken. In the present review, 16 electronic databases were searched up to July 2019, empirical results of 71 primary studies that met inclusion criteria were coded, and seven antecedents that commonly affect HIS behavior were examined. We obtained 204 correlation coefficients from 90 independent subsets with a total of 74,171 respondents. The results indicated that self-efficacy (ES_r = 0.254), health literacy (ES_r = 0.222), availability (ES_r = 0.412), credibility (ES_r = 0.308), emotional response (ES_r = 0.090), and subjective norms (ES_r = 0.443) substantially influenced individuals’ HIS, and subjective norms was the most influential factor. Individuals’ behavior usually aligns with the opinions of other critical individuals in their lives, and this phenomenon was observed in the present study of the HIS context. In addition, eight variables were examined as potential moderators (i.e., roles of samples, gender, average age, topic, information channel, type of publication, data collecting method, and sampling method); statistically significant effects on some of the aggregated correlations were noted for all of these variables.     

Motivation and transfer in professional training: A meta-analysis of the moderating effects of knowledge type, instruction, and assessment conditions

This meta-analysis (148 studies, k = 197, N = 31,718) examined the relationship between motivation and transfer in professional training. For this purpose, motivation was conceptualized in the following nine dimensions: motivation to learn, motivation to transfer, pre- and post-training self-efficacy, mastery orientation, performance orientation, avoidance orientation, expectancy, and instrumentality. Population correlation estimates ranged between −0.11 and 0.52. Three moderator effects were estimated. First, correlations were higher when the training focused on declarative and self-regulatory, rather than on procedural, knowledge. Second, learner-centered environments tended to show greater numbers of positive correlations than did knowledge-centered environments. Third, when compared with external, supervisory, or peer assessment, self-assessment of transfer produced upwardly biased population estimates irrespective of the transfer criterion. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theories of training effectiveness and their significance for the practice of training evaluation.     

Examining research on the impact of distance and online learning: A second-order meta-analysis study

Distance learning has evolved over many generations into its newest form of what we commonly label as online learning. In this second-order meta-analysis, we analyze 19 first-order meta-analyses to examine the impact of distance learning and the special case of online learning on students’ cognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes. We examine to what extent distance learning generation level, and instructional setting moderate the influences of distance learning on cognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes. This second-order meta-analyses also analyzes the first-order meta-analyses for methodological quality and robustness. The findings revealed a statistically significant overall average effect size (g = 0.156, p < .001 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.087–0.224) of distance learning impacting cognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes in comparison to face-to-face learning. Meta-analyses on higher education had a statistically significant larger effect size than K-12 education. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.