The number of students dropping out has long been high, and many students give up their studies prematurely, especially in the first few years. The reasons for these decisions are varied and cannot be generalized. On the one hand, they are based on experiences made: The individual realization that subject areas or methods do not meet one’s own preferences leads to changing subjects or pursuing completely different paths. Other reasons for dropping out of university, on the other hand, are avoidable: the transition from school to higher education poses challenges for many young people. In addition to the environment, the demands on organizational skills, independent learning behavior and, last but not least, the complexity of the content taught are also changing. This is where a mobile learning app could help.
Institutions such as universities are keen to minimize the number of avoidable student drop-outs. One possible answer is to target students in their everyday lives: The use of mobile devices has become an integral part of young adults’ lives. Smartphones are no longer used solely for communication, but increasingly for banking and many other things in addition to organization and navigation. In short, the devices are part of everyday life and use of them is as frequent as it is intensive. Based on these findings, it is certainly possible to foresee potential that suggests using these devices to support students. The question therefore arises as to whether and how a mobile learning application could be suitable for making the initial phase of studies and its challenges easier for those affected and thus prevent them from dropping out.
From the conception of a requirements profile…
Professor Florian Johannsen began developing a corresponding app for the field of economics with a team during his time at the University of Bremen. Even after taking up his professorship for Business Application Systems at the Faculty of Computer Science at HSM, he is still part of this project. In addition to Professor Jochen Zimmermann, Dr. Martin Kipp, Dr. Johannes Voshaar and M.Sc. Janik Ole Wecks from the Chair of General Business Administration, Management Accounting and Controlling (University of Bremen), the project team also includes colleagues Prof. Thomas Loy (now at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich) and student assistant Patrick Heusmann.. In five publications to date, the researchers have presented different stages of development and consequently also different stages of implementation of the “WiWiNow” app.
The initial question was what are the reasons for students dropping out and what are the specific needs and challenges of students at the beginning of their academic career: What are the individual motives and situations that tip the scales in favor of dropping out? And how can an app support students, what functions and features must be offered? The involvement of those affected is important here, as it is precisely their experiences that are important and they are best suited to provide information on which features would not only be useful, but are actually used. This point is as trivial as it is relevant: When designing an app, it is not just functionality and usability that need to be considered, but also the likelihood of regular use. It’s about integrating the app as an active part of everyday life and thus increasing the useful effects. But first things first…
At the beginning there was empirical evidence that not only the educational background has an influence on the success or failure of higher education pathways, but also bad experiences in the studies themselves as well as psychological factors such as inefficient learning strategies or the lack of self-organization (Johannsen et al. 21, p. 1). These skills are assumed in higher education, which is a major difference to the school context. At the same time, they are new territory for many students. Drop-out rates are comparatively high during the first semesters of the study program, while studies have also identified a lack of social and academic integration in the German education system, which leads to increased drop-out rates (cf. Johannsen et al. 23, p. 636f.). These challenges of the transition-in phase[1] could be remedied by an app that not only serves to coordinate seminar and lecture dates, but also tracks and makes learning behavior transparent and deepens knowledge through exercises and playful elements.
… for the development of an app…
The first phase of the project dealt with the design of a prototype based on specific design specifications and the assessment of a technical framework: the definition of three meta-requirements was transformed into eight design requirements that the app should fulfill (cf. Johannsen et al. 23, Fig. 2, p. 639). The aim was therefore to clarify what the app should deliver and what the best technical solution would be. After an initial orientation on the design of the application and an overview of the alternatives available on the market, a group of students who were in their second or third year of study were interviewed: The idea was to learn from their experiences of the challenges, elicit any possible solutions and finally gather requirements for the app. A second survey targeted a group of teachers who are in close contact with the students and are familiar with their problems. At the same time, they have a wealth of experience of everyday academic life. Based on these two user groups, user journeys were described, i.e. how potential users interact with the app and how they are guided through it. The prototype was then used to carry out various test phases and improve both the front and back end.
