EFFECTIVENESS OF MOTIVATION & SOCIAL PRESENCE IN DISTANCE LEARNING: A MATHEMATICAL PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate whether motivational emails sent from an instructor to students had an impact on student motivation and performance, measured by course completion and final course grade in a community college online course. The theoretical framework for this study was based on the four elements of the ARCS model: attention (A), relevance (R), confidence (C), and satisfaction (S). This theory by John Keller (1983) enhances the learning environment and stimulates students’ motivation to learn, therefore improving retention and course grade. The sample for the study was students enrolled in 12 online classes offered by one community college during the odd 2014 semester. These students were randomly assigned to two groups, a control group and an experimental group, with the experimental group receiving five motivational email messages. Keller’s (2006) Course Interest Survey (CIS) was used to measure student motivation. The CIS instrument was modified so that the experimental group received six open-ended questions concerning the impact of the motivational messages on their course performance. The findings showed students participating in an online course benefited from the treatment. Results showed a higher proportion of the experimental group were successful completers of the online course than the control group. Results also showed a significant difference in final course grade and CIS scores for the experimental and control group. The final grades of the experimental group exceeded the control group. This study stands apart from other ARCS research as being one of the first empirical studies to use emailed motivational messages and the CIS, supplemented with open-ended questions, for community college online courses. The results provide valuable insights into how email can be used in online classes to motivate students and enhance course performance.

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