The promised land of blended learning: Quizzes as a moderator

Blended learning, defined as a combination of face-to-face and online learning, is expected to lead to improved education. Besides, practical reasons, like increased access to education and resource management, are mentioned for its implementation. To examine whether the expectation of improved education is met, meta-analyses were conducted. They revealed that, on average, blended learning is somewhat more effective than more traditional learning. Additionally, students evaluated it as equally attractive, but seemed to perceive it as more demanding. In sum, blended learning is equal, or maybe even better, than more traditional learning. However, the effects on effectiveness, attractiveness and perceived demands differed much between studies. Moderator analyses found that quizzes positively affect the effectiveness and attractiveness of blended learning. Concluding, blended learning has potential to improve education, when thoughtfully designed, for example by the inclusion of frequent quizzes. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved