A study of adult learners' self-reported levels of motivation, self-direction, and metacognitive behaviors in online graduate courses

Abstract

This study sought to address the fundamental disconnect between widely articulated goals of higher education, which include helping students develop motivation and self-direction skills, and the teaching methods commonly used in online courses, which often do not further those goals. Andragogy, the study's theoretical framework, provides a possible solution in the student-centered teaching intervention of learning contracts, through which students exercise choice in the method of achieving course objectives. As literature addressing learning contracts in the online setting is scant, and what exists does not provide a robust understanding of the student's perspective on learning contracts, the purpose of this study was to examine how students interpret and respond to their experience of studying under learning contracts in online graduate courses. Accordingly, the study's primary research question was: How do students interpret and respond to their experiences with learning contracts in online graduate courses at a large, private university in the Northeast United States? Using a qualitative approach and, specifically, an interpretative phenomenological strategy, the researcher conducted eight in-depth, semi-structured interviews with graduate students who studied under learning contracts in online courses. The data revealed themes relating to the empowerment that students felt as a result of being given a choice about their course activities but also the tension they experienced when seeking to reconcile the freedom that the learning contract's choices provided with the commitment required to follow through on those choices throughout the term. In addition, the study revealed that the learning contracts did not, for the most part, affect students' habitual learning behaviors or goal-setting and reflection behaviors. The study suggests that students who use learning contracts perceive a positive change in their internal motivation, largely as a result of their ability to choose deadlines and assignment topics that are consistent with their own interests and real-world experiences. The study also suggests that students who use learning contracts perceive a positive change in some aspects of their self-directed learning behaviors, primarily due to the requirement that they take more control of their learning activities than a conventional course would require. In addition, the study suggests, to a slight extent, that students who study under learning contracts perceive a positive change in their metacognitive behaviors. This study adds to the existing literature by confirming, in the online setting, findings from prior studies regarding the positive impact of learning contracts on student motivation and self-direction. It also highlights areas of andragogy that, when students struggle with certain aspects of studying under learning contracts, are better explained through other lenses such as cognitive load theory. Finally, it identifies the nuanced and individual student responses to studying under learning contracts that can guide future professional practice and research in this area. Key words: andragogy, learning contract, online education, adult education, internal motivation, self-direction, metacognition