The Midterm Wrapper: Quasi-Experimental Evidence of an Effective Performance Intervention

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21100/compass.v16i2.1414

Keywords:

performance intervention, midterm grades, study skills

Abstract

The current study examined the effectiveness of a midterm performance intervention designed to help Introductory Psychology students improve their study skills and course performance over the second half of the semester. The ‘midterm wrapper’, a self-reflective online performance intervention, asks students to engage actively with their midterm grade feedback by listing all scores that made up this grade, comparing their own past study strategies and academic habits to a list of effective strategies and habits and listing the study-related adjustments they plan to make for the second half of the semester. In a quasi-experiment, we compared 402 students who completed the midterm wrapper to 376 students who did not complete it on their post-midterm course performance. As hypothesized, controlling for pre-midterm performance, students who completed the midterm wrapper assignment scored higher on all post-midterm exams, completed more post-midterm homework assignments and ended the course with higher final grades than those who did not complete the assignment. The midterm wrapper takes little time on the part of instructors or students, but it is an effective means of encouraging students to reflect on their past performance and make necessary adjustments in time to improve their overall course performance.

Author Biographies

Christie Cathey, Missouri State University

Christie Cathey is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Missouri State University.  She received her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Connecticut in 2002.

Lydia Needy

Lydia Needy is currently a social psychology PhD student and research assistant at Texas A&M University. She earned her master’s degree in experimental psychology at Missouri State University where she was also a teaching assistant and instructor of record. Lydia’s primary research focuses on existential psychological topics. Specifically, the nuanced experiences of authenticity, self-alienation, and meaning in life for those with concealable stigmatized identities.

Charles Hoogland

Charles E. Hoogland, Ph.D., is an Applied Research Scientist in the Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. His current research focuses on the quantitative evaluation of tobacco cessation interventions in vulnerable populations (e.g., people with HIV, cancer patients, and food bank patrons). Previously, he held full-time academic positions in which he taught a variety of Psychology courses, first as an Instructor at Missouri State University, and later as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. Doctor Hoogland earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (Social Psychology emphasis) and a graduate certificate in College Teaching and Learning at the University of Kentucky, and an M.A. in General Experimental Psychology at Wake Forest University.

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Published

08/25/2023

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2023)

Section

Research Articles

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