Reducing Procrastination while Improving Performance: A Wiki-powered Experiment with Students

© 2019 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM.Students in higher education are traditionally requested to produce various pieces of written work during the courses they undertake. When students' work is submitted online as a whole, both the ethically questionable act of procrastinating and late submissions afect performance. The objective of this paper is to assess the performance of students from a control group, with that of students from an experimental group. The control group produced work as a unique deliverable to be submitted at the end of the course. On the other hand, the experimental group worked on each part for a week, and their work was managed by a wiki environment and monitored by a speciically developed software. Positive efects were noticed in the experimental group, as both students' time management skills and performance increased. Replications of this experiment can and should be performed, in order to compare results in coursework submission.Final Accepted Versio

A reality check: Taking authentic e-learning from design to implemntation

Tampere University of Applied Sciences has developed a postgraduate certificate program for teaching in higher education that is currently being implemented at Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates. In the design of the program, the principles of authentic e-learning (Herrington, Reeves, & Oliver 2010) have been used as a guideline. This paper examines how the design principles have been transferred into practice and how the elements of authentic learning have been realized from the student perspective. The experiences of the students have been mapped in a survey conducted after the first semester of the program. The data was analyzed with the help of the authentic e-learning framework in order to identify the challenges and successes regarding the implementation of the elements of authentic e-learning and thus draw guidelines for future development

Are work-integrated learning (WIL) students better equipped psychologically for work post-graduation than their non-work-integrated learning peers? Some initial findings from a UK university

Work-integrated learning (WIL) provides an opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge, competence, and experience, which increase employability and lead to more satisfying careers. Research indicates that WIL results in improved academic- and occupationally-related outcomes. However, there is a paucity of quantitative research examining the psychological impact of WIL. The study aimed to determine whether students who pursue WIL in the UK, differ significantly in terms of self-concept, self-efficacy, hope, study skills, motivation, and procrastination than students who have not participated in WIL. The methodology used a cross-sectional analysis of a large sample (n=716) of undergraduate students at the University of Huddersfield, UK. Results showed significant differences predominantly centred upon measures which pertain to students’ confidence in setting and attaining goals. The increased hope and confidence in goal attainment suggest that gaining work experience perhaps enhances the ability to set and achieve goals once in the work force. (Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 2013, 14(2), 117-125) Keywords: Employability; Psychological factors; Work-integrated learning; Placement; Confidence; Self estee

What learning analytics based prediction models tell us about feedback preferences of students

Learning analytics (LA) seeks to enhance learning processes through systematic measurements of learning related data and to provide informative feedback to learners and educators (Siemens & Long, 2011). This study examined the use of preferred feedback modes in students by using a dispositional learning analytics framework, combining learning disposition data with data extracted from digital systems. We analyzed the use of feedback of 1062 students taking an introductory mathematics and statistics course, enhanced with digital tools. Our findings indicated that compared with hints, fully worked-out solutions demonstrated a stronger effect on academic performance and acted as a better mediator between learning dispositions and academic performance. This study demonstrated how e-learners and their data can be effectively re-deployed to provide meaningful insights to both educators and learners

Year two: Effect of procrastination on academic performance of undergraduate online students

Procrastination presents problems not only for undergraduate students, but also for undergraduate faculty, and the effects of student procrastination on academic performance is a joint concern. This two-year follow up study seeks to better understand the relationship between academic performance and the actual time of submission of assignments relative to the deadline imposed on those submissions. The authors investigated the effect of academic assignment submission time and the academic grades earned before, on, and after the assignment submission deadline. These results continue to suggest that the earlier assignments are submitted, the higher the grades tend to be. Therefore, online faculty need to encourage undergraduate online students to develop a better understanding of the potential benefits of adopting the habit of earlier submission of assignments

The Effect of Procrastination on Academic Performance of Online Students at a Hispanic Serving Institution

Procrastination is a universal conundrum among undergraduates. Furthermore, the effects such procrastination may have on academic performance is a concern. This study seeks to better understand the relationship between academic performance and the actual time of submission of assignments relative to the deadline imposed on those submissions. The authors investigated the effect of academic assignment submission time and the academic grades earned before, on, and after the assignment submission deadline. These results suggest that the earlier assignments are submitted, the higher the grades tend to be. Therefore, if faculty can help undergraduate students cultivate the habit of earlier submission of assignments, the better those students should do in their studie

Online Learning in Higher Education During A Global Pandemic: An Explorative Study On Norwegian Students

