Online learning
Who thrives in emergency online language courses?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Among Chinese language majors forced online by COVID-19, personality and degree level predicted learning outcomes more than gender.
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Discoveries this paper informs or conflicts with
- Gender and neuroticism predicted nothing; four other traits predicted a lot
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Who thrives in emergency online language courses?
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Did gender significantly predict online learning outcomes?
the demographic variables gender and neuroticism did not contribute significantly to the regression model for the dependent variable–learning outcomes
Which personality trait failed to predict outcomes alongside gender?
gender and neuroticism did not contribute significantly to the regression model for the dependent variable–learning outcomes
Key findings
Gender and neuroticism did not significantly predict learning outcomes, while educational level, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness did. Together those predictors explained a large share of outcome variance. Postgraduates tended to prefer online study more than undergraduates, who were more easily distracted by videos and competing online activity.
Methodology
Researchers surveyed 1,152 language majors at a Chinese public university who had taken online courses for at least four months during the pandemic. They modeled self-reported learning outcomes against gender, undergraduate versus postgraduate status, and Big Five personality scores, then followed up with interviews.
Limitations
The sample is limited to Chinese language majors during an emergency remote semester, so results may not transfer to other subjects, countries, or carefully designed online programs. Learning outcomes were analyzed via regression on survey measures rather than a randomized instructional experiment, so personality effects are correlational.
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