A Mixed Method Study: Assessing Critical Thinking, Metacognition, and Motivation in a Flipped Classroom Instructional Model

Technology has changed pedagogical methods in higher education. Educators are using technology more and integrating more active learning techniques. One pedagogical method, the flipped classroom, is suitable for integrating technology and active learning techniques. The pedagogical efficacy of the flipped classroom has not been determined despite being a potential solution for technology savvy millennial students. This mixed method study assessed critical thinking, metacognition, and motivation in higher education flipped classrooms in the United States. Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) members teaching traditional and flipped format science courses were purposefully selected to participate in the study. A sample of 14 HAPS educators recruited 426 students enrolled in their science courses to complete the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), a five-point Likert scale instrument used to measure critical thinking, metacognition, and motivation. The study was a pre-test/post-test non-equivalent control group design with semi-structured interviews for flipped classroom educators. The MSLQ was administered at the beginning and end of the fall semester (16 weeks) or the summer semester (8 weeks). A multivariate analysis of variance was used to estimate relationships between classroom format (flipped or traditional) and outcome variables (critical thinking, metacognition and motivation). The results were not statistically significant, meaning the flipped classroom was not more effective than the traditional classroom format for the outcome variables. The semi-structured interviews with flipped classroom instructors addressed the limitations and challenges of implementing a flipped classroom instructional model (FCIM). The most common limitations and challenges were preparation, in-class activities, student attitudes, and classroom space. The findings from this study will help those making pedagogical decisions in higher education as well as educators interested in implementing FCIM

Herding CATS: Building Student Engagement in Remote Learning in the U.S. and Uzbekistan

Reflecting on the experience of faculty at Boston College Law School and Tashkent State University of Law in Uzbekistan during the early months of the covid-19 pandemic, this essay discusses how law teachers can promote student engagement in remote learning by adapting classroom assessment techniques, or CATs, to the remote learning environment. Originally promoted in a 1988 book by Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross as tools “to help teachers find out what students are learning in the classroom and how well they are learning it,” CATs are well-designed and well-tested in-class activities that require students to interact with the teacher and with content; thus, in addition to providing information about learning, CATs can be used as methods to engage students in learning. CATs adapt easily from the physical to the virtual classroom, which to many law teachers in the U.S. offers the promise of engaging students in a manner similar to the physical classroom. In light of drawbacks of the virtual classroom, however, U.S. law teachers may find instructive the experience of teachers at TSUL, who have devised ways to employ activities that function similarly to CATs in lower bandwidth contexts

Investigating the iconnect intervention for students with emotional disturbance in mathematics

Students with or at-risk for emotional disturbance (ED) often struggle socially, emotionally, and academically (e.g., on-task engagement and academic achievement). One of the most effective academic interventions for students with ED includes immediate feedback paired with frequent prompts for appropriate behavior (i.e., self-monitoring). Despite the increased presence of mobile technology devices in schools, ways to utilize technology to support students with disabilities have not evolved with technology. The purpose of this study is to advance the literature in the area of technology self-monitoring applications for students with ED. Specifically, this study examined a self-monitoring technology intervention for students with or at-risk for ED in mathematics. This research utilized a single subject ABAB withdrawal design across four parent-student dyads. The investigation explored the impact of an interactive technology self-monitoring application (i.e., ICONNECT) on behavior targets (on-task engagement, disruptive behavior, and work completion) in mathematics for four students with ED. All four students increased their on-task behaviors and decreased their disruptive behavior. Three of the four students increased task completion. Limitations and implications for future research will be discussed

