In 1999, a study was conducted by Dr. Lee Montgomery and graduate students at the Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah to assess the way that SURWEB could be used to enhance student achievement.  The action research study compares benchmark data for student achievement using a pretest/posttest instrument with a control group of students.   It also makes innovative use of Flanders Interaction Analysis methodologies.  The Effects of the Use of SURWEB Media Shows and Learning Segments on the Achievement of Seventh Grade Social Studies Students collected both quantitative and qualitative evidence to explore the hypothesis that "seventh grade social studies students who create their own Media Shows and who participate in Learning Segments based on these shows will achieve a statistically significant higher score on a criterion-referenced, textbook-based test than students instructed using traditional methods." 

The 1999 study found significantly higher scores, more positive attitudes toward the SURWEB instructional approach, and supported the hypothesis that the use of SURWEB contributes to statistically significant gains in student learning.  The study concludes that “students who create their own SURWEB Media Shows and participate in Learning Segments achieve a statistically significant higher score on a criterion-referenced textbook-based test than did students instructed using traditional methods” (p. 21).   In some cases the results were dramatically higher with SURWEB students mean scores 3 to 25 points higher on the evaluation instrument than were the scores of the control group students (p. 21). Although the sample size is small and therefore the data may not be generalized to the population as a whole, the study provides important quantitative data and innovative collection methods that point to SURWEB's positive effects on student achievement (Montgomery et. al., 1999).   The full study can be accessed on the Web at http://www.surweb.org/information/Key-docs.asp

In 2000, Dr. Montgomery and his students conducted another study of SURWEB use by sixth grade students to investigate the effects of SURWEB Media Show construction on the development of complex knowledge structures, creative thinking and research process skills. The Effects of SURWEB Hypermedia Construction on the Development of Complex Knowledge Structures, Creative Thinking, and Research Process Skills of Utah Sixth Grade Social Studies Students incorporates both traditional and non-traditional assessment measures to determine how students’ cognitive structures and thinking skills are affected when they develop hypermedia programs.  The research questions explore the effect of SURWEB hypermedia development on three student knowledge and skill areas: 1) the ability to construct complex knowledge structures; 2) acquisition of information problem solving skills and 3) creative thinking skills (Montgomery et. al, 2000, p. 3). 

The study used quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection including concept maps, learner logs, rubrics and the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking.  It employed a quasi-experimental action research design with a pretest/post-test control group.

The 2000 study concludes that the students’ creative thinking abilities, problem-solving skills, and the ability to construct complex knowledge structures were enhanced by the use of SURWEB hypermedia development tools, especially when used in a constructivist, learner-centered classroom environment.  Although the limitations of the research design make it difficult to generalize the results, the study provides evidence that SURWEB can be a powerful tool for facilitating higher order thinking skills (p. 26).  The full study is located in Appendix H and on the web at http://www.suu.edu/faculty/montgomery/surweb2000.html