Exploring factors that may contribute to student success in online psychology courses.

This article addresses factors associated with student success in online psychology courses. Prior to beginning an online course, students completed measures of self-discipline and motivation, time commitment, study skills, preference for text-based learning, access to technology, and technology experience. Schrum and Hong (2002) proposed that these student characteristics predict online course success. I used scores on these factors to predict student performance in online introductory psychology and online human growth and development courses. Self-discipline and motivation was the only factor predictive of online psychology course success. My results contradict the model proposed by Schrum and Hong but are consistent with research on the role of motivation in success.

This study investigated the effects of an 8-week online positive psychology course on happiness, health, and well-being. There were 65 undergraduate students in the course and a comparison group of 63 undergraduates taking other online psychology courses. The participants were assessed on positive mental health (e.g., happiness, positive emotions), negative mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression), general health, and personal characteristics (e.g., hope, resilience) during the first and last week of the courses. The anxiety and depression measures had cut-offs for clinically significant symptoms. The hypotheses were that the positive psychology students would have significant improvements on all measures and a reduction in the percent anxious and depressed relative to the comparison group. The hypotheses were supported with large effect sizes for positive and negative mental health (mean ds = 0.907 and − 0.779, respectively) and medium-to-large effects for general health and personal characteristics (d = 0.674 and mean ds = 0.590, respectively). There was a reduction from 49.2 to 23.1% percent anxious and from 18.6 to 6.2% percent depressed with no change in the comparison group. In addition, improvements in the online positive psychology course were compared with a previous study of a similar face-to-face positive psychology course (Smith et al., 2021) showing the effect sizes for improvements relative to the comparison groups were larger in the online vs. face-to-face course (mean ds = 0.878. vs. 0.593). Possible explanations for these differences are discussed along with the implications for maximizing the benefits of positive psychology courses in the future.

Instructional design can enhance students' motivation to learn by providing relevant course content while encouraging them to achieve specific learning goals. An effective course design increases student satisfaction and competency in the subject matter and helps them to enjoy the learning process (Keller, 1983, 2010). The effect of course design on student motivation was investigated in a fully-online physiological psychology (PSYC 372) course, taught in fall 2014. The course provided lecture videos, individual and group activities, weekly quizzes, and study notes in a flexible format where students had full control of their study strategies and schedule. A total of 25 students enrolled in the course. Upon the completion of the semester, 20 students shared their learning experiences with regards to course design, satisfaction, and learning motivation in a survey of online learning.Results from the survey indicated that students overall felt satisfied with the course (mean = 5.2, s.d. = 0.83) with a 6-point Likert scale from Strongly Dissatisfactory (1) to Strongly Satisfactory (6). The top five items that motivated students to learn included "course structure and navigation," "content/resources provided," "competency in the subject area," "performance," and "fostering of critical thinking." Both qualitative and quantitative data collected from the course survey support the conclusion that good course design can promote students' learning motivation, satisfaction, and course performance.

Online learning was considered a novel method of teaching that affects university lifestyle and health. This study focused on online perception of Al-Qunfudhah medical students during psychology course learning and the effect of online teaching on social life. Fifth-year students participated in an online psychology course. The online questionnaire consisted of 15 questions: three for demographic distribution, seven to assess online perception, and five to measure the effect of online teaching on students' social health. Questionnaire validity was checked by a preliminary pilot study, and Cronbach's alphawas used to assess internal consistency.A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Seventy-five (83.3%) students participated in the study: 48 (64%) female and 27 (36%) male. Fifty-eight (77.3%) medical students documented a good perception of online learning of a psychology undergraduate course, whereas 17 (22.7%) had a poor perception. Additionally, 29 (78.4%)female students reported online teaching had a significant effect on their social and psychological health (p < 0.010), whereas eight (21.6%) male students showed that online teaching does not affect their social life. Al-Qunfudhah medical students, both men and women, highly participated in the psychology course online learning; however, female students were socially and psychologically affected by online learning more than male students.