Through an exploratory study we aimed to address challenging factors related to learning during the Coronavirus pandemic. We have investigated and identified procrastination, self-regulation, and exam anxiety as important factors associated with learning success. Since the educational sector has shifted radically towards online learning, we have additionally examined previous literature related to learning analytics, learning during disasters, and online learning. To address our research objective, we initially applied a survey to map out procrastinators and non- procrastinators to include for our semi-structured interviews with students. We additionally conducted a small sample of interviews with teachers, and one teaching technology manager, to acquire their perspective on the current situation. While prior studies under Covid-19 found that online learning has been perceived positive by students, our findings revealed challenges related to engagement in online lectures, and thus, suggesting that engagement is not properly facilitated through the current learning management systems. This paucity of engagement is further argued to reduce the students’ overall learning outcome in terms of both practical knowledge and informal understanding of subjects. However, it does not reflect on the grades as the evaluation system has become more lenient. Our findings further revealed significant differences amid procrastinators and non-procrastinators when investigating the students’ study behavior and habits, and we see that procrastinators in higher degree encounter challenges related to motivation, allocating time to study, and structure, as opposed to non-procrastinators. Nevertheless, our findings reveal that the teachers are not able to sufficiently follow-up students-at-risk themselves because of time constraints and limited resources, and a lack of an appropriate framework is hindering the university to adequately adopt learning analytics. Keywords: Online Learning, Covid-19, Learning Analytics, Procrastination, Self-regulation, Test Anxiet

Dropout, persistence, and retention on online higher education: The case of the Open University of Catalonia

This doctoral thesis focuses on student dropout in online higher education (OHE), with a focus on the experience of students and faculty at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). The thesis is presented as a compendium of six publications that address issues related to dropout, persistence and retention in OHE. A qualitative and exploratory descriptive research design is used that includes in-depth open interviews and qualitative content analysis. The findings highlight the importance of the first year for dropout and persistence, with time-related factors being the main barriers to persistence and reasons for dropout. In addition, persistent students presented different characteristics and dynamics compared to students who dropped out. Various theoretical and practical implications derived from the integrated findings are discussed, including a series of practical recommendations and possible interventions.Esta tesis doctoral se centra en el abandono de estudiantes en la educación superior en línea (ESL), con un enfoque en la experiencia de los estudiantes y profesores en la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). La tesis se presenta como un compendio de seis publicaciones que abordan temas relacionados con el abandono, la persistencia y la retención en la ESL. Se utiliza un diseño de investigación cualitativo y exploratorio-descriptivo que incluye entrevistas abiertas en profundidad y análisis de contenido cualitativo. Los hallazgos destacan la importancia del primer año para el abandono y la persistencia, con factores relacionados con el tiempo como las principales barreras para la persistencia y razones para el abandono. Además, los estudiantes persistentes presentan características y dinámicas distintas en comparación con los estudiantes que abandonan. Se discuten varias implicaciones teóricas y prácticas derivadas de los hallazgos integrados, incluyendo una serie de recomendaciones prácticas y posibles intervenciones.Aquesta tesi doctoral se centra en l'abandó d'estudiants a l'educació superior en línia (ESL), amb un enfocament a l'experiència dels estudiants i professors a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). La tesi es presenta com un compendi de sis publicacions que aborden temes relacionats amb l'abandó, la persistència i la retenció a l'ESL. S'utilitza un disseny de recerca qualitatiu i exploratori-descriptiu que inclou entrevistes obertes en profunditat i anàlisi de contingut qualitatiu. Els resultats destaquen la importància del primer any per a l'abandó i la persistència, amb factors relacionats amb el temps com les barreres principals per a la persistència i raons per a l'abandó. A més, els estudiants persistents presenten característiques i dinàmiques diferents en comparació amb els estudiants que abandonen. Es discuteixen diverses implicacions teòriques i pràctiques derivades dels resultats integrats, incloent-hi una sèrie de recomanacions pràctiques i possibles intervencions.e-learnin

Procrastination in a group of adult students in an online environment

Procrastination is the action of putting off a task that has to be accomplished. This postponement can compromise several areas of the person's life. Academic procrastination is a way of putting off performing academic tasks. It is considered a failure in the students' self-regulation process. The objective of our work was to know, on the one hand, the attitude of a group of online students towards time management - academic procrastination. On the other hand, the relationship between the procrastination quotient and the hours they dedicate to study. To this end, we used a sample of 482 subjects, 78.8% female and 21.2% male. Their average age is 40 years, ranging between 19 and 63 years. As a data collection instrument, we used a questionnaire consisting of 10 questions with an alpha of 0.793. Our results point to a lack of a significant relationship between the procrastination quotient and sex. However, we found a negative and significant correlation between the type of procrastinator and weekly study time, with a shorter study time corresponding to a higher level of procrastination. These results suggest that researchers and practitioners should consider the individual characteristics of students involved in designing and optimizing online learning environments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio