Online Learning Efficacy Research Database

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) practitioners regard writing as one of the most innovative discrete skills to teach. Many researchers examined the writing difficulties of EFL students and provided resolutions and guidance. Although the viability of the planned objectives was re-examined before any conclusions were made. However, this research aimed to investigate the effect of online and face-to-face (F2F) teaching methods on students’ academic performance in writing skills. The participants, N=44, were divided into two groups A and B and belonged to the English department in the second semester at Najran University, Najran, KSA. The controlled group A received online instruction, whereas the experimental group B received face-to-face instruction. A quasi-experimental study design was employed using the pre-test and the post-test research instruments. A test was administered to two groups to measure their levels of homogeneity at the beginning of the semester. Another test was then administered to the same groups after the first semester of teaching. In order to analyze the data, the SPSS program was used. According to the results, the F2F intervention improved student performance over the online mode. The F2F mode of participation was more comfortable and engaging for participants than the online mode. Additionally, F2F discussion produced better writing performances from the students than online communication does. Thus, despite certain benefits associated with F2F learning, further research is required in order to fully understand how F2F teaching approaches affect English learners' academic achievement in writing. 
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Introductory computer science courses help students, regardless of their majors, keep up with the rapid pace of change in the workplace. However, such courses are commonly perceived as being difficult. Although many studies have discussed the importance of online introductory computer science courses, there is a dearth of studies investigating the effectiveness of this delivery mode when the same assessment tools are used as in the traditional delivery mode. Moreover, it is unclear how students of different genders perform in both online and traditional face-to-face introductory computer science course sections when they receive the same instructional content. The purpose of this study is to expand the existing literature by examining the academic achievement of students in an introductory computer science course through the evaluation of grades obtained from online and traditional face-to-face course sections. Additionally, the study aims to explore any gender-based variations between the two delivery modes. The sample size included 589 first-year students in an introductory computer science course at a public university in Saudi Arabia. The participants were selected randomly from different sections. The results confirm the findings of previous studies suggesting that there are no gender-based differences in students’ performance in introductory computer science. Additionally, this study makes a valuable contribution to the existing body of literature by demonstrating that students who receive introductory computer science instruction through online delivery mode achieve significantly higher performance than students who receive the same instruction through traditional face-to-dace delivery mode. Moreover, this study found that both female and male students who receive introductory computer science instruction through online delivery mode perform significantly better than male students who receive instruction through traditional face-to-face delivery mode, indicating that online learning may be a more effective mode of delivery for students of both genders. 
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This study compared the effect of two face-to-face(F2F) and e-learning education methods on learning, retention, and interest in English language courses. Participants were EFL students studying at Islamic Azad University, for the academic year 2021–2022. A multiple-stage cluster-sampling method was used to select the target participants. Three hundred and twenty EFL learners participated in the study. Students were studying in different majors: accounting, economics, psychology, physical education, law, management, and sociology. Two English tests were applied, a teacher-made VTS (Vocabulary Size Test) and an achievement test (including reading comprehension and grammar questions). Also, a questionnaire was applied to measure the students’ learning interest in F2F and online learning groups. The study found significant differences in learning outcomes related to students’ English learning and vocabulary retention rates. It was seen that the E-learning group that participated in online sessions through the Learning Management Systems (LMS) platform outperformed the F2F group. Another critical finding revealed that learners’ interest in learning English in E-learning classes was higher than in the F2F group. In addition, all constructs of interest (feeling happy, attention, interest, and participation) were higher in scores in the E-learning than in the F2F group. Language teachers, university instructors, educators, syllabus designers, school administrators, and policymakers might rethink their teaching approaches and incorporate E-learning into the curriculum to meet their students’ needs. 
