Group and Individualized Motivational Messages Sent by Short Message Service

and E-Mail to Improve Student Achievement

by
Damith Wickramanayake

An Applied Dissertation Submitted to the

Fischler School of Education and Human Services
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Doctor of Education

Nova Southeastern University

2006
 Approval Page

This applied dissertation was submitted by Damith Wickramanayake under the direction
of the persons listed below. It was submitted to the Fischler School of Education and
Human Services and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education at Nova Southeastern University.

_____________________________________ ____________________________
Charles Schlosser, PhD Date
Committee Chair

_____________________________________ ____________________________
Todd A. Curless, PhD Date
Committee Member

_____________________________________ ____________________________
Maryellen Maher, PhD Date
Executive Dean for Research and Evaluation

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 Acknowledgments

This study could not have been completed without the help of many people.

Charles Schlosser, as my adviser, advising me on a motivational study, utilized the

concept of motivation effectively throughout the period of the study to encourage me

when I was really down. His extensive corrections in technical aspects as well as

grammar and APA style helped me to complete this applied dissertation successfully.

Todd Curless gave an invaluable second-view point to the study. He pointed out

several major aspects that ended up strengthening the study.

I would like to thank my students at the University of Technology Jamaica who

were subjects of this study and my colleagues and head of the School of Computing who

encouraged me to finish this study

Len Matthews, my neighbor, whose painful and careful proof-reading finally

ended this study successfully. He also motivated me whenever he saw me questioning the

progress of the study.

Finally, special thanks to my brother, Sisila, who relieved me of my

responsibilities to aging parents, so that I could concentrate on this study.

Dedication

This work is dedicated to my late parents who encouraged me to start this study

and motivated me throughout the study but who both passed away before I finished.

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 Abstract

Group and Individualized Motivational Messages Sent by Short Message Service and
E-Mail to Improve Student Achievement. Damith Wickramanayake, 2006: Applied
Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Fischler School of Education and Human
Services. Databases/Internet/Educational Trends/Educational Practices

For many years, it has been generally accepted that communication and motivation affect
students learning. Properly designed communication can enhance the students’
motivation to learn. This paper described a study to determine whether a personalized
Motivational Message System (MMS) was more effective than a group MMS at the
School of Computing and Information Technology situated on the campus of The
University of Technology, Jamaica. A specific course (Business Information
Management Systems) was selected to test whether the above statement was, in fact, true.

Forty-four students were randomly selected and divided into two groups. All the students
were part-time, undergraduate, final, 4th-year students.

Two methods were used to deliver the MMS to students. Those methods were: text
messages on mobile phones (Short message service) and e-mail. E-mail was used to
deliver the messages only when length of the messages was more than 160 characters, or
the messages contained graphics. J. M. Keller’s (2003) ARCS model of motivation was
used to design the MMS.

The students’ grades for 4 tests were used as the motivational levels of students. Tests
were spread from the middle to the end of the semester. No significant difference was
found in averaged course grades between the 2 groups. However, there was a significant
difference between the 2 groups in attendance. Contrary to hypothesis, the students who
received the group messages had a higher level of attendance than the students who
received the personalized messages. This may have been due to the fact that the students
who were evening part-time had limited time. Hence, if their grades were better, they
may have tended not to attend the classes and utilized that time for something else they
found important. Another explanation may be that students who received the personalized
messages may have thought that they received personalized attention from the lecturer
whether they came to classes or not, resulting in poor attendance.

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 Table of Contents

Page
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................1
Introduction .........................................................................................................1
Background..........................................................................................................1
Communication....................................................................................................3
Motivation ...........................................................................................................5
Theories of Motivation.........................................................................................5
Models of Motivation...........................................................................................7
Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................14
Research Question .............................................................................................14
Significance of the Study ...................................................................................15
Summary ...........................................................................................................15

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ...............................................................................16

Introduction .......................................................................................................16
Communication in Education .............................................................................16
Motivation .........................................................................................................23
Theories of Motivation.......................................................................................25
Motivational Models ..........................................................................................28
Obstacles to Motivational Design.......................................................................34
Summary ...........................................................................................................35

Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................37

Introduction .......................................................................................................37
Participants ........................................................................................................37
Procedure...........................................................................................................38
Instruments ........................................................................................................38
Research Construct ............................................................................................42
Data Analysis and Validity.................................................................................42
Summary ...........................................................................................................43

Chapter 4: Results..........................................................................................................44
Introduction .......................................................................................................44
Test Results .......................................................................................................44
Additional Test Results ......................................................................................46
Summary ...........................................................................................................47

Chapter 5: Discussion of Results....................................................................................48

Introduction .......................................................................................................48
Motivation, ARCS Model, E-Mail, and SMS .....................................................48
Discussion of Results--The Research Question Against Five Tests.....................49
Discussion of Results--Additional Analysis Using Two Tests ............................51
Limitations of the Study.....................................................................................52
Suggestions for Further Research .......................................................................53
Summary ...........................................................................................................54

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References.....................................................................................................................55

Appendixes
A Motivational Design Activities and Process Questions...............................62
B Group and Personalized Messages.............................................................64
C Means and Standard Deviations for Final Exam Essay Grades of PMM
Group and GMM Group............................................................................67
D Means and Standard Deviations for Total Grades of PMM Group and
GMM Group .............................................................................................69
E Means and Standard Deviations for Attendance Grades of PMM Group
and GMM Group.......................................................................................71
F Means and Standard Deviations for Total Final Exam Grades of PMM
Group and GMM Group............................................................................73

Tables
1 Schedule of Messages Indicating Timing, Reason, and the Method of
Sending .....................................................................................................39
2 Means and Standard Deviations for Midsemester Test Grades of
Personalized Motivational Messages Group and Group
Motivational Messages Group ...................................................................45
3 Means and Standard Deviations for Case Presentation Grades of
Personalized Motivational Messages Group and Group
Motivational Messages Group ...................................................................46
4 Means and Standard Deviations for Final Exam MCQ Grades of
Personalized Motivational Messages Group and Group Motivational
Messages Group........................................................................................47

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