The literature on attrition suggests that learners who underestimate their ability to succeed in college-level courses become easily disillusioned once failure occurs. The key to avoiding this example of cognitive dissonance (Miller & Tanner, 2011) is to anchor achievement strategies to realistic goal-setting. The literature suggests that students who experience cognitive dissonance are more likely to dropout (Miller & Tanner, 2011). Furthermore, the unpleasurable experience of dropping out of school is manifested emotionally. However, studies show that students who are successful in managing their emotions and relationships and impulse control are more likely to persist to graduation (Allen & Lester, 2012).
So, how do you measure achievement?
1. Unit Four: Student Achievement
Louis Cabuhat, Dean of Education
Bryman College
TEACHER THE
TEACHER
2. “If you don‟t know where you
are going, any road will get
you there”
Connecting Your Actions to the
Target
IMPROVED OUTCOMES
(Sagor,
2011)
3. • Performance Targets (INDIVIDUAL
OUTCOMES)
Ask yourself, “What are students expected to
gain from our „actions”?
• Improved motivation √
• Improved engagement √
• Realistic goal-setting √
• Improved achievement √
• Process Targets (TECHNIQUES or
STRATEGIES)
• Development of an Early Warning System
Training Targets (Sagor, 2011)
4. • Unit One dealt with
• Motivation is driven by emotion
According to Chickering (2006), “motivation is
the key to persistence, moving through
successfully, and learning that lasts” (p. 13).
• Unit two dealt with
Learners who are Involved, Interested and
Connected are more likely to persist.
Recap
5. • Unit three dealt with
“Learners who are unable to form positive
motivational “attitudes” towards goal fulfillment are at
greater risk of dropping from program”
Recap
(Morrow & Ackermann, 2012)
6. Our Early Warning System is
taking shape!
Worst NeedsImprovement Asexpected Above Expectations Best
` 1 2 3 4 5
Worst NeedsImprovement Asexpected Above Expectations Best
` 1 2 3 4 5
Rating
Engagement
Participatesin group activities
Interactswith classmates
Isateamplayer
Demonstratesapositive
demenor
Asksquestions
Rating
Motivation
Punctual
Bringsbooks/suppliesto class
each day
Maintainseye contact
Assistsothersto learn
Asksfor help (asneeded) -
Submitsassignmentson-time
Acceptscriticism
7. Drafting a Scale:
Realistic Goal-Setting
Worst NeedsImprovement Asexpected AboveExpectations Best
1 2 3 4 5
Directions:
Workinginyour groups, takeafew minutesto discusswhat an"asexpected" rating(onascaleof 1- 5) lookslike. Remember to anchor your discussionto our
dynamiccase: Susan. For example, if Susanwereto meet your expectationsongoal-setting, what wouldthat look liketo you?Usingthisworksheet, draft one
wordadjectivesor small sentencesto explainwhat it might look like(to you) if Susanwereto set realisticgoals. Think - Best casescenario!
Rating
Goal-setting
8. Recreating Susan’s Future
Discussion Board(s):
“Knowing what you know (about her today), what
kinds of goals could you suggest so that Susan is
more likely to be successful?”
Susan initiates discussions – A. Cervantes
Susan partners with her classmates – M. Cuevas
Susan makes eye contact and smiles – R. Nunez
Susan attends [class] everyday – A. Magsaysay
Susan is on-time – A. Esparcia
Susan uses a time-management calendar –
F. Boltodano
9. Unit Four – Student Achievement
and Introduction to Student
Development Theory
Learners will be able to:
Define the attributes of an adult learner (today)
Recognize the importance in clarifying a definition
of achievement
Influence student development by outlining at
least one strategy for considering Chickering‟s
vectors of development
Relate their past student development to helping
others develop
10. Post-secondary Enrollment
(Who is attending)
• More females than males
• Community College: Higher numbers of Asians
and White attendees
• Many college-goers are attending PRIVATE
over PUBLIC
• For-profit Colleges: older; female, non-white,
independent; first generation
11. Definition of an Adult Learner
“The adult education participant is just as
often a woman as a man, is typically under
forty, has completed high school or more,
enjoys an above-average income, works
full-time and most often in a white-collar
occupation, is married, has children, lives
in an urbanized area but more likely in a
suburb than large city, and is found in all
parts of the country, but more frequently in
the West than in other regions.”
(Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 55)
12. Learning is not a spectator sport. Students
do not learn much just by sitting in class
listening to teachers, memorizing
prepackaged assignments, and spitting out
answers. They must talk about what they
are learning, write about it, relate it to past
experiences, apply it to their daily lives.
