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Browsing by Author "Jones, Mia W."

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    Relationships Between Students’ Course Perceptions, Effort, and Achievement in an Online Course
    Jones, Brett D.; Krost, Kevin; Jones, Mia W. (2021-12-01)
    The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which students’ course perceptions (i.e., perceptions of empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring) and cost beliefs predict their effort and grades in an online course. We surveyed 1,446 students in an online geography course. Students completed closed- and open-ended items and we used structural equation modeling and qualitative coding to analyze the data. Students’ course perceptions predicted their course effort, which then predicted their final course grade. The quantitative findings demonstrated that students’ situational interest and perceptions of instructor caring were statistically significant predictors of their effort and achievement. The qualitative findings indicated that students’ perceptions of the usefulness of the course content and their interest affected their effort, as did the amount of time that they had available for course activities. The findings were moderated by students’ perceptions of course ease. Students reported decreased effort when they believed that they could succeed and the course was easy, and when they believed it was going to take a lot of time and the course was difficult. This study highlights the importance of designing courses that (a) interest students in the course activities, (b) foster perceptions of caring between the instructor and students, (c) are at an appropriate level of difficulty, and (d) provide a reasonable workload with considerations for students with time constraints. Researchers may use the findings to develop interventions and strategies that instructors can use to encourage students to put forth more effort in online courses.
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    Validation of the MUSIC model of academic motivation inventory: Evidence for use with veterinary medicine students
    Jones, Brett D.; Byrnes, Megan K.; Jones, Mia W. (Frontiers Media S.A., 2019-02-06)
    The MUSIC® Model of Motivation is used to help instructors select strategies that can increase students' motivation and engagement in courses. The MUSIC model is comprised of five categories of strategies titled: empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the MUSIC® Model of Academic Motivation Inventory (College Student version, short-form), demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties when used with students enrolled in a College of Veterinary Medicine. The inventory is comprised of five scales that correspond to the five MUSIC model components, and it measures the extent to which students perceive that: they have control in the course (empowerment); the activities in the course are useful to their future (usefulness); they can succeed in the course (success); the teaching activities and coursework are interesting (interest); and the instructor cares about students' learning and well-being (caring). The inventory has been validated for use with many different student populations, including students in different countries and of different ages (e.g., college students, middle and high school students, elementary school students). However, the inventory has not been validated for use with veterinary medicine students. We analyzed the data from 578 questionnaires that were obtained from students in six different courses at a College of Veterinary Medicine. We examined the psychometric properties of the MUSIC inventory by: (a) computing the internal consistency reliabilities for the scales; (b) calculating the fit indices and factor loadings obtained from confirmatory factor analyses; and (c) computing correlation coefficients between the inventory scales and students' self-reported effort in the course. The results provide evidence that the inventory demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties for use with veterinary medicine students. Consequently, the MUSIC Inventory can be used by researchers and instructors to assess students' motivation-related perceptions of courses.