The best of both worlds? A controlled comparison of hybrid and online economics student outcomes

Abstract

This paper systematically compares undergraduate student learning outcomes between hybrid and online learning formats in Principles of Macroeconomics classes. Exploiting a quasi-experimental design that controls for instructor effects, student characteristics, effort, and experience, we find that students registered for a hybrid section perform worse than similar students in a nearly identical online section across two metrics. We determine that the factors influencing success in each format and attribute lower student performance in hybrid sections to mismatched student expectations of the blended learning format.

Keywords:

• Blended learning
• hybrid courses
• online pedagogy
• online teaching

JEL CODES:

• A2

Ethics and data statement

FERPA and IRB mandate that the data cannot be made available publicly. Protocol was approved under “expedited” review by the university’s IRB, #127-18. Supporting information on survey instrument and methodology located at protocols.io. Full summary statistics, notes, and complementary results are available at our online Supplemental appendix.

Financial disclosures

The investigators received no funding for this research and have no known potential conflicts of interest in the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.