Engaging Graduate Students to Write Their Thesis Paper: An Instructional Design Approach

Abstract

Many graduate students face the unprecedented challenge of working full time while attending school to further their careers in obtaining a master’s degree. A common occurrence is that graduate students finish their coursework but not their thesis research. Thesis writing is a learned skill, and although students are often subject matter experts in their professions, many do not possess thesis writing knowledge. Using the ADDIE approach to student-centered learning, a web-based Thesis Writing Workshop is offered to help students write their thesis. This project evaluated graduate student interest in joining the Thesis Writing Workshop, and once joined, engaging them to write their thesis inside a 2D metaverse called Gather Town. Student attitudes and opinions were measured using performance objectives in the affective domain with Keller’s ARCS Model of Motivation and Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction. Two formative evaluations were conducted with 20 graduate students and one subject matter expert. A usability assessment implemented a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis to identify 45 problems in the workshop. After revisions were made, a learning assessment was conducted through a retrospective survey. Results revealed that 80% of students would consider joining or would join the workshop to write their papers to obtain their degree.