Location
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii
Event Website
https://hicss.hawaii.edu/
Start Date
7-1-2025 12:00 AM
End Date
10-1-2025 12:00 AM
Description
Online Learning Platforms (OLPs) are rapidly expanding, yet users of OLPs face high dropout rates due to social isolation and lack of motivation. Accountability partnership, where users communicate and monitor each other’s learning progress, is an emerging feature that OLPs incorporated to address the setbacks. This study investigates the impacts of accountability partnerships on OLP users’ learning behaviors. Analyzing data from Shanbay, an English learning platform in China, we show that accountability partnerships have dual effects on users. On the one hand, having an accountability partner increases users’ check-ins on OLPs. On the other hand, users with accountability partners decrease their actual study time and show more pretending-to-study behaviors on OLPs. Additionally, we demonstrate that communications among partners and the personal goals of individuals enhance the positive effect (increased check-ins) of accountability partnerships while mitigating the negative effects (reduced study time and more pretending behaviors). These insights underscore the dual-edged nature of accountability in online learning, highlighting both its motivational benefits and potential pitfalls.
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Xiaohui; Sabzehzar, Amin; Zhou, Tongxin; and Guo, Hong, "Impacts of Accountability Partners on Users’ Online Learning Behaviors" (2025). Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2025 (HICSS-58). 3.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-58/cl/teaching_and_learning_technologies/3
Impacts of Accountability Partners on Users’ Online Learning Behaviors
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii
Online Learning Platforms (OLPs) are rapidly expanding, yet users of OLPs face high dropout rates due to social isolation and lack of motivation. Accountability partnership, where users communicate and monitor each other’s learning progress, is an emerging feature that OLPs incorporated to address the setbacks. This study investigates the impacts of accountability partnerships on OLP users’ learning behaviors. Analyzing data from Shanbay, an English learning platform in China, we show that accountability partnerships have dual effects on users. On the one hand, having an accountability partner increases users’ check-ins on OLPs. On the other hand, users with accountability partners decrease their actual study time and show more pretending-to-study behaviors on OLPs. Additionally, we demonstrate that communications among partners and the personal goals of individuals enhance the positive effect (increased check-ins) of accountability partnerships while mitigating the negative effects (reduced study time and more pretending behaviors). These insights underscore the dual-edged nature of accountability in online learning, highlighting both its motivational benefits and potential pitfalls.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-58/cl/teaching_and_learning_technologies/3