Adolescent and Adult Student Attitudes Towards Progress Visualizations

Keeping students motivated for the duration of a course is easier said than done. Contextualizing student efforts with learning progress visualizations can help maintain engagement. However, progress can be visualized in many different ways. So far very little research has been done into which types of visualizations are most effective, and how different contexts affect the effectiveness of visualizations. We compare the effects of two different progress visualizations in an introductory programming course. Preliminary results show that older students prefer a visualization that emphasizes long-term progress, whereas younger students prefer a visualization that highlights progress within a single week. Additionally, students perform better and are more motivated when their visualization matches their age group’s preferred visualization. Possible explanations and implications are discussed.Peer reviewe

How School Counselors Promote Growth Mindset in Their Practice: Five Views of Agency in the Motivation of Elementary Students

The construct of growth mindset has become an increasing focus of educators as they seek ways to promote goal attainment among students. The growth mindset framework suggests that attributes such as high performance, skill development, and ability can be developed through motivation, sustained effort, and grit. Allowing for the possibility of continuing academic and personal growth, a positive mindset stresses the agency of perseverance and redirection in the face of challenge. Such an approach stands in contrast to a fixed or stagnant view of individual ability. Promoting a perspective of resilience and progress through growth mindset strategies is viewed as a potentially useful tool that educators who serve in a supportive role can provide through their own agency and role definition. The role of school counselors in this process reflects the nature of their supportive work with students. The agency of school counselors in promoting forward-moving direction and ultimate success through growth mindset approaches calls for examination. This qualitative exploratory research gathered data through two successive interviews each with five school counselors from northern New England regarding the targeted work they conduct with students for the purpose of promoting academic success. The study focused on the degree to which these elementary school counselors understand and utilize growth mindset orientation as a means of promoting the learning behaviors that further growth and achievement. The findings of this research identified a shared set of foundational elements that all participants establish to promote growth mindset. These elements reflect professional agency on the part of the school counseling participants, including engagement, relationship-building, meeting social-emotional challenges, and responsiveness. Those elements, in turn, facilitate the growth mindset practices of elementary-level students, with a focus on the agency of a strength-based focus, grit, resilience, and mindfulness. By examining the work of school counselors in a supportive role with young learners, while acknowledging the challenges they face, this multiple case study illuminates the impact of their professional agency on student growth at the elementary level

A Study of the Impact of Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intentions on Academic Performance

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the national high school graduation rate is 81% and only 59% of college enrolled students in 2006 obtained a college degree within ten years of entering 9th grade (U. S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2014). Studies conclude that high school grades predicted academic performance no matter what type of high school the students attended and that students who had good grades went on to graduate from college as a result of self-efficacy, motivation, and academic goals (Bowen, Chingos, & McPherson, 2011). Limited research suggests that using mental contrasting and implementation intentions (MCII) positively impacts short-term goal attainment in educational settings. The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate the effects of high school students using these strategies prior to setting academic goals for a ten week marking period. One-hundred and eighteen students attending an urban charter school located in the United States participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group or a control group. Prior to setting their English course academic goals, students in the treatment group learned how to use mental contrasting and created implementation intentions. Results indicate a positive correlation between the MCII intervention and academic performance since there was a significant effect on end-of-quarter grades for students assigned to the experimental group (p = .025). This study supports the recommendation to develop curricula that includes teaching goal setting strategies, as well as other noncognitive skills and metacognitive strategies, with the aim of improving academic performance

Make Your Job Summer Program: A Report to the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship

