Hake's survey found interactive-engagement courses achieved average normalized gains about two standard deviations greater than traditional courses, with overall gain–pretest correlation of +0.02¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r3 · q2 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2007 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i2 Across 62 courses and N = 6542 students, interactive engagement courses' average normalized gains were about two standard deviations greater than traditional courses', and the correlation of average gains with pretest scores was +0.02. → Lei Bao 2007

Evidence¶

Lei Bao 2007¶

Lei Bao. (2007). Dynamic Models of Learning and Education Measurement. https://arxiv.org/abs/0710.1375 doi:10.48550/arxiv.0710.1375

q2 · i2 · theoretical · r3

The article reports (Introduction) Hake's large multi-course survey as background: 48 interactive-engagement courses versus 14 traditional courses, with the IE courses' average normalized gains 'about two-standard deviations greater' and a +0.02 correlation of gains with pretest scores across all courses.

"In his experiment with 62 courses and N = 6542 students [1c], Hake observed that, on average, 48 courses employing “interactive engagement” types of instruction achieved average normalized gains about two-standard deviations greater than 14 courses subjected to “traditional” instruction."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Prior Knowledge — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Prior Knowledge Determines New Learning — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Active Learning Improves Exam Performance — a broader claim this one bears on
• CLASP students achieved an average normalized FCI gain of 0.39, above the traditional-course range and in the middle of the interactive-engagement range, despite only about a third of one quarter on mechanics — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• The review reports that formative assessment produces significant and often substantial learning gains, citing Black and Wiliam — related
• When the γ-process (associative interaction of correct and incorrect knowledge) is considered, the normalized gain correlates positively with pretest score — related
• High-ability students' learning behaves as a dominant α-process even at low pretest scores, while average-ability students show more γ-process behavior — related
• FCI change-score versus pretest-score data from three classes show linear relations at high pretest scores and curving-down at low scores, diagnosable as α- versus γ-process dominance — related
• Pre-instruction LCTSR scores correlate with normalized learning gains, most strongly for theoretical content (TUG-K r=0.59) and more weakly for descriptive content (DIRECT r=0.50) — related
• Random measurement noise in pretest scores produces a negative contribution to the correlation between normalized gain and pretest score — related
• Pretest-posttest correlation coefficients for state assessment data vary by student achievement level (low-performing, average-performing, proficient). — related
• Pre-test scores strongly predict post-test scores but not normalized learning gains — related
• All training policies narrowed the prior-knowledge achievement gap from pretest to posttest, with BKT achieving the largest reduction (77.1%) — related
• In Harvard's introductory physics course, average FCI posttest scores and normalized gain rose sharply in the year it switched from traditional lectures to Peer Instruction — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Use of pretest-to-posttest gain scores does not influence word-learning effect sizes — related
• Under a dominant α-process, the normalized gain contains no pretest-score term and is uncorrelated with pretest score if α is uncorrelated with pretest score — related
• Introductory physics students taught with Just-in-Time Teaching showed larger overall Force Concept Inventory gains (37.6%±2.0%) than students in traditional lecture courses (17.9%±2.5%) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• In physics-based courses for non-science majors taught with active-engagement pedagogy, normalized gains were 0.38–0.42 on content tests but 0.06 on a scientific-reasoning test — related
• Students in a technology-enhanced modeling physics class learned significantly more than students in an otherwise identical no-technology class — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Large randomized evaluations of project-based learning programs show advantages over traditional science teaching of about 0.2 standard deviations — related