A Field Experiment in Blended Learning: Performance Effects of Supplementing the Traditional Classroom Experience with a Web-based Virtual Learning Environment

This study examines the efficacy of blended learning—an approach that seeks to combine traditional and online methods in a way that leverages the strengths of both—using a field experiment spanning nearly four months. An information-processing model of learning suggests that information accessibility plays a key role in learners’ interaction with the available information source and can thereby affect learning outcomes. Results of our study suggest that information accessibility does, indeed, impact the efficacy of blended learning by providing high value content in low cost settings, thereby enhancing performance. The largest gains in performance were seen by those who used the blended learning system the most, with the lowest gains by those who did not use the system at all (i.e., the control group).