Kizilcec et al., 2017, Experiment 2-Social Belonging: Reflecting on stories about common challenges to belonging in the transition to a course increased course persistence among students from less-developed countries and increased completion rates among students from more developed countries
Reference:
Kizilcec, R. F., Saltarelli, A. J., Reich, J., & Cohen, G. L. (2017). Closing global achievement gaps in MOOCs. Science, 355(6322), 251-252.
Download PDFSummary:
Students enrolled a massive open online course (MOOC) related to US public policy completed a social-belonging intervention modeled on Walton & Cohen, 2011 (or value-affirmation intervention) embedded in the course. Among students from less-developed countries (e.g., India, Pakistan, Egypt), the intervention increased course persistence (amount of course material studied) and raised the completion rate by 51%. There was no effect for students from more developed countries.
Psychological Process:
Need
Need to BelongWhat Desired Meaning is At Stake?
What is the Person Trying to Understand?
To Feel Connected, Included, Respected, and Valued by OthersHow?
Psychological Question Addressed
Can people "like me" come to belong?Can people "like me" come to belong?Faciliating beliefs that sustain belonging in the face of challengesPsychological Question Addressed
Can people "like me" come to belong?Psychological Process 2:
Psychological Process 3:
Social Area:
Education
Intervention Technique:
Increasing commitment through action, saying-is-believing