They must make what they learn part of
themselves.”
Arthur W. Chickering &
Zelda F. Gamson
14. Achievement Gap:
A Need for Concern
• Many students attending community colleges
are required to enroll in remedial coursework
because of ill-preparation during secondary
school (Allen and Lester, 2012).
• “Many students begin their college career with
only the vaguest notions of why they have done
so (Tinto, 1987 p. 6).
• Routine approaches to achievement are
proving unsuccessful (old ways aren‟t always
best)
• Dropping out was easier than persisting (Miller
and Tanner, 2011)
15. Question: How do you measure
achievement?
Camp One:
Cognitive
Assessment
Camp Two:
Psychosocial
Assessment
16. • Cognitive = Thoughts
Lower level cognitive domain:
cite, count, list, name, define
Higher level cognitive domain:
select, compare, criticize,
evaluate
Where does Susan Fall?
Cognitive Theory
17. Chickering’s Psycho-Social Theory
• Adult students will change over the course of
their experiences at school.
• Student development theory attempts to make
“development” an intentional process (Davis,
2012)
• “Adult development theory can form the basis for
programs an support services for learners in
higher education” (Merriam, Caffarella, &
Baumgartner, 2009, p. 436).
18. Anchoring Achievement to
Student Development
• developing
competence
• managing
emotions
• moving through
autonomy toward
independence
• developing mature
interpersonal
relationships
• establishing identity
• developing purpose
• developing
integrity.
Chickering‟s Nonlinear Stages of Development
19. Student Development Theory Should
Answer These Four Questions –
According to Knefelkamp, Widick, & Parker
• What intrapersonal & interpersonal changes
occur while the student is in college?
• What factors lead to this development?
• What aspects of the college environment
encourage or (inhibit) growth?
• What development outcomes should we strive
to achieve in college?
As cited by Davis, 2011
20. Reread Susan’s Case
Susan is a new student who is attending classes at
Bryman College – A for-profit organization. As a
new enrollment to the school, Susan repeatedly
misses assignment deadlines and submits work
late. While in class, her instructor notices that
Susan frequently avoids eye contact with others and
she excludes herself from group discussions. Now,
in her third week of a four week module, it doesn‟t
look good. Susan has failed her mid-term exam.
And now, the teacher is concerned that some of
Susan‟s behavior is an early indication of what‟s
about to come – another drop for the college;
another failed attempt. So, in an effort to address
the problem, the teacher presents what she
knows of Susan to colleagues at the college.
And, to her surprise, several of the other staff
members are dealing with a „Susan‟ of their own.
What‟s even more unsettling – the College attrition
rate for newly enrolled students is extremely high.
21. Return to EduOs.net to
continue addressing
Susan‟s case anchoring
your ideas to Susan‟s
psychosocial
development.
22. Reference List
Allen, I. H., & Lester, S. M. (2012). The impact of a college survival
skills course and a success coach on retention and academic
performance. Journal of career and technical education, 27(1), 8-
14. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ974495.pdf
Balduf, M. (2009). Underachievement among college
students. Journal of advanced academics, 20(2), 274-294.
Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ849379.pdf
Bobby, O. (2008). Applying Piaget's theory of cognitive
development to mathematics instruction. Retrieved from
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e7f33571
-263d-4dad-82be-68fcaf1e1c4d@sessionmgr11&vid=6&hid=122
Chickering, A. W. (2006, May/June). Every student can learn - if...
Retrieved from
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=dd514ab
9-a85f-48c3-9d53-
3d83ca6df5e0@sessionmgr112&vid=15&hid=122
23. Reference List
Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Good practices
using active learning techniques. Retrieved from
http://cte.udel.edu/instructional-topics/engaging-
students.html
Davis, D. (2012). Introduction to student development
Laskey, M. L., & Hetzel, C. J. (2010, August 30). Self-
regulated learning, metacognition, and soft skills: the 21st
century leaner. Retrieved from
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED511589.pdf
Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M.
(2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. (3rd
ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
24. Reference List
Sagor, R. (2011). The action research guidebook: a four-
stage process for educators and school teams. (2 ed.).
Thousand Oak, California: Corwin.
Sandeen, A., & Barr, M. J. (2007). Critical issues for student
affairs: challenges and opportunities. San Francisco,
California: Jossey-Bass.