Make Your Job Summer Program condenses the material in NFTE's year-long high school curriculum into an intensive two-week course. Over the course of these two weeks, from 9-5 pm each day, students learn about businesses and entrepreneurship while simultaneously designing their business plans. At the end of the program, students present their business plans to a panel of judges to compete for seed money. At two of the 18 sites, NFTE also offered an 8- 10 week version of the program called Startup Summer. Startup Summer is for students who already participated in NFTE during the school year and takes the program a step further by helping them execute their business plans. Students in Startup Summer continue to receive support in launching their businesses into the school year. 378 students participated in the BizCamps and 77 participated in Startup Summer (at the Los Angeles and New York City sites). Although some sites had run NFTE-related summer programs in prior years, other sites were running the summer program for the first time. Two of these BizCamps (Girl Empower BizCamps) served female students exclusively.Our research examines both the impact and implementation of the program and considers:- the types of students who enrolled in the program and why;- how the students experienced the program;- the perceived match between program design and student backgrounds and abilities;- how staff understood the goals and expectations of the program;- the capacities and resources that supported implementation;- the challenges experienced in delivering the program; and- how the program was adapted across sites

A Nudge Towards Excellence: The Application of Behavioral Economics in Education Policy

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the potential for the application of behavioral economics to the field of education policy through “nudges.” Given the difficulty of passing effective comprehensive education reform legislation, the application of nudges represents a low-cost, high-impact approaching to improve student outcomes. This paper offers definitions of several key concepts in the fields of behavioral economics and education: education reform, behavioral economics, choice architecture, nudges, and why behavioral economics is particularly relevant to education reform. Also, the paper describes past education reform attempts, including two that incorporated behavioral economics and two that did not, and evaluates their effectiveness. Finally, the paper offers nudge recommendations for students, parents, and teachers

The Development of Science Identity in Undergraduate STEM Majors: A Case Study of Urban High School Students

The STEM fields, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, face a significant challenge: the underrepresentation of women and minority racial groups entering STEM degree programs and careers. Addressing this STEM gap requires more than quality curriculum and educational supports; there is a need to understand the social psychological processes that influence students’ perceptions, motivation, and interest in STEM. The concept of science identity has been posed as a research perspective to understand participation and persistence in STEM. Enacting a science identity may include describing oneself as a scientist, having a high sense of self-efficacy to do scientific work, displaying an interest to do science, and engaging with and receiving validation from a scientific community of practice. The purpose of this grounded theory case study was to explore the science identities enacted by twenty-four graduates from a Midwest urban public high school (MUPHS) who have enrolled in undergraduate STEM degree programs. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews that explored four components of science identity: interest, competence, performance, and recognition. Qualitative analysis through a constructivist coding approach was applied to understand why students chose to enter and persist in a STEM degree program. Emerging themes related to experience, motivation, and persistence were examined, and salient identities both unique and shared between different gender and racial groups are identified. Five salient science identities emerged: Research Scientists, STEM-Career Focused, STEM Apprentices, STEM Humanists, and STEM Seekers. Recommendations to support gender and racial diversity in STEM programming and future avenues of research are provided

An Examination of Differences in Division I FBS Student-Athlete Academic and Athletic Performance

The student-athlete literature if rife with studies that examine the factors that appear to improve or inhibit academic or athletic performance. However, internal characteristics that may influence variations in performance have been understudied, and athletic performance tends to be examined separately from academic performance. This study examined how different types of Division I FBS performers – high academic, high athletic; high academic, low athletic; low athletic, high academic; and low academic, low athletic – differ on three theoretical and conceptual frameworks representing internal factors. Each of the frameworks, Mindset, Personal Growth Initiative, and Student-Athlete Experiences, have positive attributes relative to performance, development, and well-being. Although not all variables were statistically significant, there were meaningful differences between high and low academic performers on academic experiences. Student-athletes in this sample also displayed a growth mindset towards academic and athletic abilities, as well as high levels of Personal Growth Initiative. In addition, student-athletes who performed at high levels athletically did not report fewer experiences academically. This study also contributed an athletic performance metric that can be used and improved upon to quantify individual athletic performance in higher education, irrespective of sport

Increasing Engagement and Comprehension Through Cooperative, Collaborative and Game-Based Learning in a Middle School Literacy Intervention Class

