Does Web-Based Training Work?
In a 2006 study in Personnel Psychology entitled “The Comparative Effectiveness of Web-Based and Classroom Instruction: A Meta-Analysis,” Traci Sitzmann, Kurt Kraiger, David Stewart, and Robert Wisher addressed this question. The authors reviewed 96 studies that compared web-based instruction (WBI), or web-based instruction used as supplement to classroom instruction (WBI-S), with classroom instruction (CI). The learners in the studies were college students or employees in courses on job-related topics. Here are some of their findings. • WBI was 6% more effective than CI for teaching declarative knowledge. • WBI and CI were equally effective for teaching procedural knowledge. • The learners were equally satisfied with WBI and CI. • WBI was 11% more effective than CI for teaching declarative knowledge when different instructional methods were used to deliver WBI and CI. • There was no difference between WBI and CI when the same instructional methods used to deliver WBI and CI. • WBI was
