Personal instructor messages and reflective assignments showed the largest individual associations with online course satisfaction, and personal messages with fewer motivation problems¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · checked against its sources 2026-10-17 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Sixty-eight percent of students who received personal messages from the instructor were satisfied overall versus 47 percent of those who did not; reflective assignments were associated with 68 percent versus 50 percent satisfaction. → Means 2020 q3 i? Fifty-three percent of students in courses without personal messages found staying motivated a major problem, compared to 33 percent in courses using them. → Means 2020 (2)

Evidence¶

Means 2020¶

Means, B., and Neisler, J., with Langer Research Associates. (2020). Suddenly Online: A National Survey of Undergraduates During the COVID-19 Pandemic. San Mateo, CA: Digital Promise. https://digitalpromise.dspacedirect.org/items/32aee7c4-5363-4d50-bc9c-a338e7dfac7e doi:10.51388/20.500.12265/98

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Survey respondents reported which of the eight recommended practices their online course used; satisfaction was compared between students whose courses did and did not include each practice. Personal messages, real-world examples, and reflective assignments showed the largest differences.

"Sixty-eight percent of those who received messages of this type were satisfied with the course overall, compared to 47 percent of those who did not."

Means 2020 (2)¶

Means, B., and Neisler, J., with Langer Research Associates. (2020). Suddenly Online: A National Survey of Undergraduates During the COVID-19 Pandemic. San Mateo, CA: Digital Promise. https://digitalpromise.dspacedirect.org/items/32aee7c4-5363-4d50-bc9c-a338e7dfac7e. doi:10.51388/20.500.12265/98

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Survey analysis compared the prevalence of motivation as a major problem across courses with and without the personal-message practice. The report states motivation "was mitigated significantly by the practice of sending students personalized messages."

"53 percent of students in courses that did not include personal messages found staying motivated to be a major problem, compared to only 33 percent of students in courses that used personal messages"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Staying motivated was the most pervasive challenge of learning remotely, and students missed instructor feedback, peer collaboration, and hands-on experiences — related
• Undergraduate course satisfaction dropped sharply after courses moved fully online during COVID-19, with very satisfied students falling from 51 percent to 19 percent — related
• The number of research-recommended online instructional practices used predicted student satisfaction, rising from 43 percent net satisfaction with 0–2 practices to 74 percent with 6–8 — related
• Learner-instructor and learner-content engagement strategies are negatively associated with digital distraction in online courses — related
• The number of challenges a student experienced was strongly associated with post-COVID course satisfaction: 81 percent satisfaction with no challenges versus 32 percent with four or more — related
• Students experiencing more major challenges reported lower satisfaction with their post-COVID STEM course and learning — related
• Online students' learning needs centre on course support and communication with tutors and other students — related
• Maintaining motivation was the most prevalent non-technology challenge students faced learning at a distance — related