Can Student Engagement in Online Courses Predict Performance on Online Knowledge Surveys

The link between student engagement and academic performance has been widely examined. However, most of these studies have focused on ascertaining the existence of such a relationship on the summative assessment level. By comparing students’ experience points in an online course and students’ scores on online knowledge surveys (KS), this study examined the relationship between student engagement and performance on online KS on the formative assessment level. Knowledge surveys were developed and formatively administered in four sections of an online Integration of ICT in Education course. Using Moodle Feedback Module, knowledge surveys were designed based on three key elements: learning objectives, the course content, and the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning objectives. Using rated multiple choice KS questions, the correlation between students’ scores on KSs and students’ experience points was calculated using SPSS. The results show that students’ confidence levels in ability to answer KS questions increased in some of the course sections and decreased in others.  The student engagement in online course was positively—but weakly—related to student performance on online KS and the strength of this relationship increased as the course unfolded. Our conclusion is that student engagement in online courses would not be an accurate predictor of student performance on online Knowledge surveys right at the beginning of an instructional process.

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