Dare We Hope Research Finally Goes Beyond No Significant Difference?

Distance education (DE) research has been sprinkled with comparative studies for nearly 100 years (See NSD https://detaresearch.org/research-support/no-significantdifference/view-full-database/?frm-page-651=21). Two decades ago, Twigg (2000) called upon researchers/educators to move beyond no significant difference to (1) individualization of distance education; (2) improving quality; (3) increasing access; (4) reducing the costs of teaching and learning; and (5) sustaining innovation. Yet, the 2020 emergency pivot to online course and support delivery resulted in a plethora of articles in which we sadly read of experiences of largely frustrated and stressed-out students and unprepared and stressed-out instructors as they tried valiantly to complete courses designed and facilitated as still within the walled classroom.

Dare we hope for a new realization in DE research, as we head deeper into the 2020s, that we will likely continue living, working, and learning in a blended world of online, when desired, convenient, or required and of in-person, when possible, desirable, and convenient? Dare we hope for educational institutions to have learned something positive, something scalable from the pivot year? Dare we hope researchers will be intrigued enough to appreciate that their micro-level questions likely could be resolved with a good review of the existing literature and to move more into institutional meso-level research questions (Zawacki-Richter & Bozkurt, 2023)? In this issue we invite you to read and consider recommendations from a few authors who are looking deeper than cursory comparative research.

Xu and colleagues explored 2005–2012 data from a large inter-institutional set that focused on adopting online learning in college developmental education coursework: impact on course persistence, completion, and subsequent success of adoption of online learning in college development education coursework. The authors noted that not much has changed; that other researchers are continuing to show poor results of online developmental education courses. They pointed out needed institutional commitment with the evolving realities of education:

Due to the unstoppable trend of online expansion, it is therefore important for institutions to identify instructional practices and college-provided resources that can be adopted at large to facilitate teaching and learning in a virtual environment. Identifying promising practices that are malleable and are within the control of the institutions and course instructors – rather than demanding more self-directed efforts from students – will allow colleges to implement policies and programs that have the potential to improve the effectiveness of online delivery at scale. (p. 14)

Pettigrew and Howes considered the impact learners’ online learning experience had during the pandemic pivot. Yes, students’ online learning experience mattered. The authors discussed tips for college professors which will be familiar to experienced online course designers and instructors, such as quick, proactive communication with students. Could it also be argued that online learning strategies are being suggested to be transferred back to the face-to-face classroom to improve the learning experience?

Trespalacios and colleagues explored students’ perceptions of institutional services and online learning self-efficacy. While the study was conducted prior to the challenges of the pandemic year, it was targeted at determining how participants, with limited prior experience in online courses, would use and evaluate the effectiveness of institutional resources. Including institutional student support and services is encouraging from a systems perspective of DE (Shearer et al., 2020).

Hall explored student-produced podcasts as a teaching and learning tool as a strategy to promote engagement, cognition, learning, and creativity in experiential learning opportunities. The discussion includes recommendations for future studies with student-generated podcasts and the importance of culturally responsive pedagogy.

In in-person or virtual training?: comparing the effectiveness of community-based training, Gross and colleagues used 2019–2020 data from two groups. Participants in the in-person training had statistically significantly higher gains in knowledge at posttest. The authors acknowledged course materials had not been adapted for the virtual environment and instructors had only been given training for in-person design and delivery. Could we hope that those observations resonate with those program directors who will likely need to be working with more blended, online training realities in the 2020s and beyond?

Kristina Ishmael, Deputy Director of the Office of Educational Technology in Washington, D.C., when considering K-12 policy, practice, and research) wrote optimistically, “I see more ways to leverage technology to enhance teaching and learning and provide opportunities to learn in the ways which work best for us – students, educators, leaders, and all” (para 15).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.