ERIC Number: EJ1126164
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1049-4820
EISSN: N/A
How Can Students' Academic Performance in Statistics Be Improved? Testing the Influence of Social and Temporal-Self Comparison Feedback in a Web-Based Training Environment
Delaval, Marine; Michinov, Nicolas; Le Bohec, Olivier; Le Hénaff, Benjamin
Interactive Learning Environments, v25 n1 p35-47 2017
The aim of this study was to examine how social or temporal-self comparison feedback, delivered in real-time in a web-based training environment, could influence the academic performance of students in a statistics examination. First-year psychology students were given the opportunity to train for a statistics examination during a semester by doing online exercises in a web-based training environment. Once connected, students received in real-time either social comparison feedback (their score was compared to the mean score of all first-year students) or temporal-self comparison feedback (their score was compared, week by week, with their own previous score). The fact that students were free to connect to the web-based training environment heightened self-regulation differences such as academic procrastination, which was considered as a moderating variable in this study. Because academic performance was measured, the students' background in mathematics and statistics was also controlled. Irrespective of the students' background, the results reveal a positive influence of social comparison feedback on statistics exam performance, but only among students who did not delay doing exercises in the web-based training environment. By contrast, temporal-self comparison feedback did not have any effect on performance. Some recommendations for optimizing the efficacy of web-based training environments can be proposed, taking into account both social comparison feedback and academic procrastination.
Descriptors: Mathematics Achievement, Statistics, Self Evaluation (Individuals), Feedback (Response), Web Based Instruction, College Freshmen, Psychology, Introductory Courses, Social Influences, Scores, Comparative Analysis, Self Management, Time Management, Mathematics Tests, Regression (Statistics)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A