Project Activities
First, the research team will work with the Terracotta platform team to put videos, assignments, infographic summaries about procrastination on Canvas and will conduct a small pilot study. Based on instructor and student feedback, the team will refine and add to the existing intervention materials. Next, they will test the efficacy of the intervention by conducting a rigorous randomized controlled trial (RCT) using Terracotta and the Canvas LMS.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This study will take place at seven urban and suburban universities in Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, New Mexico, and California.
Sample
The research team will recruit a diverse sample of approximately 10,000 undergraduate students enrolled in large lecture-based psychology, biology, and chemistry classes to participate in this study.
The intervention is a set of materials designed to teach students strategies for circumventing two predicted causes of procrastination: (1) experiencing negative mood caused by aversion toward an academic task and (2) choosing an immediately pleasurable activity over the academic task. The intervention includes videos, assignments, infographic summaries about procrastination.
Research design and methods
First, the research team will work with the Terracotta platform team to implement videos, assignments, infographic summaries about procrastination within Canvas with a small group of students. Next, they will refine intervention materials based on feedback obtained in the initial pilot test. Finally, the team will test the interventions in a randomized control trial (RCT) with four conditions: materials focused on addressing negative mood only, (b) materials focused on goal management only, (c) materials focused on addressing both negative mood and goal management, or (d) active control. Students will be randomly assigned to one of the four conditions and will then complete their intervention (or active control) assignments on Canvas.
Control condition
The active control condition is designed to be useful and engaging but focused on effective note taking and comprehension techniques for reading academic texts, which are academic skills that do not have direct relevance to the hypothesized causes of procrastination.
Key measures
The research team will measure class assignment submission times (an objective measure of procrastination, tracked by Terracotta) and grades and measures of wellbeing (depression, anxiety, and perceived stress). The team will also gather information about (a) mental health and stress, (b) impulsive/ADHD tendencies, (c) time management skills, and (d) self-efficacy and task value for the course content.
Data analytic strategy
The researchers will analyze the data using multilevel models with students nested in classrooms. Primary analyses will use an intent-to-treat design. Exploratory analyses will use multilevel regression to identify types of students who engage in academic procrastination behaviors and then to examine how much those students benefit from the intervention.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
This project will result in preliminary evidence of the effects of interventions for academic procrastination on student education outcomes. The project will also result in a final dataset to be shared, peer-reviewed publications and presentations, and additional dissemination products that reach education stakeholders such as practitioners and policymakers.
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Additional project information
This project is part of the Digital Learning Platforms to Enable Efficient Education Research Network (Digital Learning Platforms Network), which aims to leverage existing, widely used digital learning platforms for rigorous education research.
Related projects
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
