A Meta-analysis of Studies on the Effects of Active Learning on Asian Students' Performance in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Subjects

The objective of this study is to perform a meta‐analysis of published data on the effects of active learning on Asian students' performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. This comprehensive meta-analysis study includes a systematic review of papers related to various active learning approaches and instructional methods such as collaborative learning, experiential learning, discovery-based, group-inquiry-based, problem-based and activity-based learning, specifically the effects these approaches have on Asian students' performance in STEM-related subjects. The Scopus electronic bibliographic database was searched with search terms and dates to identify and extract the relevant studies that met pre-stated inclusion criteria. A main criterion for inclusion of studies in this meta-analysis were Asian students’ exposure to any active learning intervention in STEM-related subjects. Studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were processed for data extraction. A total of 2810 full‐text peer reviewed papers published from 2000 to 2020 were analyzed and 38 papers met the inclusion criteria established for the meta-analysis. Effect sizes between experimental (n = 2230) and control groups (n = 2510) were calculated using means and standard deviations which were collected and summarized for a comprehensive and systematic review based on the compiled data. Using means and standard deviations from the studies, a moderately large effect size (ES = 0.6596) was detected. Analysis of the pre-post effect sizes demonstrated a significantly higher mean effect size thereby indicating a positive effect of active learning on Asian students' performance in STEM subjects. Findings from the meta-analysis in this study provide a comprehensive understanding of the effects of active learning on Asian students' performance in STEM subjects. Finally, the significance and relevance of these findings for future research directions are discussed.