IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pot/cepadp/25.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Effect of Goal-Setting Prompts in a Blended Learning Environment – Evidence from a Field Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Erwin Amann

    (University Duisburg-Essen)

  • Sylvi Rzepka

    (University of Potsdam)

Abstract

We investigate how inviting students to set task-based goals affects usage of an online learning platform and course performance. We design and implement a randomized field experiment in a large mandatory economics course with blended learning elements. The low-cost treatment induces students to use the online learning system more often, more intensively, and to begin earlier with exam preparation. Treated students perform better in the course than the control group: they are 18.8% (0.20 SD) more likely to pass the exam and earn 6.7% (0.19 SD) more points on the exam. There is no evidence that treated students spend significantly more time, rather they tend to shift to more productive learning methods. The heterogeneity analysis suggests that higher treatment effects are associated with higher levels of behavioral bias but also with poor early course behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Erwin Amann & Sylvi Rzepka, 2021. "The Effect of Goal-Setting Prompts in a Blended Learning Environment – Evidence from a Field Experiment," CEPA Discussion Papers 25, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    • Handle: RePEc:pot:cepadp:25
    DOI: 10.25932/publishup-49347
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-49347
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.25932/publishup-49347?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Damon Clark & David Gill & Victoria Prowse & Mark Rush, 2020. "Using Goals to Motivate College Students: Theory and Evidence From Field Experiments," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(4), pages 648-663, October.
    2. Damgaard, Mette Trier & Nielsen, Helena Skyt, 2018. "Nudging in education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 313-342.
    3. Maya Escueta & Andre Joshua Nickow & Philip Oreopoulos & Vincent Quan, 2020. "Upgrading Education with Technology: Insights from Experimental Research," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(4), pages 897-996, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Amann, Erwin & Rzepka, Sylvi, 2023. "The effect of goal-setting prompts in a blended learning environment—evidence from a field experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Oreopoulos, Philip & Petronijevic, Uros & Logel, Christine & Beattie, Graham, 2020. "Improving non-academic student outcomes using online and text-message coaching," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 342-360.
    3. KUROKAWA Hirofumi & IGEI Kengo & KITSUKI Akinori & KURITA Kenichi & MANAGI Shunsuke & NAKAMURO Makiko & SAKANO Akira, 2022. "Nudges to Increase the Effectiveness of Environmental Education," Discussion papers 22047, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    4. Pugatch, Todd & Wilson, Nicholas, 2020. "Nudging Demand for Academic Support Services: Experimental and Structural Evidence from Higher Education," IZA Discussion Papers 13732, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Raphael Brade & Oliver Himmler & Robert Jaeckle & Philipp Weinschenk, 2024. "Helping Students to Succeed – The Long-Term Effects of Soft Commitments and Reminders," CESifo Working Paper Series 11001, CESifo.
    6. Gershoni, Naomi & Stryjan, Miri, 2023. "Do Deadlines Affect Project Completion? Experimental Evidence from Israeli Vocational Colleges," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 359-375.
    7. Wagner, Valentin, 2022. "Heterogeneous effects of grade framing," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    8. Damgaard, Mette Trier & Nielsen, Helena Skyt, 2018. "Nudging in education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 313-342.
    9. Shumon Zihady, 2023. "Dupchanchia Model of Students' drop-out control through engagement and appreciation after Covid-19: A Behavioral Policy intervention in the field administration of Bangladesh," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 43(1), pages 136-148, May.
    10. Sesha Kethineni & Susan Frazier‐Kouassi & Yuki Shigemoto & Wesley Jennings & Stephanie M. Cardwell & Alex R. Piquero & Kimberly Gay & Dayanand Sundaravadivelu, 2021. "PROTOCOL: Effectiveness of parent‐engagement programs to reduce truancy and juvenile delinquency: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), September.
    11. Islam, Asad & Kwon, Sungoh & Masood, Eema & Prakash, Nishith & Sabarwal, Shwetlena & Saraswat, Deepak, 2020. "When Goal-Setting Forges Ahead but Stops Short," GLO Discussion Paper Series 526, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Kerstin Grosch & Simone Haeckl & Martin G. Kocher, 2022. "Closing the Gender STEM Gap - A Large-Scale Randomized-Controlled Trial in Elementary Schools," CESifo Working Paper Series 9907, CESifo.
    13. Tomás Monarrez & Lesley J. Turner, 2024. "The Effect of Student Loan Payment Burdens on Borrower Outcomes," Working Papers 24-08, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    14. Aymo Brunetti & Konstantin Büchel & Martina Jakob & Ben Jann & Daniel Steffen, 2021. "Inadequate Teacher Content Knowledge and What to Do About It: Evidence from El Salvador," University of Bern Social Sciences Working Papers 41, University of Bern, Department of Social Sciences.
    15. Lafortune, Jeanne & Pugatch, Todd & Tessada, José & Ubfal, Diego, 2022. "Can interactive online training make high school students more entrepreneurial? Experimental evidence from Rwanda," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1041, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    16. Brandts, Jordi & El Baroudi, Sabrine & Huber, Stefanie J. & Rott, Christina, 2021. "Gender differences in private and public goal setting," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 222-247.
    17. Lars Behlen & Oliver Himmler & Robert Jäckle, 2023. "Defaults and effortful tasks," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 26(5), pages 1022-1059, November.
    18. Nicolas Houy & Jean-Philippe Nicolaï & Marie Claire Villeval, 2020. "Always doing your best? Effort and performance in dynamic settings," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 249-286, October.
    19. Burgess, Simon & Metcalfe, Robert & Sadoff, Sally, 2021. "Understanding the response to financial and non-financial incentives in education: Field experimental evidence using high-stakes assessments," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    20. Papineau, Maya & Rivers, Nicholas, 2022. "Experimental evidence on heat loss visualization and personalized information to motivate energy savings," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    natural field experiment; blended learning; behavioral economics; goal-setting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pot:cepadp:25. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Marco Winkler (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cepotde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.