Effects of using mobile instant messaging on student behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Mobile instant messaging (MIM) has become the most popular means for young people to communicate. MIM apps typically come with a myriad of features that educators may leverage to increase student learning. However, it remains poorly understood to what extent and in what aspect MIM can facilitate student engagement. We address the gap by comparing the effects of using MIM and asynchronous online discussion (AOD) on student online engagement, using a quasi-experimental study involving a historical cohort control group. Understanding which communication mode can better promote student online engagement is particularly important during the current widespread use of online learning. Specifically, we examined engagement from the behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. The results showed that the MIM group was more behaviorally engaged in discussion activities, producing more messages, more words, and higher rates of participation, task completion, and interaction. Emotionally, no statistically significant difference was found in students’ affective evaluation of course interaction and satisfaction between the two groups. However, MIM appeared to help students with improved intimacy and interpersonal relationships. Cognitively, the MIM group was more engaged than the AOD group. In particular, MIM seemed to facilitate interactive idea exchange and thus contributing to more “creating” activities. We conclude by providing suggestions for future instructional practice and research directions.

Effect of Reverse Engineering Pedagogy on Primary School Students’ Computational Thinking Skills in STEM Learning Activities

“…There was therefore no way to expand the sample size of the two groups, resulting in a small sample size. The problem of small sample size often occurs in quasi-experimental studies (e.g., Cheng et al 2020 ; Cutumisu et al 2020 ; Hsiao et al 2021 ; Nicolaidou et al 2021 ; Tang and Hew 2022 ; Yalçın and Erden 2021 ; Zhao et al 2022 ). Therefore, it is necessary to expand the sample size to ensure that the experimental results are consistent with this study in future studies and to further prove the reliability of this study.…”

The Mediating Role of English Speaking Skills in the Relationship between Social Literacy and the Engagement of Students

“…Speaking, as one of the four language skills, is an important skill that a person should practice and master from his/her childhood. It is also a skill that is repeated over time and learned through interaction [62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69]. Without a chance to speak and express his opinions and ideas, a person is likely to be misunderstood.…”

Considering modes of delivery in blended PBL: a literature-based approach

“…Two theories are suggested here that may aid in the selection of delivery modes in blended learning. They are (i) the Media Richness theory, a concept developed by Daft & Lengel (1986), which continue to be employed in communication and education research such as Sun and Cheng (2007), Balaji and Chakrabarti (2010) and Ku et al (2021); and (ii) the Media Synchronicity theory (Dennis et al, 2008), a theory that has been employed in e-learning literature such as Samardzic et al (2014) and Tang and Hew (2022).…”