Attendance and learning platforms in college course success

Abstract

This study examines (1) the conditional effects of attendance at values of learning platform activities, and (2) the direct and indirect effects of attendance on final grades. Participants (n = 71) were students enrolled in an in-person introductory statistics class. Results show that students with average and below average out-of-class activities in learning platforms benefitted significantly from attending classes. The study revealed that attendance did not benefit students uniformly, and in-class participation and out-of-class preparation have complimentary effects on each other influencing success, suggesting the need for combined efforts within these two domains. The indirect effect of attendance on final grades was transmitted through the learning platform activities. Attendance increases the utilization of learning platforms, and the utilization of learning platforms increases the final grades. However, the strong direct effects of attendance on final grades suggest that in-class participation in activities and instructors’ explanations are advantageous. These findings suggest that multiple respective factors may be effective in advancing course performance in an introductory STEM course including instructor’s course design, teaching methods, utilization of educational technology to foster understanding the content via data visualizations, and diagram and formula template embedded worksheets. The implications of these findings are that the objectives of educational technology, with accompanying interactive websites, serve as a tool to encourage students to become active learners.