the ostrich problem: student self-handicapping as illustrated by vle activity
TRANSCRIPT
Previous research (e.g. Rhodewalt & Davison, 1986) suggests that some students may self-handicap the chance of academic success by adopting non-engagement strategies to preserve self-esteem.
To avoid negative attributions regarding ability and emotions associated with failure, students may fail to access course material or prepare adequately for an exam (Thomas & Gadbois, 2007). This provides temporary relief but induces further self-doubt when grades are released, and necessitates additional self-handicapping.
This study sought to examine student usage of a virtual learning environment (VLE), explore levels of inter-module variation, and establish whether a lack of engagement in low activity modules was reflected in performance at subsequent examinations.
Paul M. Grey1 & Paul B. Hutchings1
INTRODUCTION
Paul M. Grey, email: [email protected] of Wales: Trinity Saint DavidSchool of Psychology and Counselling
Swansea, SA2 0UT, Wales, UK.
The Ostrich Problem: Student Self-Handicapping Illustrated by VLE Activity
DISCUSSION
RESULTS
METHOD
1University of Wales: Trinity Saint David
Tota
l VLE
Act
ivity
(‘H
its’)
Figure 1. Monthly and Mean VLE Activity for Cognitive Psychology and Social Psychology modules for Semester 2, 2012-13.
In addition, over 75% of the 2012-13 cohort failed to access requisite resources via the VLE for Cognitive Psychology seminars, compared to peak non-engagement level of 42% for Social.
Uploading folders that contain numerous resources to the VLE makes some user activity difficult to monitor effectively. Ensuring staff upload resources as individual files provides the only means to accurately monitor user activity across modules.
Students appear to find Cognitive Psychology a ‘difficult’ module and may be guilty of self-handicapping by failing to engage with resources - as illustrated by the VLE activity for the module being approximately half the level for Social Psychology.
This research indicates that in self-handicapping students may preserve self-esteem in the short term, but at the cost of lower rates of success and lower mean scores in examinations.
Additional psychology modules at Level 6 also show relatively low mean VLE activity, suggesting self-handicapping may be a general problem for modules that students perceive as more ‘difficult’.
Further research is planned to establish whether a) students acknowledge self-handicapping behaviour, b) a statistically significant effect of self-handicapping exists for ‘difficult’ modules, and c) whether this behaviour is exhibited in successive cohorts.
We thank The Higher Education Academy for funding this project.
The overall pass rate for the cohort - the percentage achieving a passing grade – at the end of term exam for Cognitive (75%) was considerably lower than Social (89%), and at a lower mean percentage score (Cognitive = 52% ; Social = 60%), suggesting that non-engagement with a VLE has a detrimental effect on academic performance
References: • Rhodewalt, F., & Davison Jr, J. (1986). Self-handicapping and subsequent performance: Role of outcome
valence and attributional certainty. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 7(4), 307-322.• Thomas, C. R., & Gadbois, S. A. (2007). Academic self‐handicapping: The role of self‐concept clarity and
students' learning strategies. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77(1), 101-119.
Quantitative data of individual student user VLE engagement and overall cohort VLE activity for academic year 2012-13 were harvested from the University Moodle VLE system for all Psychology and Counselling modules of a joint degree.
Data of individual VLE engagement and overall activity in relation to the individual resources were further analysed with reference to academic performance. Cognitive Psychology and Social Psychology provide a convenient comparison as commensurate Level 5 modules, as both are taught in semester 2 only and are assessed by combined long and short answer examinations.
Methods of uploading resources to the VLE were also analysed for impact on user activity.
Feb March April May Mean0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
358
16289
1003
403
577
364
190
2258
847
Cognitive
Social
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 80
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Cognitive
Social
Figure 2. Percentage of cohort that did not engage with individual VLE resources of Cognitive Psychology and Social Psychology modules for Semester 2, 2012-13.*
* - Initial score of 4.11% for Cog Psych relates to a single folder containing all lecture slides, impacting on effective comparison.
Exam Pass Rate Mean Exam Score40
50
60
70
80
90
100
75
52
89
60
Cognitive
Social
Figure 3. Comparative Examination Results for Cognitive Psychology and Social Psychology Modules for Semester 2, 2012-13.
Per
cent
age
Per
cent
age
of C
ohor
t
Social Psychology showed higher levels of VLE activity than Cognitive throughout the semester (mean activity per month 847 vs. 403 hits). Both modules followed the same monthly pattern of moderate initial VLE activity (577 vs. 358 hits respectively) with a progressive drop-off (364 vs. 162 hits in month two, and 190 vs. 89 hits in month three), and peak usage shortly before the exam period (2258 vs. 1003 hits).