Abstract:

Online students often struggle with course progression early in their academic journey due to family responsibilities, job demands, and other factors. Instructors have used a myriad of ways to encourage student engagement and participation in the online classroom, such as live or recorded video lectures, weekly announcements, and humor. While such in-classroom strategies promote student engagement, additional strategies outside the classroom, targeted at students early in their studies, could prove to be the missing link to increase student success and retention. Little is known about the effects of simple yet purposeful strategies, such as positive messaging and a live connection opportunity, to increase self-determination and self-efficacy for students in the online setting.

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of empowering messages and live, virtual connections on persistence and success rates. The research team utilized the scientific method—specifically, an experimental design—to explore the impact of this intervention in terms of successful course completion and subsequent course progression, as well as student perceptions of self-efficacy and self-determination, among undergraduate students in their third course at the researchers’ university. The intervention was based on two theories: the self-efficacy theory and the self-determination theory.

Students were randomly assigned to a control or experimental condition. Students in the experimental condition received weekly positive messaging via email, as well as an invitation to attend a live, virtual “Empowerment Hour”, hosted by one or more of the researchers. Email messages contained four elements: mastery of experiences (i.e., praise for passing the second course at the university, mastering a previous week’s difficult concept), social modeling (i.e., hearing from and seeing diverse examples of fellow students and alumni who have been successful), social persuasion (i.e., providing encouragement and empowerment quotes from well-known individuals that communicate that each student possesses the skills and capabilities to succeed), and states of physiology (i.e., integrating humor to lift moods, provide additional reassurance, foster introspection, and the importance of self-care and compassion). “Empowerment Hour” sessions entailed opportunities for students to discuss challenges, learn about positive mindset strategies, tips for success, a tip of the week, and peer-to-peer exchanges surrounding encouragement, empowerment, and humor. Students in the control condition did not receive email communication, nor the invitations to attend the virtual sessions.

Upon conclusion of the intervention period after each five-week course, all students (experimental and control group) received a link to complete a Qualtrics survey measuring self-efficacy and self-determination. In addition, students in the experimental condition answered open-ended questions measuring their perceptions of the helpfulness of the intervention. Course progression and completion rates were collected from quantitative responses and then analyzed via descriptive and inferential statistics. Additionally, End of Course Survey feedback was evaluated for qualitative comments and analyzed via content analysis.

This research study will be concluded by December 2023 and the finalized results, as well as conclusions, can be shared in the final paper by the January 11th, 2024 deadline.

Keywords:

Student empowerment, student retention, student success, encouraging messages, virtual connections, self-efficacy, self-determination.