The Effect of Blended Learning on Math and Reading Achievement in a Charter School Context

Author(s)

Terry ChaneyFollow

Date

4-2017

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Daniel N Baer

Keywords

Blended Learning, Cyberschool, Online Learning, STAAR, Texas, Traditional Learning

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Methods | Online and Distance Education | Other Education

Recommended Citation

Chaney, Terry, "The Effect of Blended Learning on Math and Reading Achievement in a Charter School Context" (2017). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 1392.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/1392

Abstract

In spite of its growing popularity, researchers have focused little attention on the effectiveness of combining traditional classroom instruction and online learning, a practice generally referred to as blended learning. The modest research on blended learning to date has tended to focus on higher education, leaving a significant gap in the research regarding K-12 education. Even less attention has been given to blended learning in charter school K-12 education. Framed within Vygotsky’s theory of social development, the purpose of this causal-comparative research study was to determine if there were any significant differences when comparing charter school students who participated in a blended learning approach to reading and math with students who studied the two subjects in fully online classes and with students who studied them in traditional classrooms with no online learning. The design was causal-comparative with a nonrandomized control group. The study compared the archived 2014 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness scores of 1797-2298 students in one charter management organization: students in a blended learning environment, students who received traditional classroom instruction, and students who used fully online learning. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used in combination with appropriate post-hoc comparisons to evaluate group means. The study determined that there is not a statistically significant relationship between traditional, blended, and fully online students and math scores, nor between traditional and blended learning students and reading scores. However, there was a statistically significant relationship between fully online students and higher reading scores.