Sense of belonging is associated with postsecondary student success outcomes and has largely been studied within face-to-face course contexts. The increasing demand for online courses after the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates identifying ways instructors can foster belonging in their online courses. This study experimentally tested the effect of using social annotation on students’ sense of belonging in asynchronous online courses. Students in two psychology courses ( N = 44) were randomly assigned to complete annotation assignments individually (control) or in groups using a social annotation platform (treatment). Students completed a course-level sense of belonging measure at the end of their courses and indicated their perceptions of social annotation. Sense of belonging was significantly higher in the social annotation condition, particularly for the introductory-level psychology course, and students reported positive perceptions of social annotation. Course performance did not differ between annotation conditions, and sense of belonging was not associated with final grades. These findings document the viability of social annotation as an evidence-based tool for promoting a sense of belonging in online psychology courses.

A rapidly evolving reality in the teaching of psychology is the increasing prevalence of entirely web-based psychology courses. The author addresses basic design and testing issues of online courses and presents a frank discussion and evaluation of current technology problems and teaching strategies employed. Data and analysis of testing results from paired on-campus and online sections of an introductory psychology course are discussed, as well as their implications for broader issues of learning and performance. Developing and implementing a successful web-based course requires effective use of existing software and hardware solutions to achieve many traditional teaching goals, together with a willingness to adapt to the new demands, limitations and strengths of the online environment. The development of online classrooms is largely market-driven and it appears they are here to stay.

Despite the increase in the availability and popularity of online educational programs, there is a lack of understanding of non-academic as well as academic predictors of online student success. In this study, we have investigated predictors of tertiary level student success via the Psychology discipline, a popular online subject. A systematic literature review, followed by focus groups with students and instructors from online Psychology courses, revealed several important findings including a profile of general predictors of online student success and the existence of discipline-specific online student success predictors which can be extended to a variety of health care courses. Understanding the indicators of effective online education will allow course designers and instructors to develop strategies specific to the online mode and particular disciplines, enabling implementation of evidence-based education practices, which can support academic and non-academic student success in a range of online courses.

Using the Framework for Information Literacy published by the Association of College &amp; Research Libraries, we developed an online intervention to increase information literacy. Specifically, we hypothesized that undergraduate students in an information literacy intervention group would increase in information literacy performance and confidence compared to a control group which did not receive asynchronous online information literacy instruction. We used a non-equivalent groups pretest-posttest design and measured students’ ( N = 101) information literacy performance and self-reported confidence before and after asynchronous information literacy instruction. We compared the intervention with a non-intervention control condition using two existing undergraduate psychology courses offered online across two semesters. Partially confirming our hypotheses, we found that providing asynchronous information literacy instruction not only increased students’ information literacy performance but also helped students to evaluate their own information literacy skills more accurately. In contrast, our intervention did not selectively increase confidence in information literacy as both information literacy intervention and control groups similarly increased in information literacy confidence over time. Nevertheless, these findings show that we managed to develop an online, theory-based intervention to increase information literacy. This intervention has the potential to build the foundations for students to engage in scientific conversations by elevating their understanding of how scientific information is produced and how science affects their daily lives.

Quizzes on the Web (QUEB) is a system for delivery of multiple-choice quizzes over the World Wide Web implemented as a set of Perl scripts. Items are contained in a text file and are randomly selected and ordered, and rich feedback is provided to the student. QUEB is in its fifth year of use as a mastery quiz system in an on-line psychology course. QUEB is highly rated by students, and its use is correlated with performance on examinations.

There has been a recent rapid growth in the number of psychology courses offered online through institutions of higher education. The American Psychological Association has highlighted the importance of ensuring the effectiveness of online psychology courses (Halonen et al., 2013). Despite this, there have been inconsistent findings regarding student grades, satisfaction, and retention in online psychology units. Equivalency Theory (Simonson, 1999; Simonson et al., 1999) posits that online and classroom-based learners will attain equivalent learning outcomes when equivalent learning experiences are provided. We present a study of an online introductory psychology unit designed to provide equivalent learning experiences to the pre-existing face-to-face version of the unit. Using quasi-experimental methods, academic performance, student feedback, and retention data from 866 Australian undergraduate psychology students were examined to assess whether the online unit developed to provide equivalent learning experiences produced comparable outcomes to the ‘traditional’ unit delivered face-to-face. Student grades did not significantly differ between modes of delivery, except for a group-work based assessment where online students performed more poorly. Student satisfaction was generally high in both modes of the unit, with group-work the key source of dissatisfaction in the online unit. The results provide partial support for Equivalency Theory. The group-work based assessment did not provide an equivalent learning experience for students in the online unit highlighting the need for further research to determine effective methods of engaging students in online group activities. Consistent with previous research, retention rates were significantly lower in the online unit, indicating the need to develop effective strategies to increase online retention rates. While this study demonstrates successes in presenting students with an equivalent learning experience, we recommend that future research investigate means of successfully facilitating collaborative group-work assessment, and to explore contributing factors to actual student retention in online units beyond that of non-equivalent learning experiences.

