Effects of Interactive Whiteboard-based Instruction on Students’ Cognitive Learning Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT

The infusion and diffusion of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) has attracted considerable interest in educational contexts over the past years. However, research to date has been controversial with regard to the effectiveness of IWB-based instruction on cognitive learning outcomes. This study identified empirical publications that examine students’ cognitive learning outcomes and applied a meta-analysis to determine the overall effectiveness of IWB-based instructions. A systematic database search and literature review identified 23 high-quality, peer-reviewed journal articles that met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.3 software; the calculated effect size showed that the IWB-based instruction can positively influence students’ cognitive learning outcomes, compared to traditional lecture-based lectures. A moderator variable analysis suggests that the pedagogical approach and the year of publication significantly moderate the effectiveness of IWB-based instruction. These results indicate that the IWB-based instruction has matured overtime after several years of application in educational environments, helping students improve their cognitive learning across interdisciplinary research reports. Furthermore, the IWB-based instruction was most effective when instructors applied an independent learning approach, suggesting that IWB-based instruction can be useful for personalized student learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Interactive whiteboard
• cognitive learning outcomes
• students
• meta-analysis
• effect size

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Youth Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 61907019).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 61907019).

Notes on contributors

Yinghui Shi

Yinghui Shi is a lecturer of National Engineering Research Centre for E-Learning at Central China Normal University. Dr. Shi is involved in a number of research projects and accumulates a lot of research experience, especially in empirical research of integration of information technology and curriculum teaching. His main areas of interest are Interactive media, ICT in education, e-learning and information literacy.

Jingman Zhang

Jingman Zhang is a graduate student at the Central China Normal University. Her research interests include ICT in education and e-learning.

Huiyun Yang

Huiyun Yang is a graduate student at the Central China Normal University. Her research interests include ICT in education and e-learning.

Harrison Hao Yang

Harrison Hao Yang is a Professor of School of Education at State University of New York at Oswego, USA. He also holds a Distinguished Professor position in National Engineering Research Centre for E-Learning at Central China Normal University, China. His research specialties include assessment and e-folios, distance/flexible education, information literacy, information technology diffusion/integration, e-learning and learning communities, etc.