Impact of Learning Strategies and Motivation on Performance: A Study in Web-Based Instruction

Journal of Instructional Psychology, Sept, 2001 by Siva R. Sankaran, Tung Bui

This study investigates how learning strategies and motivation influence performance in Web and lecture settings of a business information systems course. These were measured using a survey instrument: learning performance by test scores. Findings suggest that using either deep or surface learning strategy leads to comparable positive performances, but undirected strategy affects performance negatively. While motivation is significantly correlated to performance in both Web and lecture, the relationship is stronger in the Web setting. High motivation is associated with the use of deep learning strategy, and low motivation with undirected strategy. Pre-post test analysis shows that learning strategies and motivation are also correlated with gains in incremental scores. The results have implications for course design and instruction by taking individual differences into account.

Distance education is the process of instruction and learning via virtual classrooms where teachers and students are separated in space and sometimes in time. Today, distance education plays an important role in the rapidly changing society that places continual demand on learners. While television and video-teleconferencing were prevalent during the seventies and eighties, the Internet is taking the center stage today as the preferred medium of delivery for distance education due to its versatility and low cost (Moskal, 1997 & Sopova, 1996). A growing number of universities are embracing it than ever before.

Objective

The purpose of this research was to study how learning strategies-deep, surface, undirected- and motivation affect learning performance in Web-based instruction as compared to a traditional lecture setting (Figure 1), The goal was not merely to compare learning effectiveness of Web vs. lecture setting, but part of an overall investigation of why individual student performances vary even though the same course content is delivered to all of them (Sankaran & Bui, 1999 & 2000).

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Research in Distance Education

During the evolution of the various delivery technologies of the last three decades, researchers have explored several issues in distance education. The major ones among them are: effectiveness, student background, learning style, motivation, course design, instructor role and cost-benefits (Ragothaman & Hoadley, 1997 & VanZile-Tamsen & Livingston, 1999). Of these issues, this study focuses on (i) effectiveness. (ii) learning strategies and (iii) motivation.

Effectiveness

A principal question that has interested researchers In the past has been whether distance education is as effective as traditional lectures. Many studies evaluated effectiveness in terms of test scores and grades in a distant learning setting and compared them with those in the conventional classroom. Valore and Diehl (1987) examined research published since 1920 on correspondence studies, and concluded that correspondent students perform just as well as their classroom counterparts. Kuramoto (1984) evaluated - face to face, teleconferencing, and correspondence study - and concluded that all three were equally effective. Souder (1993) compared performances of two groups of graduate students, one taught in traditional lecture format and the other using satellite broadcasting, Results showed that distance learners performed better than their classroom counterparts. Based on an extensive review of literature, Porter (1997) contends that distance education is at least as effective as that of traditional lectures. Learning Strategies

One of the problems with many earlier effectiveness studies is that only the net performance of a group of distance education students has been measured. However, one can see that the individual students may react differently to distance learning due to differences in their background. Two such background variables are Learning Strategies and Motivation.

Learning strategies refer to the activities by which learning is achieved. For example, reading aloud, copying notes, consulting peers, asking the instructor for clarification are all learning strategies. The use of learning strategies allows students to actively process information, thereby influencing their mastery of material and subsequent academic achievement (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia & McKeachie, 1993).

Hoekscma (1995) proposed two types of learning strategies: deep and surface. A deep learning strategy is directed at understanding the meaning of a task and to satisfy curiosity. A student using the deep will put in longer study hours, make detailed notes from the text and class Web site, do exercises in addition to meeting the minimum assignments, and will study continually rather than cram (Vermunt, 1998). It may be considered the highest form of learning, A surface learning strategy, on the other hand, is directed to memorizing facts, disjointed pieces of data. examples and illustrations (Hoeksema, 1995). A student using the surface strategy will have a reproducing orientation trying to memorize pieces of information and more interested in getting good grades without having to fully master the material. In practice, many students using the surface strategy have been found to be successful because deep level learning are just not required to satisfy many examination requirements (Vermunt, 1998 & Busato, 1998).