Online higher education is experiencing growth in enrolment and development which creates a need to continually evaluate the efficacy of online course delivery. Prior research reported that performance in online education is equivalent to traditional face-to-face delivery; however, minimal research exists to identify which elements of course design predict academic success. We aimed to identify which specific course components are predictors of (a) final course grade, (b) continuous assessment grade, and (c) major assessment grade in an online, undergraduate psychology course using data collated by the Learning Management System. We also addressed gaps in existing knowledge by exploring group differences within scores on significant predictors of course outcomes to determine whether these varied according to student characteristics. We found the number of times students visited the course site, viewed activities, and posted in activities significantly predicted students’ final course grade, continuous assessment grades, and major assessment grades. The total variance explained by the regression models, was however, relatively low and therefore there may be additional factors not considered in the present study that may predict grades. We also found non-traditional, female, domestic students, enrolled part-time and in an online degree accessed the course site, viewed activities, and posted in activities significantly more frequently than their counterparts. Universities offering online courses should provide students with regular activities and opportunities to participate in course content to promote online learning and academic success.

Higher education institutions in the United States have historically been tasked with the responsibility of scaffolding the moral development of students. Although empirical evidence suggests that attending colleges and universities can foster students’ moral development and reasoning, the effect of online higher education remains mainly unknown. The current study has examined the effect of two online psychology courses, Developmental Psychology and Research Methods Lab, and their respective assignments on students’ moral competence. The findings revealed that students’ moral competence in both courses was improved; this improvement was partly attributed to online group discussions in the Developmental psychology course. No other assignments were found to be significant contributors of students’ moral competence. Limitations and implications of the findings were discussed.

This project assesses the ability of a game tutorial, “Goblin Threat” to increase university students’ ability to recognize plagiarized passages. The game tutorial covers information about how to cite properly, types and consequences of plagiarism, and the differences between paraphrasing and plagiarism. The game involves finding and clicking on “goblins” who ask questions about various aspects of plagiarism. Sound effects and entertaining visuals work to keep students’ attention. One group of 177 students enrolled in an online Psychology of Adolescence course answered four multiple choice plagiarism recognition questions in the months after completing the online game tutorial while another group of over 400 students in the same online psychology course did not have access to the game tutorial, but answered the same multiple choice plagiarism recognition questions over the same period of time. The group who played the game tutorial showed an 11% improvement in recognizing plagiarized passages over the comparison group, a statistically significant difference. Results suggest the ability to keep students focused may be an important ingredient for plagiarism interventions.

Student's Views Regarding Success in Online Psychology Courses

As online education becomes a more popular and permanent option for obtaining an education after high school, it also raises questions as to the academic rigor of such classes and the academic integrity of the students taking the classes. The purpose of the current study is to explore the integrity issue and to investigate student performance on online examinations. Utilizing a sample of about 1,700 students who took online psychology classes of varying difficulty at Washington State University from the spring 2015 to spring 2016, we found that students performed 10-20% better but took about twice as long on non-proctored versus proctored exams. This confirmed our hypotheses and the effect held when we compared our in-house proctoring service used during this time against ProctorU used for one semester in the fall 2012. To ensure the most robust design possible, we also rotated the proctored exam in each class at least once and then compared performance on an exam when it was proctored versus when the same exam was non-proctored. Results showed better performance when the exam was non-proctored then when it was proctored. Finally, since instructors changed over the four semesters our study ran, we wanted to ensure that the results were due to student misconduct and not differences in teaching style. This potential confounding variable was eliminated. Implications of student misconduct for academic integrity in online classes is discussed and potential solutions presented, including a future direction for research.