Blended learning, which combines face to face classroom instruction with online and digital components, has gained prominence as schools search for ways to improve student engagement and achievement after the COVID 19 pandemic. Evidence from recent studies suggests that well designed blended approaches can enhance both engagement and academic outcomes in K–12 settings, including secondary education. Li and Wang’s meta analysis, for example, reports that blended learning tends to improve school students’ performance compared with purely traditional teaching. In India, work by Mushtaq and Meena has linked engagement in blended learning to higher academic performance among secondary learners. The present study uses simulated data to model a small quasi experimental study comparing a blended learning section with a traditional section of Grade 9 students in a secondary school. Sixty students (30 in a blended class and 30 in a traditional class) are assigned a common end of unit exam and a validated engagement scale. Descriptive statistics are calculated, and independent samples t tests are conducted in SPSS to test whether blended learning significantly improves engagement and exam scores. The results show that the blended group has higher mean exam scores (M = 74.15, SD = 6.52) than the traditional group (M = 66.49, SD = 7.20), a difference that is statistically significant with a large effect size. Similarly, mean engagement scores on a 1–5 scale are higher in the blended class (M = 3.78, SD = 0.52) than in the traditional class (M = 3.11, SD = 0.50). These patterns are consistent with findings from recent empirical and review studies showing moderate to strong positive effects of blended learning on engagement and achievement in secondary education. The report concludes that, based on this hypothetical dataset and existing literature, blended learning is a promising strategy for improving secondary students’ engagement and academic performance, while also highlighting the need for carefully planned implementation.
Verma et al. (Tue,) studied this question.