Using mobile technology to foster autonomy among language learners

PhD ThesisMuch has been written about the value of Learner autonomy in language teaching and learning as it is believed to enhance students’ opportunities of success, enable life-long learning, and increase motivation. Extensive research has been dedicated to the investigation of different ways of fostering learner autonomy in language learning and teaching. However, it is not easy to encourage learners to be more independent, motivated, and committed, especially in a teacher-centred educational context. Therefore, this study seeks to explore how learner autonomy can be encouraged in support of language learning at a University in Saudi Arabia by incorporating the use of tablet devices into a language course. It is necessary to establish whether the iPad and iPad-like devices can contribute to developing student autonomy in language learning. More specifically, the study attempts to explore whether the multi-modal functionality and affordances of the iPad, when used in a Mobile Assisted Language Learning environment as part of a teacher-guided EFL (English for Foreign Learners) course, can encourage and motivate students to become more independent and take control over their learning. The study was carried out in the context of a 12-week deployment of the iPad device in the Community College at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (Previously Dammam University) with a group of 21 Saudi university students. Data was gathered from questionnaires, focus group interview, student diaries, think aloud protocol, and online tracker. The findings indicate that students used a wide range of cognitive, metacognitive, and social strategies when working with the iPad, and there was a statistically significant increase in students’ reported use of language learning strategies by the end of the project. The study also provides evidence that the use of the iPad when integrated carefully into a language course, and with the teacher’s instruction, can have positive effects on students’ attitude and learning. There is evidence that these effects extended beyond the end of the course, as post –course interviews suggest that students continued to develop certain types of autonomous behaviour. They displayed a desire to continue to learn English despite the difficulties they encountered in the course. In addition, most students planned to do more practice outside classroom, collaborate with other students, and reflect on their personal beliefs about language learning. Based on these findings, there seem to be clear benefits to integrating the iPad into language courses

The Influence of Context on Metacognition and Its Measurement

Metacognition enhances students’ efforts to effectively self-regulate their learning. It is a multifaceted construct that includes metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive regulation, and metacognitive experiences. Metacognition theory clearly indicates that metacognitive regulation should be impacted by the context in which the learning takes place, but little empirical research has attempted to show this effect of context on metacognitive regulation. The purpose dissertation of this was to investigate how context influences undergraduate students’ use of metacognitive regulation. To this end, an instrument (the Metacognition Inventory for Post-Secondary Students; MIPSS) that assesses metacognitive knowledge globally and metacognitive regulation as a context-dependent construct was created and evaluated through item analysis and factor analysis. Then, within-person differences in metacognitive regulation were examined, measures of metacognition and self-regulated learning (SRL) were associated with each other and used to predict academic achievement. Results indicated the MIPSS has a bi-factor structure, metacognitive regulation is influenced by the course and activity associated with the regulation, and associations among metacognition and SRL scales and achievement tend to follow theoretical predictions. Limitations and future directions for research are discussed. Advisor: Anthony D. Alban

Examining Self-Regulation Of Learning Among Community College Students In Developmental Mathematics Courses

The ability to self-regulate one’s learning is crucial to the success of all college students, but is particularly important to those who are considered to be underprepared; it puts students on a path towards successful course completion, subsequent course enrollment, and eventual graduation from a postsecondary institution. Those enrolled in remedial coursework are a large portion of students labeled as underprepared. Remedial education is a contentious topic in higher education. Thus, it is critical to investigate the use of classroom strategies to foster a self-regulated environment to support student success in these early classes and move onto the classes needed for their majors. The purpose of this study was to examine if multiple direct instruction, self-regulation interventions had an effect on students’ reported self-regulatory strategy use, students’ reported mathematics self-efficacy, and successful course completion in a developmental mathematics course. Using Hunter’s (1982) method of direct instruction, a set of interventions focused on self-regulatory skill improvement were embedded into two sections of a community college developmental mathematics course. Interventions addressed time management, exam preparation, exam error analysis, and recognition of maladaptive behaviors. To gauge the impact of the interventions, a web-based survey regarding self-regulatory tendencies and mathematics self-efficacy was distributed twice during the course. Students in the intervention sections as well as students in two other sections not receiving the intervention, which served as a control, completed the survey. Ultimately, 12 participants from each group were included in the main analyses to determine if there was a statistical difference between those who received the set of interventions and those who did not. Results indicated no statistical differences between the control and intervention groups in regards to metacognitive self-regulation, mastery self-talk, regulating time and study environment, avoiding needed help, and mathematics self-efficacy. There was an interaction between the groups regarding effort regulation. There was a decrease in effort regulation over time in the intervention group, but no change in the control group. There was also a between-groups difference in seeking needed help, as the intervention group had higher mean values both prior to and after the set of interventions

