Online Homework … Research

We’ve been talking, as a profession, about online homework systems. To some, some of these systems are the ‘best thing since sliced bread’. On the other hand, some basic ideas from learning theories suggest that the benefits may not be uniformly positive.

A general source, summarizing various research, is the MDRC report Unlocking the Gate: What We Know About Improving Developmental Education http://www.mdrc.org/publications/601/full.pdf . On page ES-7, the report states:

Little research has been conducted on these strategies despite their popularity, and the research that exists shows mixed results.

In general, we can trust that a report from the MDRC is valid and reliable. I thought I would look for some additional research, in case you are interested.

http://editlib.org/p/32318

Laurie Lenz
“This study compares student outcomes in multiple sections of a required mathematics course. The sections differed only in the homework delivery method: WBH, PPH, or a combination of the two. Among other results, it was found that students were more likely to attempt and to receive higher homework grades with WBH than with PPH. However, the study found no significant difference between the exam grades of students in the WBH sections and the students in the PPH sections.”
[WBH means web based homework; PPH means paper & pencil homework]

http://www.editlib.org/p/33222

David Shane Brewer, Kurt Becker

“This research compared the effectiveness, in terms of mathematical achievement, of online homework to textbook homework over an entire semester for 145 students enrolled in multiple sections of college algebra at a large community college. A quasi-experimental, posttest design was used to analyze the effect on mathematical achievement, as measured by a final exam. The control group completed their homework using the textbook and the treatment group completed similar homework using an online homework system developed by the textbook publisher. All class sections followed a common syllabus, schedule, and homework list and completed a common, departmental final exam. The results of the research found that while the treatment group generally scored higher on the final exam, no significant difference existed between the mathematical achievement of the control and treatment groups. When students were divided based on incoming math skill level, analysis showed that low-skilled students who used online homework exhibited significantly higher mathematical achievement than low-skilled students who used textbook homework. Exploratory analysis also showed that more students with low incoming skill levels and more repeating students received a passing grade when using online homework than did their higher-skilled, first-time counterparts, although the differences were not significant.”

http://iisit.org/Vol6/IISITv6p285-298Buzzetto556.pdf

Nicole Buzzetto-More and Ojiabo Ukoha

“The results of this study were mixed and marked by high levels of neutrality; however, the findings did indicate that most students felt that the system was easy to use, a valuable learning tool, successful at having helped them to learn course concepts, and an aide that helped them to perform better on their assignments. At the same time, most student responded that they were not satisfied the system. The analysis of the student performance data noted a significant decrease in student withdrawal rates and a marked increase in pass rates for the course under consideration.”

As you may have discovered, this research is not easy to find. If you search online for research for online homework systems, most of what you see will be marketing materials from publishers of such systems with an occasional ad-hoc summary of what happened in a class or course — which is not research. Research strives to answer a question in a way that can be duplicated and validated, and the marketing & ad-hoc reports do not qualify; they might raise valid points, but do not show what the results are relative to online homework systems.

Here is a list of online articles for this research:

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol7no4/baugher_1211.htm

http://editlib.org/p/32318

http://coe.ksu.edu/jecdol/Vol_6/pdf/theeffect.pdf

http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v4n1/articles/PDFs/Article_DoornJanssenOBrien.pdf

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol5no4/hodge_1209.htm

http://iisit.org/Vol6/IISITv6p285-298Buzzetto556.pdf

http://www.editlib.org/p/33222

http://www.ifrnd.org/JEVR/1(3)%20June%202011/Enhancing%20the%20Study_of%20Business%20Statistics.pdf

http://www.math.umt.edu/tmme/vol3no2/TMMEvol3no2_SaudiArabia_pp176_183.pdf

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Research connected to practice | Jack Rotman | January 6, 2012 2:04 pm

1 Comment

By Laura, January 6, 2012 @ 3:05 pm

I would argue that the most valuable part of on-line homework is less work for the instructor, particularly adjuncts. In many cases, without online homework, homework is not collected. On the other hand, the comparison of test scores and withdrawals depends on the nature of the tests. If the only thing that is being tested is the algorithmic type of questions that are supported by current on-line homework, then the question becomes can we use on-line homework to support ALL of the objectives that we really want in a dev math course?

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