Academic self-efficacy, online self-efficacy, and fixed and faded scaffolding in computer-based learning environments

This research aimed to determine the effects of motivational scaffolding and adaptive scaffolding on academic and online self-efficacy in learners interacting with a multimedia learning environment within the field of technology. The study involved 146 students from four tenth-grade classes at a public institution in the municipality of Soacha (Cundinamarca-Colombia). The research followed a quasi-experimental design with two independent variables: (1) motivational scaffolding (static and faded by the student) and (2) adaptive scaffolding (fixed and differentiated), it also included two dependent variables; academic and online self-efficacy. A factorial MANCOVA statistical analysis showed a significant interaction of adaptive scaffolding and motivational scaffolding on self-efficacy for online learning. There was also evidence that differential adaptive scaffolding had a substantial effect on academic and online self-efficacy. These findings suggest that the use of motivational and differential pedagogical and/or didactic strategies in virtual learning environments, which integrate scaffolding faded by the student, enhances learners’ personal judgments about their abilities to learn content within the field of technology.