Defense Date

2-17-2022

Graduation Date

Spring 5-14-2022

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

EdD

Department

Instructional Technology (EdDIT)

School

School of Education

Committee Chair

Sandra Quinones

Committee Member

Jason Ritter

Committee Member

Jesse Rine

Keywords

Mindset, self-efficacy, self-beliefs, courseware, engagement, learning outcomes, doer effect, learning engineering

Abstract

Online courseware is an emerging educational technology that has the potential to reach students at scale. Designed with cognitive and learning science principles, courseware utilizes effective methods to maximize learning outcomes for students. Mindset (implicit theories of ability) and self-efficacy are two widely researched self-belief topics which have been shown to influence student learning outcomes and self-concepts. These self-belief theories are not specific to a domain and therefore could be measured and analyzed in relation to student learning metrics from any subject. The purpose of this nonexperimental correlational research study is to investigate the relationships between student self-beliefs and key learning metrics, as collected by a courseware platform. The data analysis process used a historical data set collected from a natural learning context that included 1,896 students from three state higher education institutions. This data set was analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression models to answer interrelated research questions: What is the relationship between mindset and self-efficacy for students? What is the relationship between student self-beliefs and learning metrics in courseware? Results showed 79.7% of students selected growth mindset and 98.6% of students selected high self-efficacy. Neither mindset nor self-efficacy were strongly correlated to any learning metric variable. Results of the mixed effects linear regressions model showed that mindset was significant for key engagement metrics, though neither mindset nor self-efficacy were significant for summative scores. The interpretation and implication of these findings are discussed in relation to existing theory and research. Suggestions for future practice and research are also addressed to further the application of self-beliefs in courseware environments.

Language

English

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