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- All Subjects: Education
- All Subjects: Equitable Student Outcomes
Description
This paper considers what factors influence student interest, motivation, and continued engagement. Studies show anticipated extrinsic rewards for activity participation have been shown to reduce intrinsic value for that activity. This might suggest that grade point average (GPA) has a similar effect on academic interests. Further, when incentives such as scholarships, internships, and careers are GPA-oriented, students must adopt performance goals in courses to guarantee success. However, performance goals have not been shown to correlated with continued interest in a topic. Current literature proposes that student involvement in extracurricular activities, focused study groups, and mentored research are crucial to student success. Further, students may express either a fixed or growth mindset, which influences their approach to challenges and opportunities for growth. The purpose of this study was to collect individual cases of students' experiences in college. The interview method was chosen to collect complex information that could not be gathered from standard surveys. To accomplish this, questions were developed based on content areas related to education and motivation theory. The content areas included activities and meaning, motivation, vision, and personal development. The developed interview method relied on broad questions that would be followed by specific "probing" questions. We hypothesize that this would result in participant-led discussions and unique narratives from the participant. Initial findings suggest that some of the questions were effective in eliciting detailed responses, though results were dependent on the interviewer. From the interviews we find that students value their group involvements, leadership opportunities, and relationships with mentors, which parallels results found in other studies.
ContributorsAbrams, Sara (Author) / Hartwell, Lee (Thesis director) / Correa, Kevin (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Institutional researchers (IRs) at higher education institutions fulfill a crucial role in identifying, processing, and disseminating data to administrators. Identifying effective ways for leaders to make sense of data is essential to advancing the most critical institutional issues, including achieving equitable student outcomes. However, leaders face barriers to effectively interpreting and using institutional data, such as time, tools, and resources. Historically, institutional researchers are primarily quantitative data analysts. Hence, IRs must rethink their roles and fundamentally change their analytical and dissemination processes to effectively support leaders at their institutions. IRs are particularly positioned to engage leaders and facilitate discussions about existing student inequities. This action research study illustrates how the institutional research function can be leveraged to advance the understanding of inequitable student outcomes among leaders at a community college (Hispanic Serving Institution, small, rural, public 2-year college in Northern New Mexico). The inquiry used Weick’s Theory of Sensemaking and the construct of data equity to inform the development of Critical Sensemaking Data Briefs (CSDBs). Specifically, this phenomenological single embedded-unit case study was focused on understanding how senior administrators engage in data sensemaking while participating in the CSDBs. The study findings support the assertion that IR can be positively leveraged to advance data sensemaking and student equity understanding. Administrators describe their experience engaging in collective data sensemaking and conceptualizing their professional responsibility toward equitable student outcomes. Findings from this study show that engaging in collective data sensemaking expands understanding through diverse perspectives, added context, and negotiated meaning. Additionally, this action research illustrates how IRs can lead the scaffolding of data sensemaking by providing guidance, context, a structure for dialogue, and the integration of reflection.
ContributorsVillalobos Melendez, Alejandra (Author) / Gee, Elizabeth (Thesis advisor) / Correa, Kevin (Committee member) / Jasinski, Lisa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023