The impact of performance feedback on student study habits and grades

Last registered on December 06, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The impact of performance feedback on student study habits and grades
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012578
Initial registration date
November 26, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
December 06, 2023, 7:57 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Lavinia Kinne
Affiliation
DIW Berlin, Germany
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Margaret Leighton
PI Affiliation
University of St Andrews
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-11-27
End date
2024-12-31
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
High quality performance feedback can increase effort and help individuals identify areas for personal improvement; however, if not designed and delivered appropriately it can instead demotivate and discourage. In this study we experimentally vary the quality of feedback provided to students on their term-time performance in a large first year undergraduate module. We will vary the framing of negative performance feedback with a generic or specific positive message. We hypothesize that feedback framed with positive messaging will be better received and will lead to greater effort provision than feedback without such framing. This is hypothesized to be even stronger when the positive framing is personalized. Using detailed administrative data on date, duration and nature of student interactions with online module platforms, as well as grades on the final exam, we will evaluate the impact of different feedback qualities on effort and performance.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kinne, Lavinia and Margaret Leighton. 2023. "The impact of performance feedback on student study habits and grades." AEA RCT Registry. December 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12578-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-11-27
Intervention End Date
2023-12-05

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
study effort, exam performance
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Students are randomized into three treatment groups with negative feedback that is either not framed positively or framed positively in a general or personalized way. The randomization is stratified by the number of completed quizzes which is used in the personalized positive framing treatment arm.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is done via STATA software (random number generator)
Randomization Unit
individual level, stratified by number of completed quizzes
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
n/a
Sample size: planned number of observations
430 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
around 140
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of St Andrews School of Economics and Finance Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2023-07-18
IRB Approval Number
EC17178
Analysis Plan

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