The role of motivation in predicting academic success of Medical students in Online Courses

Objective: To assess the correlation and predictive value of different constructs of motivation in achieving academic success in online medical course. Study Design: Cross sectional, analytic study using Convenience sampling. Place and Duration: The study was conducted in the Anatomy Department at Foundation University Medical College 1st June 2020 to 1st Dec 2020. Methodology: First and Second year MBBS Students (n=210) undergoing an online course were administered the “Motivational strategies” component of “Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire” in which the students rated themselves on Likert scale. After the course, the students were assessed by a test. The “Motivational constructs” which included, “Intrinsic Goal Orientation, Extrinsic Goal Orientation, Task value, Control of Learning Belief, Self-efficacy for learning and performance and Test Anxiety” were considered as independent variables, whereas the test scores were the dependent variable. The normality of the data was confirmed and Correlation coefficient for each scale with the test scores was calculated using Pearson’s test. Significance was calculated using ANOWA. A p value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Predictive validity of motivational scales for academic success were calculated for both courses by applying Multiple Regression analysis. Results: The Correlational coefficient was highest for “Test Anxiety”(r=-0.718). Multiple Regression analysis revealed that 71.9% (R square=0.719) of the variance is explained by “Test Anxiety” and “Extrinsic goal orientation.” The Beta value “Test anxiety” was -0.576 making it the largest contributor to the variance. Conclusion: Among the Motivational constructs, “Test Anxiety” has the strongest correlation and is a powerful negative predictor of Academic success in online medical course. Keywords: Academic success, Extrinsic Goal Orientation, Intrinsic Goal Orientation, Motivation; Online course, Test Anxiety