The use of instant messaging groups for various academic purposes is a rising, but largely understudied, trend in higher education institutions. In the present study we investigate the use purposes and outcomes of three types of academic instant messaging groups or AIMGs. Formal AIMGs are created and managed by teaching staff, class AIMGs are created by students and joined by all members of a particular class, and study AIMGs are smaller groups created by students that know each other personally or collaborate in group assignments. To advance understanding of the role of these groups in students’ wellbeing and academic development, we pose research questions concerning their associations with academic performance, academic stress, and students’ course experiences. We adopt an exploratory frame and survey methodology to collect data from a large sample of undergraduate students (n = 1752). Our findings indicate that, at the institution where data were collected, high rates of AIMG participation is the norm, with class AIMGs emerging as particularly popular. We find statistically significant interaction between formal and study AIMGs and academic performance, as well as between study AIMGs and academic stress. Participation in these groups also predicts students’ social experience of a learning community, as well as their perception of the teaching they receive. Throughout, however, the observed effects are small and their practical significance is questioned.

在高等教育机构中，出于各种学术目的使用即时通讯群组是一种上升趋势，但在很大程度上并未得到充分研究。在本研究中，我们调查了三种学术即时通讯组或 AIMG 的使用目的和结果。正式的 AIMG 由教学人员创建和管理，班级 AIMG 由学生创建并由特定班级的所有成员加入，而学习 AIMG 是由彼此认识或在小组作业中协作的学生创建的较小的小组。为了加深对这些群体在学生福祉和学业发展中的作用的理解，我们提出了有关他们与学业成绩、学业压力和学生课程体验的关联的研究问题。n = 1752)。我们的研究结果表明，在收集数据的机构中，AIMG 的高参与率是常态，其中类 AIMG 尤其受欢迎。我们发现正式和学习 AIMG 与学业成绩之间以及学习 AIMG 与学业压力之间存在统计学显着的相互作用。参与这些小组还可以预测学生在学习社区中的社交体验，以及他们对所接受教学的看法。然而，自始至终，观察到的影响很小，其实际意义受到质疑。