The Research Problem
Procrastination. Schraw (2007) defines academic procrastination as “intentionally delaying or deferring work that must be completed” (p. 12). Research indicates that procrastination adversely affects academic progress because it limits both the quality and quantity of student work. Procrastination leads to a number of negative results, including a decrease in long-term learning. Despite the obvious consequences of this behavior, over 70% of undergraduate students in one study reported academic procrastination, with about 20% reporting habitual procrastination (Schouwenberg, 1995). Graduate students in another study demonstrated an even greater tendency to procrastinate on academic tasks at a rate of up to 3.5 times that of a comparison group of undergraduate students (Onwuegbuzie, 2004)
For many students, the tendency to procrastinate increases further in the online learning environment. In traditional classes, the requirement to attend lectures forces students to focus on class materials on a regular basis. At least part of their study time is distributed equally across the semester (Elvers, Polzella, and Graetz, 2003). Online students do not participate in regular class meetings, so there is an increased tendency to procrastinate and “cram” more study into less time, often resulting in poorer learning outcomes.
Motivation and Self-Regulation. Research on the effects of academic self-regulation and motivation on learning have demonstrated important links between the two (Schunk, 2005). Students with more developed self-regulatory cognitive skills tend to be more academically motivated and learn more than others (Pintrich, 2003).
Specific relationships should be identified between cognitive self-regulated learning strategies, academic motivation, and a particularly problematic behavior among online students: procrastination. This research will be guided by one primary question: Are intrinsic motivation and effort regulation as measured by the MSLQ predictive of student procrastination as measured by the PASS in graduate students enrolled in an online graduate course?
The Project Significance
If procrastination is prevalent in the online environment and detrimental to student learning, it is important for online faculty to identify factors that may reduce students’ tendency to procrastinate. Because procrastination can lead to decreased academic performance, it is important to better understand the influence students’ learning strategies and motivation have on procrastination.
More specifically, it is important to understand this relationship because students’ learning strategies and motivation are characteristics that can be addressed and improved. Self-regulated learning strategies can be addressed through instructional design, direct instruction, and modeling (Paris & Winograd, 2001; Perels, Gurtler, & Schmitz, 2005)). “Motivation to learn is alterable; it can be positively or negatively affected by the task, the environment, the teacher and the learner” (Angelo, 1003, p. 7). Academic motivation can be enhanced in a variety of ways including instructional strategies and design (Komarraju, 2008), social interaction with other students and faculty (Yang, Tsai, Kim, Cho, & Laffey, 2006), and by positively influencing student belief in the value of academic tasks and in their ability to successfully complete them (Angelo, 1993).
Researchers have just begun to fully explore the issue of procrastination in online courses with undergraduate students. Little research appears in the literature regarding procrastination behavior in online graduate students. If cognitive self-regulated learning strategies and academic motivation influence online students’ tendency to procrastinate, online faculty, and UT Online faculty in particular, could avail themselves of means to impact the tendency to procrastinate by specifically addressing learning strategies and motivation in course design.