Predicting learning: Comparing an open educational resource and standard textbooks.

Abstract

Open educational resources (OERs) enable anyone, anywhere, to access psychological science for free. Are OERs as effective learning tools as standard textbooks (STBs)? I compared students using an OER with students using STBs in 2 large, multisite studies (N ϭ 1,099 and N ϭ 2,229, respectively). Studies measure key student variables and possible confounds such as metacognition, study techniques, time spent studying, perceptions of the instructor, and rating of the quality and helpfulness of the textbook. Students completed a standardized test using a subset of items from a released Advanced Placement exam. In both studies, OER users reported lower ACT scores. In Study 1, students using an OER scored lower on the test after controlling for ACT scores, F(1, 777) ϭ 48.09, p Ͻ .001, p 2 ϭ .06, and rated the book as lower in quality. Scores on book helpfulness did not vary between groups. Study 2 also compared book format (hard copy or electronic) and showed a main effect of book used, no main effect of format, and a significant book used by format interaction effect, F(2, 1406) ϭ 5.29, p ϭ .005, p 2 ϭ .01: OER hard copy users scored lowest. Book used predicted significant variance in learning over and above ACT scores and student variables (STB users performed better). The results highlight limitations of current attempts to assess learning in psychology and underline the need for robust comparisons of a wider variety of OERs, with a focus on lower ability students, and e-book usage patterns.

Putting evidence‐based claims to the test: A multi‐site classroom study of retrieval practice and spaced practice

“…Students may be able to obscure this surface level of engagement with other course requirements that count toward their overall course grade; however, if they are only processing the testable information at a surface level, they will not perform well on the exams. Past research has also shown that depth of processing explained quiz scores in a multi‐site study (Gurung, ).…”

“…The TBC was positively associated with the benchmark scores, showing that the quality of teaching led to improved performance on these items. The results suggest that professional development focusing on enhancing the key characteristics from the TBC may have far‐reaching implications for students' learning and retention (Gurung, ). At the very least, previous work has suggested that investigating individual differences in practice testing is an important area for future research since little research up to date has sufficiently considered this area (Adesope et al, ).…”

“…Retrieval practice and spaced practice should ideally form a large part of students' self‐directed study strategies (Karpicke, Butler, & Roediger, ; Kornell & Bjork, ). Whereas some researchers have already tried simple interventions to get students to increase retrieval practice using online quizzes developed by textbook publishers (Gurung, ; Van Camp & Baugh, ), there are conflicting findings on the use of online quizzes to foster retrieval practice (Bell, Simone, & Whitfield, ). A key goal of the current study was to systematically examine how best to use online quizzes to test the utility of retrieval practice while also manipulating spacing.…”

“…The current state of pedagogical research in college classrooms shows few exemplars of these standards. Whereas a handful of studies have included more than one institution (e.g., Gurung, ) or are longitudinal in nature (McCarthy & Frantz, ), most existing research does not employ such methodologies.…”

How students read an e‐textbook in an engineering course

“…Little research has been conducted to appropriately assess the effects this choice of resource may have on student study behaviours and performance (Griggs & Jackson, ; Gurung, ). In one carefully designed study, Gurung () found that introductory psychology students spent significantly less time studying from OERs than printed text, a finding in contrast to studies examining electronic versus printed textbooks. Additionally, the author reported OER users scored lower on quiz questions drawn from the standardized advanced placement psychology exam.…”