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A research study employing a non-equivalent pretest-posttest comparison group design was used to measure online and face-toface (FTF) yoga instructional methods and their effects on anxiety, increased flexibility, and perceived behavioural intentions to practice yoga in the future. This study was conducted to discover if online yoga course instruction was just as effective as or more so than a course taught FTF. Findings suggest that online yoga instruction was significantly more effective in reducing the state anxiety of the students. However, there was no significant difference between groups on trait anxiety indicating that either method was equally effective. In contrast, the F2F course was significantly more effective in reducing the appearance anxiety of students when compared to the online yoga course. Students in FTF and online increased in flexibility with no significant difference between groups. Based on these results, online yoga can reduce certain types of anxiety and be just as effective at increasing flexibility. The findings show that online yoga can be just as effective as and sometimes more effective than FTF yoga in some aspects important for maintenance of health and wellness in individuals. 
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The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the various facets of higher education globally. With the migration to online teaching happening at an unprecedented rate, educators are challenged in transforming the way they create opportunities for students’ learning. Specifically, in Australia, education providers have increasingly offered their courses in a dual-mode setting, making them available for both online and face-to-face students. This paper presents the design of a specific type of dual-mode teaching, referred to as mixed-mode teaching used in an introductory economics course at X University. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the mixed-mode teaching in creating an equitable learning experience for the online and face-to-face groups of students enroled in the course. Such an approach should then translate into there being no significant difference found in the academic performance of the two cohorts. In this study, we used the non-parametric Wilcoxon test and Kruskal-Wallis test to verify if a significant difference exists in learning satisfaction. Further, we utilised regression with dummies, and four different approaches of propensity score matching estimation in excluding self-selection bias, to evaluate differences in academic performance. Our results suggest no statistically significant differences in both the learning experiences and academic performances of our two groups of students. At a time when higher education is facing ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic, these findings offer useful insights for economics educators as well as those in higher education about how to enhance students’ academic performance and learning experience through more equitable, consistent course design. 
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Background: Online education has become increasingly popular, but research on the effectiveness of different teaching models in developing cognitive skills is limited. This study investigated the relationship between different teaching models (online and offline) and the development of cognitive skills in clinical medicine students.Methods: Survey data were collected from 2018 entry students who participated in online teaching and 2019 entry students in offline teaching at Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University. National Quality Open Courses (NQROC) were provided to both groups of students. The study examined the total score of physiology final exam,score of each type of question, and NQROC learning engagement in different score segments under the two teaching models. Non-parametric statistical methods were utilized to analyze the total score of physiology final exam, score of each type of question, and the NQROC learning engagement. Spearman’s rank correlation was utilized to analyze the relationship between the score of physiology final exam and the students’ NQROC learning engagement. Results: The study found no statistically significant difference in the total score, short-answer questions (SAQs) score, and case study questions (CSQs) score between online and offline teaching models. However, the multiplechoice questions (MCQs) score was higher in the online teaching model (Z=-4.249, P<0.001), suggesting that online teaching may be an effective way to improve lower-order cognitive skills among students. In contrast, low-achieving
students had higher total scores (Z=-3.223, P=0.001) and scores in both MCQs (Z=-6.263, P<0.001) and CSQs (Z=-6.877, P<0.001) in the online teaching model. High-achieving students in the online teaching model had higher total scores (Z=-3.001, P=0.003) and MCQs scores (Z=-5.706, P<0.001) but lower scores in CSQs (Z=-2.775, P=0.006). Furthermore, students’ NQROC learning engagement was greater in the online teaching model. Conclusions: The results of this study suggested that online teaching was not statistically significantly different from offline in cognitive domains and was more desirable than offline in strengthening lower-order cognitive skills. However, it was important to note that offline teaching may be more effective in reinforcing higher-order cognitive skills among high-achieving students. In conclusion, this study provided important insights into the effectiveness of different teaching models in developing cognitive skills among medical students and highlighted the potential benefits of online teaching in enhancing students’ lower-order cognitive skills. 
