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Description
This study empirically evaluated the effectiveness of the instructional design, learning tools, and role of the teacher in three versions of a semester-long, high-school remedial Algebra I course to determine what impact self-regulated learning skills and learning pattern training have on students' self-regulation, math achievement, and motivation. The 1st version was a business-as-usual traditional classroom teaching mathematics with direct instruction. The 2rd version of the course provided students with self-paced, individualized Algebra instruction with a web-based, intelligent tutor. The 3rd version of the course coupled self-paced, individualized instruction on the web-based, intelligent Algebra tutor coupled with a series of e-learning modules on self-regulated learning knowledge and skills that were distributed throughout the semester. A quasi-experimental, mixed methods evaluation design was used by assigning pre-registered, high-school remedial Algebra I class periods made up of an approximately equal number of students to one of the three study conditions or course versions: (a) the control course design, (b) web-based, intelligent tutor only course design, and (c) web-based, intelligent tutor + SRL e-learning modules course design. While no statistically significant differences on SRL skills, math achievement or motivation were found between the three conditions, effect-size estimates provide suggestive evidence that using the SRL e-learning modules based on ARCS motivation model (Keller, 2010) and Let Me Learn learning pattern instruction (Dawkins, Kottkamp, & Johnston, 2010) may help students regulate their learning and improve their study skills while using a web-based, intelligent Algebra tutor as evidenced by positive impacts on math achievement, motivation, and self-regulated learning skills. The study also explored predictive analyses using multiple regression and found that predictive models based on independent variables aligned to student demographics, learning mastery skills, and ARCS motivational factors are helpful in defining how to further refine course design and design learning evaluations that measure achievement, motivation, and self-regulated learning in web-based learning environments, including intelligent tutoring systems.
ContributorsBarrus, Angela (Author) / Atkinson, Robert K (Thesis advisor) / Van de Sande, Carla (Committee member) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In this paper, I investigate whether participation in employee stock option exchange programs contains private information about future stock returns. High participation in employee stock option exchange programs is associated with negative future abnormal returns over the ensuing 12-month period. This association is moderated by the transparency of the firm's information environment: high institutional ownership and high financial statement informativeness weaken the negative relation between participation and abnormal returns. Controlling for transparency of the firms' information environment, the association between participation and future returns arises primarily from firms that allow the CEO to participate.
ContributorsMakridis, Vanessa Radick (Author) / Matejka, Michal (Thesis advisor) / Hwang, Yuhchang (Committee member) / Kaplan, Steven E (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In this study, I examine the extent to which firms rely on relative performance evaluation (RPE) when setting executive compensation. In particular, I examine whether firms use information about peer performance to determine compensation at the end of the year, i.e. after both firm and peer performance are observed. I find that RPE is most pronounced for firms that allow little or no scope for ex post subjective adjustments to annual bonuses. Conversely, firms that rely mainly on subjectivity in determining bonus exhibit little use of RPE. These findings suggest that information about peer performance is not used at the end of the year. Instead, peer performance seems to be incorporated in performance targets at the beginning of the year, at least among firms primarily using objective performance measurements. In addition, I provide new evidence on the determinants of the use of subjectivity.
ContributorsTsui, Stephanie (Author) / Matejka, Michal (Thesis advisor) / Hwang, Yuhchang (Committee member) / Kaplan, Steven (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Researchers have postulated that math academic achievement increases student success in college (Lee, 2012; Silverman & Seidman, 2011; Vigdor, 2013), yet 80% of universities and 98% of community colleges require many of their first-year students to be placed in remedial courses (Bettinger & Long, 2009). Many high school graduates are entering college ill prepared for the rigors of higher education, lacking understanding of basic and important principles (ACT, 2012). The desire to increase academic achievement is a wide held aspiration in education and the idea of adapting instruction to individuals is one approach to accomplish this goal (Lalley & Gentile, 2009a). Frequently, adaptive learning environments rely on a mastery learning approach, it is thought that when students are afforded the opportunity to master the material, deeper and more meaningful learning is likely to occur. Researchers generally agree that the learning environment, the teaching approach, and the students' attributes are all important to understanding the conditions that promote academic achievement (Bandura, 1977; Bloom, 1968; Guskey, 2010; Cassen, Feinstein & Graham, 2008; Changeiywo, Wambugu & Wachanga, 2011; Lee, 2012; Schunk, 1991; Van Dinther, Dochy & Segers, 2011). The present study investigated the role of college students' affective attributes and skills, such as academic competence and academic resilience, in an adaptive mastery-based learning environment on their academic performance, while enrolled in a remedial mathematics course. The results showed that the combined influence of students' affective attributes and academic resilience had a statistically significant effect on students' academic performance. Further, the mastery-based learning environment also had a significant effect on their academic competence and academic performance.
