Today we have a guest post from John M. Rothgeb, Jr., professor of political science at Miami University of Ohio. He can be contacted at rothgejm[at]miamioh[dot]edu.
Do online learning teams help students recall facts and/or analyze political problems? Instructors often use online chat rooms and discussions as convenient tools for engaging teams of students in the process of writing, reading, and reacting, helping them recall information, and giving them opportunities for analyzing problems. Despite much agreement about the benefits of online teams, there is little evidence supporting their value.
I collected data on this subject from four sections of my introductory world politics course. Two sections from 2014 with a total of 75 students employed online learning teams, and two sections from the Fall of 2015 and Spring of 2016 with a total enrollment of 86 did not. The classes met at the same time, the same days, in the same classroom, and received the same lectures.
The learning teams were created by randomly assigning five or six students to groups, with each group given its own online chat room. Students received careful instructions regarding the use of chat rooms. They were required to post chat room comments at least twice each week, first with a response to the week’s assignment and second with their reaction to other students’ posts. This activity counted for ten percent of the final grade. Students in the sections that did not use online learning teams were instructed to study material on their own.
I assessed students’ learning with in-class exams on conceptual definitions and a take-home essay in which they used theory to analyze an historical event—for example, applying deterrence theory to the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1990.
A chi square analysis showed that students’ grades on exams and the paper assignment did not significantly differ between the sections with the online learning teams and those without. The findings imply that the online learning teams had no effect on student performance.
These results invite reflection as to why online teams did not lead to evidence of superior factual recall or analytical ability. More than two-thirds of students across all sections earned a B or better on the exams, indicating good recall. While fewer students earned an A grade on the analytical paper, only a small number earned grades below a C+. Perhaps the lectures, problem exercises, and readings that were part of all course sections were enough to generate this result.
Further research should explore the relative efficacy of online teams and weekly study guides. Given that my research did not control for variables like a student’s prior GPA, year in college, major, or extra-curricular activities, it also might be useful to include this kind of data in future investigations.
For additional information, please refer to John M. Rothgeb, “The Efficacy of Learning Teams: A Comparative Analysis,” Journal of Political Science Education 9, 3 (2013): 336-344, or contact him at the email address listed above.