Study Examines Effectiveness of Teaching via the Internet

In a unique new study on the effectiveness of teaching via the Internet, Cal State Northridge students randomly assigned to take a social statistics class by computer scored 20 points higher than those who took the same course in a traditional classroom.

The reason for the difference probably has less to do with any inherent “teaching” capabilities of the computer, the author and other experts said. Instead, students in the “virtual” class were forced to interact more, in this case electronically.

“They had to learn coping mechanisms for not having me in the classroom five hours a week,” said the study’s author, Cal State Northridge sociology professor Jerald G. Schutte. “One of the ways they coped is they ended up developing [on-line] peer groups--almost support groups.”

The “technology didn’t magically get the kids to learn more without effort,” Dave McArthur, a Rand Corp. computer scientist who studies computers in education, said after reviewing the study.

“Rather, the technology motivated them to work harder and longer, and to talk with their peers--always a good way to promote learning.”