Self-Regulation Skills of Students Attending a Personalized, Mobile Middle School

In the interest of cultivating a highly skilled 21st century workforce, instructional practices in schools are deviating from more traditional models to student-centered, technology infused practices contingent on intrapersonal skill refinement to self-direct and maximize learning. Situated in adult learning theory, self-directed learners identify learning needs, plan a path to knowledge acquisition, time manage, and evaluate progress and resources during learning experiences. Students can master their own learning process towards self-directedness through the practice of key self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. However, consistent with research in self-regulation, variations in the sophistication and use of SRL skills can be dependent on the presence of certain student characteristics. The present study will use mixed methods to investigate 27 middle school students’ self-reported ability self-regulate during student-centered instruction in a personalized, mobile school located in a large Southwestern urban gateway city. Pre and post Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) scores reported students’ ability to concentrate, manage time, self-test, and use study aids over a short period of time. Findings indicated the self-testing scale showed a discernible trend in the appropriate direction over a brief period of time though no significance could be found. Implications for the school are discussed and an action plan to bolster the capacity of teachers to support students’ ability to self-regulate learning in a personalized, mobile middle school follows.Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Department o

Increasing Undergraduate Student Engagement in Academics: An Ecological Momentary Intervention

As students enter the university environment, they are presented with various commitments that may or may not impede academic performance. With the issues of student attrition and retention, there is a need to provide further tools for students to use to monitor their performance. As students’ progress to higher level coursework, expectations and time commitments increase, and self-regulation of learning becomes even more important. Researchers may be able to deliver information to help students with self-regulation of learning by leveraging new affordances in technology in students’ daily lives. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the feasibility and associated findings of an ecological momentary intervention surrounding self-regulation, motivation and study strategy utilization. This quasi-experimental study had 49 participants. The overarching project for this dissertation was a two-week intensive longitudinal design with a baseline appointment. For the in the moment assessment via a smartphone application, there were two conditions: an intervention and an assessment-only group. This dissertation includes two manuscripts. The first manuscript examines methodological issues related to the feasibility of using multiple types of prompting (user-initiated and researcher-generated) when utilizing in the moment data collection in an educational context, specifically factors that may influence participants’ response rates and compliance to the researcher protocol. The second manuscript examines motivational and emotional differences of the same participants within a self-regulation intervention delivered in the moment via ecological momentary intervention. Specifically, I investigated motivational and emotional factors related to student behavior (as measured by reports of studying) during the monitoring time period. In the feasibility paper, I found overall that participants responded to approximately two prompts a day and that baseline factors such as lower self-control were associated with greater missing data. I also found discrepancies between responses to in-the-same-moment study related questions (i.e., participants saying they had not studied while also reporting a subsequent amount of time spent studying), which informed which outcomes to use in the content-based manuscript. In the content manuscript, I found no condition differences between the intervention and assessment-only groups in regard to the number of user-initiated study sessions, indicating a lack of compliance to the intervention protocol. I found that academic motivation and anxiety over time were associated with the probability of reporting studying. Finally, I found moderate relationships for end of day reports of study times with the in the moment reports, suggesting a potential rounding bias. Based upon the results, it appears there were issues with fidelity of implementation within the protocol. This could be due to the burden placed upon participants for in the moment data collection, or additional circumstances not measured within the study. In regard to lower response rates, participant compensation could have played a role due to the data collection burden. With the majority of data collection taking place during the latter part of the semester, the time of the study may have contributed to lower instances of studying as participants for various reasons (e.g., fewer assessments, already established study practices).There needs to be further refinement to the intervention protocol to be able to measure studying in the moment including direct reminders to participants about their study behaviors and ways to further develop the training protocol for initiating prompts. Additionally, waves of data collection across the course of the semester will be explored in future work