Self-control’ and social media during online lectures: Addressing the elephant in the distance learning classrooms

Abstract

In the absence of conventional "face-to-face" (F2F) teaching in a physical classroom environment, students are deprived of overt motivation and concealed inspiration induced by the physical presence of teachers and peers. [...]the extent of scrupulous learning solely depends upon the determination and self-control possessed by an individual student. Self-control is defined as a "state of self-initiated regulation of thoughts, feelings, and actions when enduringly valued goals conflict with momentarily more gratifying goals".1 Self-regulated learning involves a combination of psychological processes that include self-control, academic self-motivation and learning strategies, all of which are involved in making a student an independent learner.2 In other words, this combination of processes helps determines student engagement towards the course content.3 Considering the number of distractions available today, sustaining self-control during the process of acquiring knowledge is undeniably challenging and frustrating. Persistent self-control against such distractions is among the most difficult actions for students in part because of the monotonous and unexciting nature of the study material and the online format in contrast to more engaging and exciting material available on social media.4 In one study, 92% of undergraduates acknowledged that they had either sent or received text messages during class.5 In the context of the academic environment, student responses to various learning scenarios can be classified as either academic goal-congruent (AGC) or academic goal-incongruent (AGI). [...]the impulse which reaches the threshold manifests as the response.8 To articulate the regulation of impulses, let us examine various strategies operating at the corresponding stages of self-control.