About two-thirds of Freeman et al. (2014) articles reported results favoring only the active learning group, but most comparisons were active learning versus lecture with weak internal validity controls¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr3·q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Overall, 64.8% of the Freeman et al. (2014) articles showed only the experimental (active learning) group to be more effective than the control group, and 4.0% showed only the control group to be more effective. → Amedee Marchand Martella 2023
Evidence¶
Amedee Marchand Martella 2023¶
Amedee Marchand Martella, Ronald C. Martella, Jane K. Yatcilla, Alexandra Newson, Eric N. Shannon, Charissa Voorhis. (2023). How Rigorous is Active Learning Research in STEM Education? An Examination of Key Internal Validity Controls in Intervention Studies. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09826-1
q2 · i? · review · r3
Coding of basic article features for the 176 Freeman et al. (2014) articles found the experimental group produced statistically significant improvements in 29.5% of articles; combining codes, "overall, 64.8% of the articles showed only the experimental group to be more effective than the control group."
"Therefore, overall, 64.8% of the articles showed only the experimental group to be more effective than the control group, and 4.0% of the articles showed only the control group to be more effective than the experimental condition(s)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Nearly all active learning intervention studies used quasi-experimental rather than randomized designs — related
- Most active learning studies did not operationally define the control (lecture) condition — related
- Dosage of instruction was equal between comparison groups in fewer than a third of active learning studies and unspecified in most — related
- Most active learning studies did not report group equivalence measures directly related to the dependent variable — related
- Implementation fidelity was assessed in fewer than 8% of active learning intervention studies — related
- No active learning intervention study in the Freeman et al. (2014) set or the 2015–2022 sample met all 12 internal validity controls — related
- Active Learning Improves Exam Performance — related
- Students in traditional lecture STEM courses are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in active-learning courses — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
active-learning-results-favor-experimental-group |
title |
About two-thirds of Freeman et al. (2014) articles reported results favoring only the active learning group, but most comparisons were active learning versus lecture with weak internal validity controls |
description |
About two-thirds of Freeman et al. |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2023 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-20 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — amedee-marchand-martella-2023 |
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