Early Intervention of Undergraduate Tutorial System and Improvement of Students' Performance: An Empirical Study based on Nudges Theory

Abstract

Based on the undergraduate tutorial system which has been implemented for many years, the effect of early teaching intervention in microeconomics course in colleges and universities is studied. At the end of first six weeks of the second semester, if freshman' scores below the threshold (70), he or she will be referred to the tutor for additional tutoring, including selective help in course content, as well as training in time management and learning skills. In the study, Regression discontinuity design (RDD) method was used to find that early intervention improved students' scores on common problems in final exam by 5.1% to 8.9%. Students with lower than average math scores in the college entrance examination, especially girls, the effect is more obvious. The results show that low-cost early mild intervention may significantly affect students' academic performance. regression discontinuity individual characteristics of of analyze the influence of teaching intervention on students' final examination results, type of students benefited the most from intervention. Then, through the similar analysis of the who studied microeconomics the semester before the intervention, the was carried out. Results of the study suggest that policymakers and researchers need to use nudge policies to carefully consider potential behavioural incentives, including which interventions are targeted and to better predict who an intervention will be effective for. The study found that student who had just fallen below the threshold, that is, those who needed tutoring from undergraduate mentors, had better scores on common issues in the final exam than those who had just exceeded the threshold. In addition, freshmen who lack relevant knowledge of economics benefit the most from intervention. Students with above-average math scores improved 3.1%, while students whose math scores were below average improved 18.4% as a result of intervention, which meant that attention should be focused on some students who did not perform well in their studies. The early nudge intervention raised students' awareness of learning and made them aware of the resources available on campus for learning, help and life skills. Intervention can also improve students' subjective well-being, reduce stress, make them feel more supported, and benefit students' mental health, which is a method that can achieve practical results and is relatively low cost. Although this study focuses on microeconomics courses, the research methods and conclusions are also applicable to other types of professional entry-level courses.