Synchronous or asynchronous learning: Personality and online course format

The current study investigates how personality variables typically associated with academic performance are related to success in online courses offered synchronously or asynchronously. Students completed surveys assessing conscientiousness (mini-IPIP) and impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness scale) and reported their grades during Fall 2020 when all courses were offered online. Impulsivity and academic performance were more negatively related in synchronous courses than asynchronous courses, consistent with our hypothesis that sustained attention is more critical to success in these courses. We also hypothesized that conscientiousness would be more positively related to grades in asynchronous courses because they are less structured and require more organizational effort by the student; we found no evidence for our prediction, however. Instead, exploratory analyses indicated that extraversion was negatively related to performance in asynchronous, but not in synchronous courses. This work demonstrates that personality variables are differentially related to learning in online courses with different formats. These results have implications for how university instructors and students may want to choose or offer courses in the future.