Midterm exam results

After grading all my semester exams for Honors Physics, I was interested to compare how the students in the blended class did relative to the other non-blended classes. The average midterm score in the blended Honors Physics class was 86.9%, which was higher than all the other non-blended Honors Physics sections (see the chart below).

This definitely bodes well for the idea of blended learning. Still, I am hesitant to say that this is definitive proof that blended classes work better, since comparing different students to each other is hard given that the inherent differences of each student is so great, and the sample size is still small. But it does make me more comfortable saying that the blended section seems to be working at least as well as non-blended sections.

A large caveat I would offer is that the students in this blended section were self selected since they had to sign up for it on their own. This data does not speak to whether all students, regardless of their disposition, would show improved performance in a blended class.

Another thing that gives me pause is that the students in the blended section scored just a little less than one of the traditional sections on the interview exam on Newton's Laws and Forces. The difference was small, but it makes me concerned that students in the blended section aren't getting the practice at justifying their answers that they would get from having me always asking them "why did you use that approach", "why can you do that", "when can't you do that" when I'm walking around and helping students with problem solving in class. I'm not sure how to replicate this Socratic questioning when students are away from class. Students will almost always take the easiest way out, so if they can find an answer without thinking they are going to take it.