“I FELT SEEN”: A MIXED-METHODS INVESTIGATION OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

Instructors’ beliefs and behaviors shape students’ learning environments (Bandura, 2007). Culturally responsive teaching can make instruction more relevant and supportive to historically marginalized students (Gay, 2000, 2018). Instructor support and care for students are important to undergraduate persistence (Tinto, 1986, 1993). However, White postsecondary instructors may not feel prepared to use culturally responsive teaching (Heitner & Jennings, 2016; Sue et al., 2009). This study used a sequential mixed-methods design to examine postsecondary instructors’ self-perceptions, and students’ lived experiences, related to culturally responsive teaching. In Fall 2020, instructors (N = 99) rated their self-efficacy for culturally responsive teaching on a six-point scale (M­ = 4.71, SD = 0.91). Racially and ethnically minoritized undergraduates (N = 9) were recruited using purposive sampling from the courses of instructors who reported high self-efficacy. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews indicated that students perceived their instructors as highly caring and capable. Instructors incorporated students’ racial identities into curriculum and displayed willingness to challenge discrimination. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic challenged learning and instruction, students perceived their instructors as creating supportive and motivating learning environments. This research offers a student-focused interpretation of how pedagogy can be culturally responsive to racially and ethnically minoritized undergraduates

Comprehension Self-Efficacy Following a Narrative Structure Intervention

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) includes inappropriate levels of hyperactivity, inattentiveness, and impulsivity. Children with ADHD encounter reading comprehension problems more often than their peers. Although medications prescribed for ADHD can improve attention during school, they do not address deficits in higher-order functioning. Children with ADHD often experience academic failure, which may influence self-efficacy, or belief of their ability to succeed academically. They tend to rate themselves higher than their peers in self-efficacy, but they are quicker to give up when faced with difficult situations. We examined the change in self-efficacy following participation in one of three interventions: a Narrative Structure (NS) intervention targeting specific comprehension problems exhibited by children with ADHD, a Reciprocal Teaching (RT) intervention focusing on comprehension strategies effective for all struggling readers, and a Social Problem-Solving (PS) intervention to teach pro-social behaviors and emotional self-regulation. Participants were 64 third and fourth grade children who were at risk for ADHD and judged by their teachers to have narrative comprehension deficits. All were randomly assigned to participate in one intervention. Pre-test and post-test measures included ratings of self-efficacy related to each intervention topic. Participants in all interventions answered “I can do it by myself” to comprehension-related statements (NS subscale) at an increased rate from pre-test to post-test and the increase was greatest for participants in a comprehension skills intervention (NS and RT). The NS group showed the largest increase for NS subscale ratings from pre-test (M = 59.63, SD = 26.78) to post-test (M = 75.15, SD = 24.44), and RT participants’ NS subscale ratings also increased from pre-test (M = 55.71, SD = 24.70) to post-test (M = 70.95, SD = 25.85). The PS group showed the smallest NS subscale increase from pre-test (M = 51.95, SD = 18.36) to post-test (M = 58.44, SD = 22.55)

Psychology Students’ Motivation and Learning in Response to the Shift to Remote Instruction During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to dramatic shifts in the teaching and learning of psychology. The purpose of this study was to document the impact of those shifts on undergraduate psychology students’ motivation and self-regulation of learning during the initial transition to remote instruction. Psychology majors (N = 358) attending a public land-grant university in the southeastern U.S. voluntarily completed a survey at the end of the Spring 2020 semester. Closed- and open-ended items assessed students’ self-reported behavioral and psychological wellness, motivation, and learning experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak. A convergent mixed methods analysis was used in which open-ended questions provided context and experiential nuance to quantitative findings. Students reported increases in sleep, social media use, gaming, and procrastination, but decreases in academic motivation and self-regulation (e.g., focusing, juggling responsibilities). Over 75% reported increases in stress, which they attributed most frequently to motivational and academic challenges. Students reported learning less in most of their classes following the shift. They attributed this to internal factors, including self-regulatory/motivational difficulties, and external factors, such as instructional delivery modality. Although most perceived their instructors as understanding, nearly half reported a decline in instructional quality and communication after the shift to remote instruction. Over one third of students reported feeling less certain about their future educational plans. Implications for the provision of institutional and instructional supports for college students during and beyond the pandemic are discussed