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Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of course delivery methods on examination grades and student perceptions in a sonography course. Materials and Methods: The participant included all sonography students (n = 103), enrolled at a Midwestern university, during the academic years (AY) of 2010–2021. A retrospective, convergent mixed-methods design was used to collect and analyze data, related to the course delivery method. Results: The highest overall mean examination score and course satisfaction rating resulted from the blended learning format and the lowest mean examination scores and course satisfaction resulted from the flipped learning format. Conclusion: Health professions students are a diverse group of learners. Pedagogical practices should include course design and delivery methods which educate all learners. Courses that balance both face-to-face learning with opportunities for self-directed learning improve student satisfaction which could lead to improved student outcomes and provide the foundation for students to become competent health care professionals. 
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In this research, we investigated whether business students enrolled in a statistics course gained more by engaging in traditional face-to-face (FTF) learning or online learning. Empirical evidence suggested that students learned statistics more effectively when engaged with an instructor in a traditional FTF classroom versus through online learning; however, when the option of teaching virtually in fully online (ONL) classes was available, students successfully learned about statistics whether in a traditional FTF classroom or a ONL learning experience. In addition, evidence suggested that students’ overall satisfaction with the course and the instructor was higher in the FTF setting than in the ONL setting. Evidence also suggested that offering online zoom lecture meetings in the ONL setting remarkably enhanced students’ satisfaction with the course and the instructor and, importantly, reduced the gap in effective instruction between traditional FTF and ONL settings. 
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The paper compares the effectiveness of in-person and virtual engineering laboratory sessions. The in-person and virtual laboratory sessions reported here comprise six experiments combined with short tutorials. The virtual lab combined enquiry-based learning and gamification principles. The integration of the virtual labs with in-person teaching created a blended learning environment. The effectiveness of this approach was assessed based on (i) the student feedback (i.e., a questionnaire with open-ended questions and Likert scale feedback), (ii) the students’ engagement with the virtual lab, and (iii) the impact on the academic performance (i.e., class test results). The students reported greater confidence in the understanding of theory in the virtual lab than the in-person lab. This is interesting given that the instruction for the virtual lab and the in-person lab of one experiment is identical (i.e., same instructor, same enquiry-based learning techniques, and same explanations). The students also appreciated the ability to complete the virtual lab anytime, anywhere, for as long as they needed, and highlighted the benefits of the interactivity. The median class test scores of the students who completed some or all the virtual lab experiments was higher than those who did not (83–89% vs. 67%). 
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Background: Blended learning is a relatively new educational approach that has been introduced into higher education in Palestine. While it has many advantages, there is no empirical evidence, nor any case studies from Palestine to support the use of blended learning over traditional classroom.
Objectives: To compare students’ learning outcomes, learning perceptions of their educational environment, and satisfaction of blended learning versus traditional classroom. Design: A quasi-experimental study.
Setting: A public university in Palestine. Participants: 102 Bachelor of Science in nursing students enrolled on the maternal health course.
Methods: Students freely chose to register for the blended teaching section (49 students) or traditional classroom (53 students), then the teaching method for each section was assigned. Student demographics, course component grades, perceptions of the educational environment, measured by the Arabic version of Dundee Ready Education Environment Measurement (DREEM) inventory, and degree of satisfaction were collected in this study. Descriptive statistics and the Independent Sample t-test were used to analyze the data.
Results: The sample included 49 students in the blended teaching section and 53 students in the traditional section. Overall DREEM scores, Student Perceptions of Learning, and Student Perceptions of Teachers were significantly higher for students taught with the blended method compared to traditional classroom settings. The total DREEM scores were between 101 and 151 for both sections, indicating that all students, regardless of teaching method, had more positive than negative perceptions of their educational environment. Moreover, there was no significant difference in scores and total course GPA (Grade Point Average), both with and without assignment grades, or between blended and traditional learning in first, second and final exams. However, students taught with the blended format scored significantly higher in assignments than students taught the traditional classroom.
Conclusions: Blended learning can be a useful educational approach in nursing education and Palestinian universities may consider using it for nursing courses. 
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