Moving Beyond Media Comparison: Methodological Considerations in K-12 Online Learning Research

A media comparison study, as described by Clark (1983) in his seminal article, involves comparing the effectiveness of different instructional media on learning outcomes. These studies typically have two groups: one using a specific technology and one without it. The goal is to determine if the presence or absence of the technology causes differences in student performance. At a basic level, if I lecture to my students using accompanying MS PowerPoint slides will they learn more than if I just lecture to them? To understand the impact of the slides I design a study where I test all students prior to the instruction, then I randomly assign students to one of two sections with one section receiving just the lecture and a second section receiving the lecture with slides. At the end of the course, I test both groups of students. If the students receiving the lecture with slides perform better, it must be because I used the slides. Clark argued that such studies were fundamentally flawed because they often failed to control for other variables that influence learning. He posited that “media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in our nutrition” (p. 445). Instead, any observed differences were likely due to the instructional methods or content, not the media themselves.