A meta-analysis of technology: Interventions in collegiate economics classes

Technological interventions have been sold as improving student understanding of economics for decades. Yet despite the panoply of ways to incorporate technology, it is not clear which types of interventions consistently result in statistically significant improvements in learning outcomes. Of 145 papers devoted to the technology in collegiate economics courses, less than one third quantitatively assess the impact of technology on student learning outcomes. Of the regressions reported, 60 percent find a positive relationship between a technology intervention and a student-learning outcome; in only 42 percent is the relationship statistically significant. Meta-analysis indicates (a) no technology intervention routinely produces estimates of improved learning outcomes across studies, despite evidence of (b) publication bias that favors papers with statistically significant results.