IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/rwirep/312426.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Study effort in higher education: Field experimental evidence with administrative and tracking data from Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Hertweck, Friederike
  • Jonas, Lukas
  • Kistner, Melissa
  • Maffia, Deborah

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of a low-cost, color-coded scale intervention designed to inform university students about the expected workload for a course, with the aim of improving students' academic performance and learning behaviors. An initial intervention took place at the beginning of the course, with a follow-up reminder in the middle of the semester. Students who were treated once experienced no significant effect, but those who additionally received the second treatment significantly improved their course grade, scoring 0.51 points (or 21 %) higher on average. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that first-generation, migrant and high-ability students benefited most from the intervention, suggesting that such a treatment may help reduce some forms of educational inequality. To explore the underlying mechanisms, we utilized tracking data from an online learning platform through which the lecturer distributed course materials and provided opportunities for self-paced learning. While we find an overall increase in online activity following the intervention (though imprecisely measured), no specific academic behavior such as online test participation or material downloads can explain the ultimate increase in grades by itself.

Suggested Citation

  • Hertweck, Friederike & Jonas, Lukas & Kistner, Melissa & Maffia, Deborah, 2024. "Study effort in higher education: Field experimental evidence with administrative and tracking data from Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 1138, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:312426
    DOI: 10.4419/96973320
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/312426/1/1918821747.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4419/96973320?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. Oliver Himmler & Robert Jäckle & Philipp Weinschenk, 2019. "Soft Commitments, Reminders, and Academic Performance," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 114-142, April.
    2. Li, Hsueh-Hsiang, 2018. "Do mentoring, information, and nudge reduce the gender gap in economics majors?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 165-183.
    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. Nicholas A. Wright & Puneet Arora & Jesse Wright, 2024. "I Promise to Work Hard: The Impact of a Non-Binding Commitment Pledge on Academic Performance," Working Papers 2411, Florida International University, Department of Economics.
    2. Lars Behlen & Oliver Himmler & Robert Jäckle, 2023. "Defaults and effortful tasks," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 26(5), pages 1022-1059, November.
    3. Koch, Alexander K. & Nafziger, Julia, 2020. "Motivational goal bracketing: An experiment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    4. Nafziger, Julia & Kaiser, Jonas P. & Koch, Alexander K, 2021. "Self-Set Goals Are Effective Self-Regulation Tools -- Despite Goal Revision," CEPR Discussion Papers 15716, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Todd Pugatch & Elizabeth Schroeder, 2021. "Promoting Female Interest in Economics: Limits to Nudges," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 123-127, May.
    6. Graziella Bertocchi & Luca Bonacini & Marina Murat, 2023. "Adams and Eves: High school math and the gender gap in Economics majors," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(4), pages 798-817, October.
    7. Isphording, Ingo E. & Raabe, Tobias, 2019. "Early Identification of College Dropouts Using Machine-Learning: Conceptual Considerations and an Empirical Example," IZA Research Reports 89, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Lisa Bagnoli & Antonio Estache, 2022. "Mentoring Migrants for Labor Market Integration: Policy Insights from a Survey of Mentoring Theory and Practice [A Marginal Cost Analysis of a Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Youth Mentoring Pr," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 37(1), pages 39-72.
    9. Shoji, Masahiro & Cato, Susumu & Ito, Asei & Iida, Takashi & Ishida, Kenji & Katsumata, Hiroto & McElwain, Kenneth Mori, 2022. "Mobile health technology as a solution to self-control problems: The behavioral impact of COVID-19 contact tracing apps in Japan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    10. Hardt, David & Nagler, Markus & Rincke, Johannes, 2022. "Can peer mentoring improve online teaching effectiveness? An RCT during the COVID-19 pandemic," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Graziella Bertocchi & Luca Bonacini & Marina Murat, 2021. "Adams and Eves:The Gender Gap in Economics Major," CHILD Working Papers Series 95 JEL Classification: J., Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    12. Jonas Pilgaard Kaiser & Alexander K. Koch & Julia Nafziger, 2024. "Does goal revision undermine self-regulation through goals? An experiment," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 27(3), pages 604-636, July.
    13. Kristin F. Butcher & Patrick J. McEwan & Akila Weerapana, 2024. "Women’s Colleges and Economics Major Choice: Evidence from Wellesley College Applicants," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 123-161, April.
    14. Brade, Raphael & Himmler, Oliver & Jäckle, Robert, 2018. "Normatively Framed Relative Performance Feedback – Field Experiment and Replication," MPRA Paper 88830, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Elizabeth A. Moorhouse, 2022. "Book Review: Women in Economics, by Lundberg, S. (Ed.)," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 67(1), pages 147-152, March.
    16. Kuhn, Andreas & Wolter, Stefan C., 2022. "Things versus People: Gender Differences in Vocational Interests and in Occupational Preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 210-234.
    17. Wolter, Stefan C. & Zumbühl, Maria, 2017. "The Native-Migrant Gap in the Progression into and through Upper-Secondary Education," IZA Discussion Papers 11217, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Devereux, Paul J. & Delaney, Judith, 2021. "Gender and Educational Achievement: Stylized Facts and Causal Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 15753, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Student performance; field experiment; higher education; color-coded nudge; RCT;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies

    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:zbw:rwirep:312426. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rwiesde.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.