Eck. T. Increasing Engagement And Comprehension Through Cooperative, Collaborative and Game-based Learning in a Middle School Literacy Intervention Class. Research has demonstrated that increased engagement in learning can lead to better understanding or comprehension of the concept and materials. This capstone addressed the question: How can cooperative, collaborative and game based learning increase engagement and comprehension in a middle school literacy intervention class? The English Language Arts website designed for this project focuses on using game-based learning and collaborative and cooperative learning strategies to engage and motivate students to learn in an intervention classroom, content area classroom, and at home. Research was collected on literacy intervention programs, motivation and engagement, cooperative and collaborative learning strategies and game-based learning. The project included designing a webpage with cooperative, collaborative and game-based learning strategies and activities for students, teachers and families. The website is designed to be used in person, in the literacy intervention classroom, content area classrooms and at home. The goal of the project was to bridge the learning from the literacy intervention classroom to the general education classroom and home by providing access to the strategies, materials and activities used in the intervention setting. The website is user-friendly and designed for teachers and families to easily communicate with the intervention teacher and access materials to support their intervention student in their general education or content area classroom and at home

NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM AND FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Community colleges are composed of full-time faculty and adjunct faculty who serve a diverse student population. As faculty they are expected to remain up-to-date in the best practices of instruction; to be experts in their areas of specialty; and are traditionally non-trained academics. At the same time, regional accrediting agencies have also established accreditation guidelines where faculty are to be qualified; have access to professional development opportunities; and online faculty have access to appropriate training. This study sought to understand full-time and adjunct faculty members’ attitudes, skills, and institutional resources towards professional development opportunities available to individuals who teach and develop online courses. This quantitative research employed an Internet-based survey of full-time and adjunct faculty who work on the 58 different North Carolina Community College Systems campuses. The questionnaire consisted of three topics (a) attitudes, (b) skill, and (c) institutional resources. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of each topic along a 5-point Likert scale. The study posed both research questions and hypotheses. Research questions concerning the perceptions of online teaching and course development were answered by computing descriptive statistics for each category. Null hypotheses regarding the perceptions among full-time faculty and adjunct faculty were tested with independent samples t-tests on comparing the importance to online instruction and their self-assessment. Next, paired samples t-tests were used to compare the similarities and differences between the full-time faculty’s and adjunct faculty’s responses. Results indicated consensus in the perceptions of both full-time faculty and adjunct faculty along the topics of skills and institutional resources with attitudes reflecting one question with non-agreement. A statistically significant difference existed among all three professional development categories in the comparison between importance to online instruction and the self-assessment except for one area: the self-assessment on institutional resources. Results indicated faculty have a growth mindset and are receptive to ongoing professional development opportunities that are related to their interests while efficiently using campus resources

The Impact That The Power Scholars’ Academy Program Has On The Achievement Of Students In Reading And Math

The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of a summer learning loss prevention program that is designed to improve the academic achievement gap. The target population for this research study was participants of the Power Scholars Academy (PSA) program. PSA is a collaboration of BellXcel, local school districts, and community organizations. BellXcel as the creator of the program, provided the curriculum for extended learning opportunities during out of school time. For this study, BellXcel partnered with the school district located in the second largest county in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The study analyzed 1,567 students who participated in the PSA program between 2017 and 2021. Participants came from low-income communities in Kentucky with many scoring in the low fortieth percentile on their Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test. The aim of the study is to examine the impact that the PSA program has on the summer learning of students. Data used for the study was pre-existing and provided from BellXcel. The following dependent variables were evaluated in the study: (1) pretest scores, (2) post-test scores, and (3) the correlation of the summer test scores, and the demographics of the population will be examined. A causal-comparative research design was used for the study to seek to find the relationships between independent and dependent variables within this quantitative research study. Study findings concluded the PSA program had a positive impact on overall student achievement in both literacy with +1.05 - +3.7 months’’ growth and +1.5 - +5.88 months’’ growth in math. Therefore, this study provides insight into how summer learning programming can work to mitigate learning loss for students and close the achievement gap