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Zooming to Class? Experimental Evidence on College Students' Online Learning during COVID-19

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  • Michael S. Kofoed
  • Lucas Gebhart
  • Dallas Gilmore
  • Ryan Moschitto

Abstract

One persistent question in higher education is the efficacy of online education. In the fall of 2020, we randomized 551 West Point students in a required introductory economics course across 12 instructors to either an online or in-person class as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Final grades for online students dropped by 0.215 standard deviations, a result apparent in both assignments and exams and largest for academically at-risk students. A postcourse survey finds that online students struggled to concentrate in class and felt less connected to their instructors and peers. Our results show detrimental effects for online learning.

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  • Michael S. Kofoed & Lucas Gebhart & Dallas Gilmore & Ryan Moschitto, 2024. "Zooming to Class? Experimental Evidence on College Students' Online Learning during COVID-19," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 324-340, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aerins:v:6:y:2024:i:3:p:324-40
    DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20230077
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    1. Hardt, David & Nagler, Markus & Rincke, Johannes, 2022. "Can peer mentoring improve online teaching effectiveness? An RCT during the COVID-19 pandemic," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
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    3. Benjamin Hansen & Joseph J. Sabia & Jessamyn Schaller, 2022. "Schools, Job Flexibility, and Married Women's Labor Supply," NBER Working Papers 29660, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Ragni, Alessandra & Ippolito, Daniel & Masci, Chiara, 2024. "Assessing the impact of hybrid teaching on students’ academic performance via multilevel propensity score-based techniques," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Gortazar, Lucas & Hupkau, Claudia & Roldán-Monés, Antonio, 2024. "Online tutoring works: Experimental evidence from a program with vulnerable children," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    6. Todd McFall & John Whitehead, 2024. "Measuring the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Elite Swimming Performance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 25(5), pages 634-656, June.
    7. Badruddoza, Syed & Amin, Modhurima Dey, 2023. "Impacts of Teaching Modality on U.S. COVID-19 Spread in Fall 2020 Semester," Applied Economics Teaching Resources (AETR), Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 5(1), January.
    8. Kenneth G. Elzinga & Daniel Q. Harper, 2023. "In‐person versus online instruction: Evidence from principles of economics," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 90(1), pages 3-30, July.
    9. Maria De Paola & Francesca Gioia & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2022. "Online Teaching, Procrastination And Students’ Achievement: Evidence From Covid-19 Induced Remote Learning," Working Papers 202202, Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza "Giovanni Anania" - DESF.
    10. Anja Žnidaršič & Alenka Brezavšček & Gregor Rus & Janja Jerebic, 2022. "Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Mathematics Achievement? A Case Study of University Students in Social Sciences," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(13), pages 1-23, July.
    11. Elisa Failache & Nicolás Fiori & Noemi Katzkowicz & Alina Machado & Luciana Méndez, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 on higher education: Evidence from Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 22-02, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    12. Picault, Julien, 2021. "Structure, Flexibility, and Consistency: A Dynamic Learning Approach for an Online Asynchronous Course," Applied Economics Teaching Resources (AETR), Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 3(4), October.
    13. Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, 2022. "Hitting where it hurts most: COVID-19 and low-income urban college students," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    14. Mustafa Uğraş & Erdal Zengin & Stamatis Papadakis & Michail Kalogiannakis, 2023. "Early Childhood Learning Losses during COVID-19: Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-29, April.
    15. Duha Altindag & Samuel Cole & R. Alan Seals Jr, 2022. "The Price of COVID-19 Risk in a Public University," Papers 2204.00894, arXiv.org.
    16. Benjamin Hansen & Joseph J. Sabia & Jessamyn Schaller, 2022. "In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide: Evidence from School Calendars and Pandemic School Closures," NBER Working Papers 30795, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Samaniego,Roberto & Jedwab,Remi Camille & Romer,Paul M & Islam,Asif Mohammed, 2022. "Scars of Pandemics from Lost Schooling and Experience : Aggregate Implications and Gender DifferencesThrough the Lens of COVID-19," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9932, The World Bank.
    18. Bandar N. Alarifi & Steve Song, 2024. "Online vs in-person learning in higher education: effects on student achievement and recommendations for leadership," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education

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