Active learning reduces the examination-score achievement gap between minoritized-group and non-minoritized students in undergraduate STEM by 33% on average¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q4
Currency · newest study 2020 · checked against its sources 2026-10-16 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q4 i? On average, the standardized achievement gap between MGS and non-MGS students on identical or formally equivalent examinations is −0.62 SDs under traditional lecturing and −0.42 SDs under active learning, a 33% reduction. → Theobald Elli J. et al 2020

Evidence¶

Theobald Elli J. et al 2020¶

Theobald Elli J. et al. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916903117

q4 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3

Individual-participant-data meta-analysis of examination scores from 15 studies (9,238 students, 51 course sections) analyzed with hierarchical Bayesian regression. The gap was "−0.62 SDs" under lecturing versus "−0.42 SDs" under active learning, a 33% reduction across STEM disciplines. The article reports no standardized effect-size statistic for this comparison, so no i value is coded.

"the standardized achievement gap between MGS and non-MGS students on identical or formally equivalent examinations was −0.62 SDs in courses based on traditional lecturing (95% CI: −0.69 to −0.55). In courses that included active learning, this gap was −0.42 SDs (95% CI: −0.48 to −0.35)"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Race and Ethnicity — moderator: an instructional effect differs by group
• Identity — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• Active learning narrows achievement gaps for disadvantaged and underrepresented students — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Effects of active learning on achievement gaps vary widely across studies, with a minority of studies showing larger benefits for non-minoritized students — related
• Active learning narrows the passing-rate gap between minoritized-group and non-minoritized students in undergraduate STEM by 45% on average — related
• Active Learning Improves Exam Performance — related
• High-intensity active learning narrows achievement gaps far more than low-intensity active learning; intensity of in-class active engagement is positively correlated with narrower gaps — related
• Students in traditional lecture STEM courses are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in active-learning courses — related
• Active learning in an entry-level biology course closed performance gaps between underrepresented and non-underrepresented minority students and increased all students' self-efficacy — a narrower finding that bears on this claim