Work in Progress: Investigation of the Psychological and Demographic Characteristics that Impact Performance in Online Modules and Courses

This paper describes a work-in-progress research study, being conducted for a larger project funded by the National Science Foundation. The study is investigating the relationship between learners' psychological characteristics of mindset, self-efficacy, and metacognition and performance in online learning experiences focusing on skills and topics relating to Advanced Manufacturing. The unique nature of the project is that the online course experiences is intended for learners in four different settings: industry/workplace, 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges, and informal settings. Through this project, learners will enroll in the modules with varying levels of expertise as well as beliefs, goals, and motivational factors that may impact their behaviors and performance. The study may be of interest to educational researchers of psychological influences on learning as well as practitioners who develop online learning experiences. This paper describes the overall project, the corresponding educational research study, and progress on the project to date.