Now was the time to test the app under real conditions. The app was made available to students in a compulsory introductory course on accounting in the 2020/21 winter semester. To avoid bias, there were no bonuses for participating in the study. It is also important to mention the pandemic and the fact that teaching has gone digital – which of course changes the testing conditions. Participants were asked to provide socio-demographic and structural data that would be included in the subsequent evaluation. In addition, data on app use (including duration of use and quiz performance), data on course participation (in addition to the course, also the accompanying tutorial) and academic performance (exam performance) were collected. Naturally, the data was anonymized and data protection was ensured. In the end, the data from 575 participants was included in the study (cf. Voshaar et al. 22, p. 7).
The results showed that more intensive use of the app had a significantly positive effect on exam results. Precisely because the increased use of the app also correlated positively with factors relating to attendance at the preliminary courses and tutorials – and it was therefore unclear what the decisive factor in the increase in performance was – further investigations were necessary. In other words, it remained unclear whether the use of the app itself had positive effects or whether higher-performing or more motivated students were more likely to use the app on their own initiative, which would reduce the influence of the app (cf. Voshaar et al. 22, p. 14). However, after correction with the help of a control variable that was adjusted to the influencing factors of self-selection, the initial results proved to be robust. After these thoroughly positive findings, the research on the app could be continued.
… on the determination of quality dimensions of use …
Another approach that has led to a publication dealing with the various quality dimensions of acceptance that an application can have and that are associated with its use. Four quality dimensions were identified which should be served by the app and which can themselves be broken down into subcategories: If system quality is about the way in which information is prepared by an app, service quality is aimed at the support offered. Information quality, on the other hand, includes the evaluation of the content provided, whereas the quality dimension of perceived enjoyment during use is just as self-explanatory as a category relevant for reuse (cf. Johannsen et al. 23, p. 641 – 644). With the intention of reuse and perceived user satisfaction, two aspects from the user perspective then follow, which in turn can be coupled with different quality dimensions and at the same time both have an influence on learning effectiveness as the last aspect.
One goal in the design of the app was to combine the functionality and convenience of commercial apps in structuring everyday life with university-related content, organizational functionalities and playful elements (cf. Johannsen et al. 23, p. 638f.). With the help of the different quality dimensions, strengths and weaknesses in user-friendliness can be identified, which in turn at least indirectly sheds light on the implementation in everyday life.
As a result, an end-of-semester user experience survey of 131 students was evaluated, although the actual sample consisted of 113 students for various reasons (e.g., incomplete data sets).. The noted quality dimensions, which were decomposed into various items, were included in this evaluation. The system and information quality as well as the quality dimension of perceived enjoyment promote user satisfaction, with the last quality dimension also increasing the intention to reuse. In turn, learning effectiveness is positively influenced by user satisfaction and intention. Based on this data, the design of the app and its fulfillment of the requirements could be checked and adjusted (cf. Johannsen et al. 23, p. 651ff.). Furthermore, four specific design principles could be formulated that an app should observe in relation to the transition-in phase: In addition to a participation management function, a control function of independent learning is required. There must also be cross-platform accessibility, and the content must be easy to organize (cf. Johannsen et al. 23, p. 655f.).
… about the improvement of learning behavior …
In another study presented at the 44th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) in Hyderabad, an attempt was made to measure the app in light of established approaches to learning effectiveness. Although an improvement in grades in final exams has already been demonstrated, this aspect is only a partial contribution to the goal of reducing drop-out rates. Lizzio (2011) developed the concept of five success factors for student success in relation to the transition-in phase: The success factors are connectedness, e.g. with academic life, capability of self-organization, etc., purpose, e.g. of academic practices, resourcefulness in coordinating different demands and culture in the sense of appreciation of higher education. The second approach distinguishes between different learning models, each with its own characteristics: In addition to surface learning, strategic learning and, lastly, deep learning can be cited (cf. Voshaar et al. 23, p. 3f.). While the first learning behavior remains unfocused and ephemeral, the second model is subject to the maxim of efficiency and does not attribute any intrinsic value to what is learned. Deep learning, on the other hand, can best be explained as an independent penetration of knowledge. The aim was to find out whether the app or certain elements help to master the challenges of the transition-in phase.
