Factors that Enhance Achievement in Open Learning: A Case Study of High vs Low Achieving Students at OUHK

The purpose of this project was to investigate factors that characterise high achieving students at the Open University of Hong Kong, through comparisons of high and low achieving students' responses to comprehensive questionnaire items. While the interpretations of the study are limited due to the fact that the study was restricted to a single sample in one specific context, it has contributed significant information that can be useful to the university's future planning in a number of areas. These areas include course design, student counselling, instructional strategies, evaluation and assessment, motivation to learn, and psychosocial needs of adult learners. 

The data were collected by questionnaire and interview. The major findings included:

Students' Difficulties:

Both groups reported that the personal and organisational difficulties they experienced with their studies were fairly moderate, but the low achievers indicated that they had greater difficulties with the volume of materials (t = -2.679, p < 0.05), their skills in writing in the language required for the course (t = -2.763, p < 0.05), motivating themselves (t = -5.444, p < 0.05), anxiety about tests and exams (t = -2.999, p < 0.05), finding time to study (t = -3.342, p < 0.05) and other commitments (t = -3.411, p < 0.05).

Personal Characteristics: 

Motivation for Studying
High achievers were motivated by: (i) desire to get a university degree for its own sake, for personal interest or for self-satisfaction (> 70%) then (ii) need for career advancement (63%). Low achievers were motivated first by the need for career advancement (71%), and then to get a university degree for its own sake, for personal interest or for self-satisfaction (> 60%). 

Cognition
High achievers rated themselves higher on trying to understand thoroughly the meanings of what they were asked to read, regulating their learning strategies to fit the purpose of study, and linking new knowledge to their previous learning. No significant differences were found for the other eight sub-items which included questioning ideas presented in study materials, putting effort into understanding difficult parts, reflecting on the processes used, looking for multiple solutions, thinking about the implications, reading extra materials, relating the learning to daily applications, or concentrating on memorizing for the purpose of achieving the minimum passing grade. 

Self-Perceptions
High achievers had significantly higher perceptions of their ability in the OUHK course on which they have were reflecting (t = 6.377, p < 0.05) and significantly higher perceptions of their own self-confidence with their studies (t=6.267, p<0.05).

Organisational Characteristics:

Study Habits 
There were similar patterns with respect to preferred study times and locations.

Larger percentages of the high-achieving group adopted strategies such as building up their own views of materials and relating their studies to examples from their experience, that is strategies that could contribute to the deepening of their own learning.

Use of Existing or Self-formed Support Systems
Apart from face-to-face sessions, use of other services was low for both groups.

There were no significant differences between the high and low achievers with respect to any of the ways in which the students: made use of existing support networks provided by OUHK, created their own support networks, or employed strategies for help-seeking. 

The majority of students indicated that they do not seek help for any problems other than those associated directly with their study materials. While there were similarities between the two groups in help-seeking for academic difficulties, there was a tendency for more of the high achieving students to seek help for personal difficulties relating to their courses. A number of help-seeking strategies was identified, which included the establishment of self-formed study groups, although the study revealed that the majority of students in both the high achieving and low achieving groups reported that they prefer to work alone. 

The low-achieving students claimed to have been more adversely affected by difficulties with the volume of materials to study, writing skills, self-motivation, anxiety about tests and examinations, finding time to study, and making time for meeting their obligations to family and friends, and work commitments that they believed to affect their studies. For example, a higher proportion of the low achievers are in more responsible positions in their employment, and do shift work, work overtime, or travel outside Hong Kong. However, there were no significant differences between the two achievement groups in their reported use of various support services provided by the university or in the establishment of their own support structures.
While the majority of students in both the high achieving and low achieving groups reported that they preferred to work alone, a number of students, particularly low achievers, said they would like to work with groups if it were easier to organise.

In both groups, the students reported a preference for receiving a type of instrumental help, in which the help-giver provided enough of a hint for the student to solve the problem, although the majority of examples given were in fact executive help-seeking, in which the helper tells the answer or does a demonstration. The interviews indicated that the help given was sometimes useful and sometimes not, and one of the main reasons given was that the helper was unable to provide adequate assistance that took into account the learner's level of understanding and needs.

A number of issues has arisen that warrant further investigation. These include:
 

  • further exploration of strategies for addressing the difficulties experienced by low achieving students, since the low achievers expressed more difficulties that might have adversely affected their results but did not make any more use of support services than did the high achievers, 
  • further investigation as to the causes of low metacognitive strategies by distance education learners, particularly of potential effects of environmental and cultural factors, 
  • more in-depth study with a larger sample spread across other distance learning institutions in order to critically determine how to deliver instruction at a distance to students who are already handicapped by personal and environmental factors they come across while opting to study at a distance,
  • investigation of the effects of support in the form of, for example, a training program for time management and effective DOL study on students' performance, 
  • clarification of how support services can address not only the problems students regard as 'solvable' but also those they regard as 'unsolvable'  and also assist students identifying their problems, 
  • investigation of the effective use of self-formed study groups, the impact of these groups of performance, and alternative ways of forming groups that fit in with the constraints of students' lives, 
  • exploration of the effects of tutor training in appropriate help-giving in enhancing the quality of students' learning.
Publications:
 
 
 

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