How online teaching works

An international research team involving the International Center for Higher Education Research (INCHER) at the University of Kassel had launched a large-scale study with online learning materials in Ecuador when the pandemic broke out in spring 2020. The group took advantage of the situation and expanded the program to more than 45,000 students in over 1,000 schools across Ecuador. The aim was to test at which level to start in order to improve learning success: by addressing the students, by addressing the teachers or by establishing a learning management system.

The results showed that

- Reminders for pupils only improved learning success to a very limited extent. Incentives such as a competition also extended the learning time on the online learning platform, but did not improve performance.

- Reminders for teachers that their performance and that of their classes was being monitored were not successful, nor were videos designed to encourage teachers with positive examples.

- What was successful, however, was a monitoring system that provided real-time data on pupil performance - not only to the schools, but also to the employees of the responsible ministry. The system included, for example, learning time, lessons completed and performance in online exercises.

"An online learning management system dramatically increased success," summarizes Dr. Igor Asanov, one of the authors of the study, which has now been published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS). The extent of the improvement is comparable to what a student can learn in 71 percent of a normal school year in grade 12. His co-author Prof. Dr. Guido Bünstorf adds: "These results clearly show that we should also start at the system level when improving online teaching in Germany: Valid and comparable data on pupil participation is needed. On this basis, schools and ministries can plan and test suitable learning rhythms."

Link to the study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.2216686120