Impact of Embedded Learning Strategy Activities: Student Engagement and Performance

Many college students struggle to adopt effective study strategies. Although many academic support centers disseminate resources on study strategies and help students to strengthen these skills, students do not fully utilize the resources or support. This study explored using an online asynchronous discussion (OAD) board as a space to embed five study strategies for students to practice in the context of the subject matter. The biweekly OADs, enabled in the learning management system (LMS), were designed to alternate with biweekly quizzes. Log files with student activity and quiz scores were extracted from the course's page on the LMS. Engagement metrics including number of views and participations on the OADs and the quality of their engagement were used to assess the effectiveness of the study-strategy OADs. Results show that students who participated in the OADs before each quiz had a statistically higher quiz score compared to the ones who did not post in the OADs. The mixed effect models show a positive and statistically significant association between OAD participation levels and quiz performance. In addition, an increase in both views and participation levels in the OADs was associated with higher exam marks. In both cases, the quality of student participation was the most important predictor for grades. An email intervention shows that a short reminder email is more effective than long customized emails. In summary, this study demonstrates the utility of OADs as a space for students to view and practice multiple study strategies in the context of the course content.