The role of active teaching, academic self-efficacy, and learning behaviors in student performance

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate a theoretical framework that examines and extends understanding of the role of cognitive/information processing, learning motivation and learning task behaviors in facilitating student engagement, course persistence and academic performance. Design/methodology/approach Student subjects were used to collect survey data. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the impact of active teaching, academic self-efficacy and task avoidance on the dependent variables – course grade, course persistence and expectancy for success. Findings Active teaching and academic self-efficacy were positive predictors of course grade while task avoidance was a negative predictor of course grade. Course persistence was positively impacted by academic self-efficacy and diminished by task-avoidance behaviors. Academic self-efficacy was shown to positively impact expectancy for success. Practical implications The results confirm the importance of adopting active teaching techniques, the need for periodic opportunities for experienced academic success and the need for coaching on self-regulation of study habits and class attendance behaviors. Originality/value This study builds on prior calls for more investigations on the role of teaching style on student psychological responses, engagement, learning task behaviors and academic performance. The teaching and learning processes were examined on four levels – attention/engagement, encoding, processing/synthesizing and learning task behaviors. In addition, prior work was extended by incorporating behavioral indicators (e.g. task avoidance) of learning motivation as opposed to reliance on self-reported levels of motivation that may have not been consistent with actual behaviors.