Class size, course level, and discipline did not explain significant variation in how achievement gaps changed under active learning¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Moderator analyses indicated class size, course level, and discipline did not explain a significant amount of variation in how achievement gaps changed. → 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

q2 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3

Null moderator results from three-way interaction Bayesian models (SI Appendix, Tables S9–S11). The article urges caution interpreting these results because the moderator analyses are strongly impacted by sample size; type of active learning showed significant heterogeneity but is poorly resolved.

"Other moderator analyses indicated that class size, course level, and discipline—for fields represented by more than one study in our dataset—did not explain a significant amount of variation in how achievement gaps changed"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Active Learning Improves Exam Performance — related
• Gender differences in assessment points earned remained small but statistically significant after controlling for math course type and level — related
• Active learning narrows achievement gaps for disadvantaged and underrepresented students — related
• Subgroup (moderator) analyses in education impact evaluations can be based on participant characteristics measured before the intervention is implemented — related
• Type of achievement measure moderates the correlation only when laboratory measures are excluded; course-exam correlation drops to r = .04 — related
• Active learning's performance benefits hold across all STEM disciplines — related
• Practice points from active-learning exercises did not inflate final grades; exam points remained the primary determinant of course grade — related
• Most study, measurement, and intervention moderators did not explain significant variance in SRL intervention effect sizes — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Writing intervention effects for US ELL students do not vary significantly by study quality indicators, participant characteristics, or intervention characteristics — related
• Active learning benefits students in all class sizes, with the greatest effects in classes of 50 or fewer students — related
• LEA's course-agnostic architecture was operationalised across three courses with no changes to the orchestrator, mastery tracker, or scaffolding engine — related
• Active learning and inclusive practices are associated with better outcomes and reduced equity gaps, though evidence is contested and uptake remains low — a broader claim this one bears on
• No coded study characteristics moderated the emotion–political learning associations in Bayesian regularized meta-analysis — related