Technology-supported student interaction in post-secondary education: A meta-analysis of designed versus contextual treatments

Abstract

The present study extends the results of a larger meta-analysis that addressed the effects of technology use on student achievement and attitudes in postsecondary education. The focus of the current meta-analysis is the use of technology to enable instructional conditions that promote collaborative interactions among learners. More specifically, it aims to compare the impact of designed interaction treatments (i.e., collaborative activities intentionally built into course design) and contextual interaction treatments (i.e., course conditions that result in high levels of student–student interaction but are not intentionally designed to promote collaboration) on student learning outcomes. Results indicate that designed treatments outperform contextual treatments (g¯ = 0.52, k = 25 vs. g¯ = 0.11, k = 20, QBetween = 7.91, p < .02) on measures of achievement, emphasizing the importance of planning and instructional design in technology integration in postsecondary education. The results are discussed in relation to the literature of student–student interaction and collaborative learning.