Improving undergraduate students' email etiquette with computer‐based instruction

Farnsworth et al. (2024) built a 10-minute online module inside the campus learning system. Students read a short how-to sheet, watched a model email, took a five-item quiz, and saw instant feedback. The researchers tracked email quality across two course sections and checked if the skill carried over to brand-new messages.

Every student’s checklist score rose after the module and stayed high. The polite format also showed up in later emails the course had not trained. A tiny dose of instruction created a lasting change in how students write to professors.

The package mirrors other brief online BST wins. Laske et al. (2022) used remote video coaching to polish public speaking, and Callahan et al. (2022) taught Zoom manners to adults with disabilities. All three studies show you can teach adult interaction skills without sitting in the same room. Kirkpatrick et al. (2021) and Ampuero et al. (2025) also found one-shot BST enough for preservice teachers to hit 90 % fidelity on token boards or icon exchange. The common thread: short, clear models plus quick feedback equal fast skill gain. No contradictions appear; the new study simply swaps the target from speaking or token boards to email etiquette.

You can drop this module into any college course or staff training tomorrow. Upload the file, link the quiz, and let the LMS score it. In ten minutes your learners gain a professional skill that generalizes. If you supervise RBTs or teach university students, reuse the same four-step recipe: rule, model, quiz, feedback. It works for emails, Zoom manners, or any discrete workplace skill you need to install fast.