ContributorsFoshee, Cecile Mary (Author) / Atkinson, Robert K (Thesis advisor) / Elliott, Stephen N. (Committee member) / Horan, John (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) careers have been touted as critical to the success of our nation and also provide important opportunities for access and equity of underrepresented minorities (URM's). Community colleges serve a diverse population and a large number of undergraduates currently enrolled in college, they are well situated to help address the increasing STEM workforce demands. Geoscience is a discipline that draws great interest, but has very low representation of URM's as majors. What factors influence a student's decision to major in the geosciences and are community college students different from research universities in what factors influence these decisions? Through a survey-design mixed with classroom observations, structural equation model was employed to predict a student's intent to persist in introductory geology based on student expectancy for success in their geology class, math self-concept, and interest in the content. A measure of classroom pedagogy was also used to determine if instructor played a role in predicting student intent to persist. The targeted population was introductory geology students participating in the Geoscience Affective Research NETwork (GARNET) project, a national sampling of students in enrolled in introductory geology courses. Results from SEM analysis indicated that interest was the primary predictor in a students intent to persist in the geosciences for both community college and research university students. In addition, self-efficacy appeared to be mediated by interest within these models. Classroom pedagogy impacted how much interest was needed to predict intent to persist, in which as classrooms became more student centered, less interest was required to predict intent to persist. Lastly, math self-concept did not predict student intent to persist in the geosciences, however, it did share variance with self-efficacy and control of learning beliefs, indicating it may play a moderating effect on student interest and self-efficacy. Implications of this work are that while community college students and research university students are different in demographics and content preparation, student-centered instruction continues to be the best way to support student's interest in the sciences. Future work includes examining how math self-concept may play a role in longitudinal persistence in the geosciences.
ContributorsKraft, Katrien J. van der Hoeven (Author) / Husman, Jenefer (Thesis advisor) / Semken, Steven (Thesis advisor) / Baker, Dale R. (Committee member) / McConnell, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
In this study, I test whether firms reduce the information asymmetry stemming from the political process by investing in political connections. I expect that connected firms enjoy differential access to relevant political information, and use this information to mitigate the negative consequences of political uncertainty. I investigate this construct in the context of firm-specific investment, where prior literature has documented a negative relation between investment and uncertainty. Specifically, I regress firm investment levels on the interaction of time-varying political uncertainty and the degree of a firm's political connectedness, controlling for determinants of investment, political participation, general macroeconomic conditions, and firm and time-period fixed effects. Consistent with prior work, I first document that firm-specific investment levels are significantly lower during periods of increased uncertainty, defined as the year leading up to a national election. I then assess the extent that political connections offset the negative effect of political uncertainty. Consistent with my hypothesis, I document the mitigating effect of political connections on the negative relation between investment levels and political uncertainty. These findings are robust to controls for alternative explanations related to the pre-electoral manipulation hypothesis and industry-level political participation. These findings are also robust to alternative specifications designed to address the possibility that time-invariant firm characteristics are driving the observed results. I also examine whether investors consider time-varying political uncertainty and the mitigating effect of political connections when capitalizing current earnings news. I find support that the earnings-response coefficient is lower during periods of increased uncertainty. However, I do not find evidence that investors incorporate the value relevant information in political connections as a mitigating factor.
ContributorsWellman, Laura (Author) / Dhaliwal, Dan (Thesis advisor) / Hillegeist, Stephen (Thesis advisor) / Walther, Beverly (Committee member) / Mikhail, Mike (Committee member) / Hillman, Amy (Committee member) / Brown, Jenny (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
While credit rating agencies use both forward-looking and historical information in evaluating a firm's credit risk, the role of forward-looking information in their rating decisions is not well understood. In this study, I examine the association between management earnings guidance news and future credit rating changes. While upward earnings guidance is not informative for credit rating changes, downward earnings guidance is significantly and positively associated with both the likelihood and speed of rating downgrades. In cross-sectional analyses, I find that downward guidance is especially informative in two important circumstances: (i) when a firm's current credit rating is overly optimistic compared to a model predicted rating, and (ii) when the relevance or reliability of alternative information sources is lower. In addition, I find that downward guidance is associated with lower future cash flows, as well as a higher volatility of future cash flows. Overall, the results are consistent with credit rating agencies incorporating voluntary bad news disclosures into their decisions about whether and when to downgrade a firm.