The condition of education 2013. (2013, May). Retrieved
from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED542714.pdf
Tinto, V. (1987, November). The principles of effective
retention. Fall conference of the Maryland college personnel
association. Retrieved from
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED301267.pdf
Hinweis der Redaktion
“This very real risk of losing our direction and failing to reach out desired destination should motivate us to be disciplined and deliberative when planning our action research, our planned exploration of a not-yet-visible destination (Sagor, 2011, p. 31).
It is important to remember the path we have traveled and where we still have to go. So far, we covered the concept of motivation and its’ impact on student persistence. Our training targets involve both performance targets and process targets. We are looking to improve awareness on postsecondary motivation, engagement, goal-setting, and achievement so that in the end dropout tendencies are better understood. Even more, following each training session, the components of an early warning system is being created by the participants. The literature review conducted on postsecondary student attrition and early warning systems informed this project so that in the end an early warning system that detects dropout tendencies in applied into practice. Each week, I will engaged in the four stages of an action research process – “envisioning success, clarifying a theory, collecting data while implementing theory, and reflecting on results obtained” (Sagor, 2011, p. 61).
In unit one, project participants were introduced to the larger purpose of the overall project. The training targets were introduced and the concept of an Early Warning System is considered. The drivers of attrition of particular concern to this project were explained, of which, the first was reviewed – Motivation. In our sixty minute face-to-face discussion, we began the process of separating extrinsic motivation from intrinsic motivation. We also explored a text book definition of motivation. And, we talked about instrument goals as a means for driving motive. Lastly, learners were introduced to the online discussion platform and the case presentation that we will reference for the next nine weeks. In unit two, participants were introduced to concepts of student engagement. Following unit two, participants were expected to be able to list at least one definition of student engagement; weigh the benefits of student engagement on persistence; adjust their ‘teaching strategies’ to support engagement. Key words were introduced: involved, interested, and connected. Participants were introduced to the literature on engagement and they were told: decreased engagement translates into increased dropout rates. Finally, participants were directed to www.EduOs.net to address the online discussion questions related to student engagement.
Unit three dealt with goal-setting and the use of Futuring techniques. Following this unit, learners are expected to be able to diagram steps that may be used to set realistic goals (by students); define Futuring techniques; explain the benefits to Futuring as it relates to student persistence. Finally, participants were directed to www.EduOs.net to address the online discussion questions related to goal-setting and futuring.
Teach the Teacher is a nine week series of professional development designed to use known drivers of postsecondary attrition to develop an early warning system to detect student dropout tendencies. Using a literature review and personal past experiences to inform the process, an early warning system is beginning to be built by the training participants. Following the sessions on ‘motivation’, ‘engagement’, and ‘goal-setting’, participants were asked to consider what an “As Expected” rating might looking like to them (on a scale of 1 – 5). To-date, the participants have applied what they have learned to develop the first two scales (shown above) that will become part of the Early Warning System used by Bryman College.
In unit four, participants will reflect on their online discussions to begin creating a scale that rates student goal-setting. Working in groups, the participants will follow these instructions: Only consider the “as expected” rating. What does this look like to you? What attributes would you expect to find in a learner who is meeting your expectation as far as goal-setting is concerned? Participants are given 15 minutes to work on the scale. Area’s 1-2 and 4-5 will be completed by the capstone author at the end of the project. The entire scale will be presented in the final project and Early Warning System.
In the discussion forum for unit three the participants began an exercise on Futuring – considering a possible future for Susan understanding that they were to only use what they knew to be true (based on the past and present). Furthermore, the participants were instructed to avoid making simple predictions. The comment, “Futuring is not an attempt to predict, but rather, to consider a ‘best case scenario’” was made by me. A reminder of the case is presented in the discussion forum: Susan misses assignment deadlines, avoids eye contact, avoids group discussions, and has failed exams. Using this information, they were instructed to reconstructed a ‘best case scenario’ future so that the teacher were more equipped to offer advice on setting realistic goals.
Today, in the United States, college student enrollment data demonstrates that a greater number of females, in addition to higher numbers of Asians and White students, actually form the largest demographic of postsecondary learners ("The condition of," 2013). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), “In 2011, there were 10.2 million female undergraduate students and 7.8 million male undergraduate students” in the United States (p. 60). Current data suggests that progressively larger numbers college seekers are choosing to attend private, for-profit colleges and universities over public nonprofit options ("The condition of," 2013, p. 62). And a report by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (2011) listing data on private for-profit educational institutions, indicate that “…students attending ‘For-Profits’ are more likely, than students in other sectors of higher education, to be older, female, non-White, independent, and first in their family to attend college” (p. 1).