The evaluation of the study showed that using the app can positively influence the senses of capability and resourcefulness. It also reinforces strategic and reduces superficial learning behavior. Accordingly, the app helps with student self-organization, promotes independent learning and insight into institutional requirements in higher education. It should be possible to use this potential to reduce drop-out rates, as students are supported with the challenges identified in the initial phase of their studies via the app.
In combination with analogue support services on site, the various components of the app have different support potentials, ranging from self-organization and exam preparation to the development of a student identity. Precisely because deficits in efficient learning strategies and time management harbor enormous potential for frustration, the app can provide productive impetus here. Finally, the playful elements of the app serve to motivate students to use it again. In this way, the app can not only improve exam performance but also offer other forms of support that affect self-organization as well as learning behavior.
… to the differentiation of various app features
In the most recent study, the Bremen team, together with Florian Johannsen, is looking at the question of whether the individual components of the app can be differentiated based on their effectiveness. This study was presented at the 45th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) in Bangkok. First, it was confirmed that app users have a significantly better result in the tests. A breakdown into different types of use (exercises, quizzes and self-organization) revealed no significant differences in terms of improved exam performance.
The subsequent research question was whether the components of the app support the requirements and principles of the design to varying degrees. It can initially be stated that all three app features positively support performance, with one exception: answering complex questions was not significantly positively supported by the quiz feature. This is also quite plausible, as the quizzes are aimed at the retrieval of knowledge and not its application in difficult cases.
In relative terms, it can be said that the exercise function has the strongest supporting effect, which at the same time remains stable across the different question types. The quizzes were also helpful for the students with the simple question complexes that called up standard knowledge. The self-organization feature also contributed to the improvement of exam performance, but to a lesser extent. The students in the specific study therefore benefited most from the exercise function, whereby the quizzes were useful for building up knowledge. Although the self-organization functions have a relatively low added value for examination performance, their positive effects could arise in other ways and relate more to the students’ basic identity formation. By comparing the two design aspects, recommendations for app developers, students and teachers can be formulated (cf. Voshaar et al. 24, p.13f.).
Several questions are still open, so research into the usefulness of a mobile learning app will continue. In addition to the question of the usefulness of the organizational features and their descriptive representing, the components of the app can also be further decomposed and differentiated in terms of their positive effects. It is precisely because new technologies such as the smartphone or mobile devices have become an integral part of everyday life that the implementation of a mobile learning app makes sense and its exploration is necessary, also to meet the need for location- and time-independent offerings. The different forms of teaching and learning are not about competition, but about complementarity. Digitalization is also providing new impetus here, which can be productively integrated into technologies such as a learning app.
Literature (sorted chronologically)
- Lizzio, A. (2011), The Student Lifecycle: An Integrative Framework for Guiding Practice. Griffith University.
- Johannsen, F; Knipp, M; Loy, T; Voshaar, J; Zimmermann, J (2021): A mobile app to support students in the “transition-in” phase. Proceedings of the 29th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2021), Research-in-Progress Paper.
- Voshaar, J., Knipp, M., Loy, T., Zimmermann, J. and Johannsen, F. (2022), “The impact of using a mobile app on learning success in accounting education”, Accounting Education, Vol. No. pp. 1-26.
- Johannsen, F., Knipp, M., Loy, T. et al. (2023): What impacts learning effectiveness of a mobile learning app focused on first-year students? Inf Syst E-Bus Manage (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-023-00644-0
- Voshaar, J., Wecks, J.O., Johannsen, F., Knipp, M., Loy, T., Zimmermann, J. (2023): Supporting Students in the Transition to Higher Education: Evidence from a Mobile App in Accounting Education, Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2023), Hyderabad, India.
- Voshaar, J., Johannsen, F., Mkervalidze, S. and Zimmermann, J. (2024). Unbundling the App Advantage: Evaluating Exam Performance-enhancing Features of Mobile Learning Apps in Accounting. International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2024). Bangkok.
[1] The transition-in phase is a stage of the student cycle according to Lizzio (2011). He divides studies into various phases, some of which are upstream and some downstream, in which different student identities emerge depending on the genuine challenges, tasks and status.