TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ghosh, Arka
AU  - Cohen, Katherine A
AU  - Jans, Laura
AU  - Busch, Carly A
AU  - McDanal, Riley
AU  - Yang, Yuanyuan
AU  - Cooper, Katelyn M
AU  - Schleider, Jessica L
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/11/23
TI  - A Digital Single-Session Intervention (Project Engage) to Address Fear of Negative Evaluation Among College Students: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
JO  - JMIR Ment Health
SP  - e48926
VL  - 10
KW  - single-session intervention
KW  - fear of negative evaluation
KW  - active learning course
KW  - pilot randomized controlled trial
KW  - intervention
KW  - college student
KW  - science course
KW  - active learning
KW  - negative evaluation
AB  - Background: Increasingly, college science courses are transitioning from a traditional lecture format to active learning because students learn more and fail less frequently when they engage in their learning through activities and discussions in class. Fear of negative evaluation (FNE), defined as a student’s sense of dread associated with being unfavorably evaluated while participating in a social situation, discourages undergraduates from participating in small group discussions, whole class discussions, and conversing one-on-one with instructors. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the acceptability of a novel digital single-session intervention and to assess the feasibility of implementing it in a large enrollment college science course taught in an active learning way. Methods: To equip undergraduates with skills to cope with FNE and bolster their confidence, clinical psychologists and biology education researchers developed Project Engage, a digital, self-guided single-session intervention for college students. It teaches students strategies for coping with FNE to bolster their confidence. Project Engage provides biologically informed psychoeducation, uses interactive elements for engagement, and helps generate a personalized action plan. We conducted a 2-armed randomized controlled trial to evaluate the acceptability and the preliminary effectiveness of Project Engage compared with an active control condition that provides information on available resources on the college campus. Results: In a study of 282 upper-level physiology students, participants randomized to complete Project Engage reported a greater increase in overall confidence in engaging in small group discussions (P=.01) and whole class discussions (P<.001), but not in one-on-one interactions with instructors (P=.05), from baseline to immediately after intervention outcomes, compared with participants in an active control condition. Project Engage received a good acceptability rating (1.22 on a scale of –2 to +2) and had a high completion rate (>97%). Conclusions: This study provides a foundation for a freely available, easily accessible intervention to bolster student confidence for contributing in class. Trial Registration: OSF Registries osf.io/4ca68 http://osf.io/4ca68 
SN  - 2368-7959
UR  - https://mental.jmir.org/2023/1/e48926
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/48926
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37995114
DO  - 10.2196/48926
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/48926
ER  -