Proportion of Available Points Predicts Student Attendance in College Courses

Regina A. Carroll, Claire C. St. Peter

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

One intervention used to increase attendance at collegiate class meetings is to provide points for activities that take place in class; however, the percentage of course points necessary to facilitate high attendance is unknown. In Experiment 1, we assessed the relation between the relative percentage of points available for in-class activities and student attendance across three psychology courses. Across all three courses, students were more likely to attend on class days when higher percentages of course points were available for in-class activities. In Experiment 2, we replicated our findings from Experiment 1 while assessing the relation between the absolute value of points available and student attendance across two additional psychology courses. The results of Experiment 2 show that the absolute number of points available influenced attendance less than the relative value of course points available for in-class activities. Our findings suggest that instructors should consider the relative value of points available on class days when attempting to design course activities to maximize attendance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)61-69
Number of pages9
JournalPsychological Record
Volume67
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Academic interventions
  • Attendance
  • College instruction
  • Students

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • General Psychology

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