Abstract

Online course taking is widespread in K–12 education and even more so as schools have turned to virtual learning during the global health crisis. Educators across the country are actively seeking evidence-based guidance, only to discover that there is limited rigorous research related to online learning. The need to understand how to prepare students to learn in an online environment has become more urgent. Orientations are cited as a best practice; however, there is no causal evidence to support that recommendation. In a randomized controlled trial, we found no significant differences in online course outcomes between high school students who were assigned an orientation and those in the business-as-usual group, though the timing of enrollment acts as a moderator.

摘要

在线课程在 K-12 教育中很普遍，在全球健康危机期间学校转向虚拟学习时更是如此。全国各地的教育工作者都在积极寻求循证指导，却发现与在线学习相关的严谨研究有限。了解如何让学生做好在线学习准备的需求变得更加紧迫。定向被认为是最佳实践；但是，没有因果证据支持该建议。在一项随机对照试验中，我们发现被分配定向的高中生与常规组的高中生在在线课程结果上没有显着差异，尽管入学时间起着调节作用。