Meta-analyse: Open Educational Resources (OER) hebben geen invloed op leerprestaties

Dankzij Marco Kalz kwam ik een nieuwe meta-analyse tegen over de impact van Open Educational Resources (OER) op leerprestaties. Dat zijn leermaterialen die gratis en vrij beschikbaar zijn voor (her)gebruik. OER kunnen verschillende vormen aannemen, zoals kennisclips, boeken, artikelen, weblectures, etc. Eén van de doel van OER is om de toegang tot kwaliteitsvol onderwijs te verbeteren en te bevorderen, en om de samenwerking en innovatie tussen docenten en leerlingen te stimuleren. De verwachting is daarnaast ook dat OER de leerprestaties zullen verbeteren. Deze nieuwe meta-analyse van Tlili et al. laat echter zien dat deze verwachting niet terecht is. De auteurs concluderen dat de impact van OER op leerprestaties verwaarloosbaar is.

Het abstract

While several studies have investigated the various effects of open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP), few have focused on its connection to learning achievement. The related scientific literature is divided about the effects of OER and OEP with regards to their contribution to learning achievement. To address this tension, a meta-analysis and research synthesis of 25 studies (N = 119,840 participants) was conducted to quantitatively investigate the effects of OER and OEP on students’ learning achievement. The analysis included course subject, level of education, intervention duration, sample size, geographical distribution, and research design as moderating variables of the obtained effects. The findings revealed that OER and OEP have a significant yet negligible (g = 0.07, p < 0.001) effect. Additionally, the analysis found that the obtained effect can be moderated by several variables, including course subject, level of education and geographical distribution. The study findings can help various stakeholders (e.g., educators, instructional designers or policy makers) in understanding what might hinder OER and OEP effect on learning achievement, hence accommodating better learning outcomes and more effective interventions.