The literature suggests that the adult learner is very different today in comparison to years gone by. Key to addressing an achievement gap is, first, knowing the characteristics that make-up the postsecondary learner of today.
The literature on student achievement suggests that students’ doing the same thing day-after-day is the problem with defining achievement when standards aren’t being met. This underscores the incongruent beliefs that supports failure. For example, in their study of 105 ‘at-risk’ learners, Laskey and Hetzel (2010) found that many of the participants lacked the metacognition skills necessary to be successful in college-level work. Their study showed that learner’s academic strategies to achieve were lacking when they reached college. This false sense of belief of achievement is being met with reality – attrition. According to Laskey and Hetzel (2010), “Typical strategies used by learners mentioned [by study participants] included rereading the material, rewriting notes, and reading aloud” (p. 10). These learners ‘believed’ their future success in college was anchored to past achievement strategies in high school.
Current literature on ‘achievement’ indicates that faculty and staff at today’s colleges struggle with adopting a common standard of achievement (Balduf, 2009). According to Shultz, “Variations of definitions [of achievement] keep the field from developing guidelines that differentiate underachievement from phenomena such as boredom or emotional challenges” (as cited by Balduf, 2009, p. 276). This shifting rule-of-measure makes achievement a mystery to some students.
Current literature suggests that since 1987 (Tinto) students have enrolled in college not totally understanding or realizing a greater personal purpose. Even more, the literature tells a tale of student who are academically deficient. The literature states that, today, many students enter college believing that their past high school academic performance (or achievement) has prepared them well to meet the rigors of college. And, this is simply not the case. According to Laskey and Hetzel (2010), “Typical strategies used by learners mentioned [by study participants] included rereading the material, rewriting notes, and reading aloud” (p. 10). These learners ‘believed’ their future success in college was anchored to past achievement strategies in high school. Again, this approach is not working. The literature shows that learners who decide to drop from programs are expressing their disillusion by leaving instead of adjusting to college-level requirements. Miller & Tanner (2011) found that dropping out of college was one method employed by learners to deal with a misalignment between personally held beliefs on achievement and the reality of the time.
According to Bobby (2008), “Piaget believed that the development of a child occurs through a continuous transformation of thought processes” (p. 26). What this means is that a child develops cognitively as their thoughts develop. A teacher may assist the process by gradually increasing the rigor of learning. Learners use their thoughts to work through challenging scenarios. Think of rules of logic: If this, than than…. As thought processes improve, goal-setting (and the realization of goals) becomes more tangible.
Arthur W. Chickering’s Theory of Identity Development Arthur Chickering contributed work on the student development process beginning back in 1960. “Referencing both the work of Erikson and Sanford, Chickering presented seven vectors of development that differ from stages in that they have both “direction and force” Sandeen & Barr, 2005, p. 14). Specifically, these vectors are (1) developing competence, (2) managing emotions, (3) moving through autonomy toward independence, (4) developing mature interpersonal relationships, (5) establishing identity, (6) developing purpose, and (7) developing integrity. “Chickering defined developing competence as the student’s ability to acquire the intellectual skills necessary for the college environment” (Hadley, 2006, p. 11). Much of the research on student development theory seems to agree on one thing - adult students will change over the course of their experiences at school. Student development theories attempt to explain how to make this change an intentional process (Davis, 2012) “Adult development theory can form the basis for programs and support services for learners in higher education” (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2009, p. 436).
Obviously, while in college, learners are expected to demonstrate a mastery of skills and formation on knowledge. Quite often, instructors rely on attendance (participation) and grades (assessment) as a means to an end; a sign of growth. However, achievement is much more complex than simply numerical outcomes occurring over time. The vectors of development, as suggested by Chickering, provide a roadmap that instructors may use to gauge achievement. But, even more than this, instructors can plan to construct meaningful learning activities that assist a learner in developing Chickering’s stages of psycho-social development.
Since a diversity of theories have been used to create student development theory, it can sometimes seem like an overwhelming task to discover a single purpose and utility. However, by always trying to answer the four questions, according the Knefelkamp, Widick, & Parker, a great propensity for clarity arises (as cited by Davis, 2011). What psycho-social changes may be expected while in college? What are the possible causes for these changes? What can college staff/faculty do to promote changes? And, what are the psycho-social end results of attending college? Clearly there are many different psycho-social theories that can be applied to answer these four questions. The presentation offered the work of three well-known theorists whose work has been instrumental to the field of student development.
