About the Database
The No Significant Difference database was first established in 2004 as a companion piece to Thomas L. Russell’s book, “The No Significant Difference Phenomenon” (2001, IDECC, fifth edition), a fully indexed, comprehensive research bibliography of 355 research reports, summaries and papers that document no significant differences (NSD) in student outcomes between alternate modes of education delivery. Redesigned in 2010 and provided as a service of WCET, (WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies), a division of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, the database was designed to expand the offerings from the book by providing access to appropriate studies published or discovered after its publication.
This site is intended to function as an ever-growing repository of comparative media studies in education research. Both no significant differences (NSD) and significant differences (SD) studies are constantly being solicited for inclusion in the website. In addition to studies that document no significant difference (NSD), the website includes studies which do document significant differences (SD) in student outcomes based on the mode of education delivery.
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Contribute to the Collection
In its new home on the DETA Research website, the database is intended to continue to function as an ever-growing repository of comparative media studies in education research. The current collection is in need of both updates to the current records, as well as the addition of current and emerging research. As such, both NSD and SD studies are constantly being solicited for inclusion in the website. If you are interested in assisting as a contributor or editor, contact us.
Records: 33
Teaching Telecourses: Opportunities and Options: How Do Telecourses Compare to Other Types of Courses?
Annenberg/CPB Project |
Excerpt
…television-delivered instruction is equivalent to traditional, classroom-based instruction in its learning effectiveness… outcomes of the television courses are roughly equivalent to the outcomes of the comparable traditional courses…tele-course students performed better than or as well as non-telecourse students…a third of the faculty studied reported that Annenberg/CPB courses retained more students than traditionally taught courses. Another third said that retention was equal to . . . traditionally taught courses.
Finding
No Significant Difference
| View Full Record |
Adaptability to Online Learning: Differences Across Types of Students and Academic Subject Areas
D. Xu |
S. Jaggers |
Excerpt
Using a dataset containing nearly 500,000 courses taken by over 40,000 community and technical college students in Washington State, this study examines how well students adapt to the online environment in terms of their ability to persist and earn strong grades in online courses relative to their ability to do so in face-to-face courses. While all types of students in the study suffered decrements in performance in online courses, some struggled more than others to adapt: males, younger . . . students, Black students, and students with lower grade point averages. In particular, students struggled in subject areas such as English and social science, which was due in part to negative peer effects in these online courses.
Finding
Significant DIfference – Better Results in the Classroom
| View Full Record | View Article |
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