Nudging to Improve: Impact of Nudges on Students’ Progress and Academic Performance

Abstract

Nudge is a concept introduced by behavioral sciences to ameliorate the attitude and behavior of individuals by utilizing the concept of positive reinforcement. The execution of nudges in a targeted and proper way has the potential to induce motivation in learners by identifying and making amends in the potential learning gaps. The present study used repeated nudges for a targeted group of students who performed subpar in the summative assessment of an integrated module and followed their performance in repeated online formative assessments. The identified students were sent multiple nudges through social media in the subsequent module. The summative scores of these students during both modules were compared with the rest of the students of the same class. The mean score of the study participants showed a significant improvement in comparison to the mean score of the rest of the class at the end of the second module. A significant improvement in the attendance, MCQ score and the overall score of the nineteen students in the second summative assessment were observed after frequent nudging. Students responding more frequently to our nudges showed more improvement in overall scores and attendance as compared to the participants who were less responsive to nudges. Nudging resulted in significant consequential improvement in the summative scores and attendance in comparison to other students. Nudging could be an effective strategy to incentivize students and allow them to identify their weak areas and put more effort into their studies and hence improve grades.