Computer-Based Instruction and Health Professions Education

Abstract

Although several dozen studies on computer-based instruction (CBI) in health professions education have been conducted over the past 20 years, little has been done to quantitatively summarize these studies. The present investigation used Glass's techniques of meta-analysis (Glass, McGaw, &Smith, 1981) to statistically integratefindingsfrom 47comparative studies on CBI. A clear majority of these studies favored CBI over conventional methods of instruction. The overall achievement effect size for 37 studies that quantified outcomes was 0.41, a medium-sized effect. Two studyfeature variables-type of CBE and publication source -related to effect size. Computer-enriched applications of CBI produced larger effects than computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and computer-managed instruction (CMI) applications, and published reports showed larger effects than did dissertations and theses. Few studies reported outcomes of retention, achievement categorized by ability, attitudes, and time to learn. The results show higherorder applications of computers to be especially effective, although more and better-reported research isneeded to identify instructional qualities that lead to positive student outcomes.