ContributorsLin, An-Ping (Author) / Hillegeist, Stephen (Thesis advisor) / Hugon, Jean (Thesis advisor) / Call, Andrew (Committee member) / Dhaliwal, Dan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
First-generation college students, for whom neither parent has a bachelor's degree, are at an increased risk for dropping out of college compared with their continuing-generation counterparts. This research aims to examine whether varying perceptions of the future may contribute to these differences; specifically, whether presentations of future opportunities with and without a college degree impact academic motivation and performance, and whether this relationship holds for people from different college generation status backgrounds. Additionally, the study explores whether the effect is consistent with regulatory focus profiles--whether someone is motivated to avoid negative outcomes (e.g., prevention orientation) or attain positive outcomes (e.g., promotion orientation). Prevention oriented first-generation students were expected to have increased motivation and performance when asked to contrast the future with and without a college degree, whereas promotion oriented continuing-generation students were expected to have increased motivation and performance by merely thinking about the future with a college degree. Participants consisted of 330 undergraduates from an introductory psychology course. Participants were randomly assigned to presentations of future opportunities with a degree, with and without a degree, or a no-prime control condition. Motivation and performance were assessed using academic motivation and delay of gratification scales and a short anagram task. The proposed hypotheses were not supported; however, important findings emerged from exploratory analysis. First- and continuing-generation college students perceived future opportunities with a college degree similarly, meaning that both first- and continuing-generation students believed that a degree would endow opportunities. Additionally, belief in future opportunities significantly predicted academic motivation, delay of gratification, and anagram performance; thus, belief in future opportunities is a determinant of academic motivation and performance. Finally, first-generation students' performance varied by belief that a college degree would create future opportunities. Therefore, future interventions to increase performance and retention among first-generation students should emphasize the value of a college degree for future success. This research has implications for the understanding of college generation status, academic motivation, and performance.
ContributorsHerrmann, Sarah D (Author) / Kwan, Virginia S.Y. (Thesis advisor) / Okun, Morris A. (Committee member) / Saenz, Delia S. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Writing instruction poses both cognitive and affective challenges, particularly for adolescents. American teens not only fall short of national writing standards, but also tend to lack motivation for school writing, claiming it is too challenging and that they have nothing interesting to write about. Yet, teens enthusiastically immerse themselves in informal writing via text messaging, email, and social media, regularly sharing their thoughts and experiences with a real audience. While these activities are, in fact, writing, research indicates that teens instead view them as simply "communication" or "being social." Accordingly, the aim of this work was to infuse formal classroom writing with naturally engaging elements of informal social media writing to positively impact writing quality and the motivation to write, resulting in the development and implementation of Sparkfolio, an online prewriting tool that: a) addresses affective challenges by allowing students to choose personally relevant topics using their own social media data; and b) provides cognitive support with a planner that helps develop and organize ideas in preparation for writing a first draft. This tool was evaluated in a study involving 46 eleventh-grade English students writing three personal narratives each, and including three experimental conditions: a) using self-authored social media post data while planning with Sparkfolio; b) using only data from posts authored by one's friends while planning with Sparkfolio; and c) a control group that did not use Sparkfolio. The dependent variables were the change in writing motivation and the change in writing quality that occurred before and after the intervention. A scaled pre/posttest measured writing motivation, and the first and third narratives were used as writing quality pre/posttests. A usability scale, logged Sparkfolio data, and qualitative measures were also analyzed. Results indicated that participants who used Sparkfolio had statistically significantly higher gains in writing quality than the control group, validating Sparkfolio as effective. Additionally, while nonsignificant, results suggested that planning with self-authored data provided more writing quality and motivational benefits than data authored by others. This work provides initial empirical evidence that leveraging students' own social media data (securely) holds potential in fostering meaningful personalized learning.
ContributorsSadauskas, John (Author) / Atkinson, Robert K (Thesis advisor) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Committee member) / Liu, Huan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This study provides new evidence on the choice of performance measures used in dual-class firms to incentivize CEOs. The choice of performance measures is informative about the extent to which the board of directors focuses CEO efforts on firms' long-term versus short-term objectives. To empirically operationalize performance evaluation horizon, I measure the length of the performance evaluation period in CEO stock awards, the use of stock-based measures, and the use of peer-based measures. I collect data on 419 dual-class firms and match them with a control group of single-class firms. I find that market-based metrics are less likely to be used by dual-class firms relative to single-class firms. In addition, I find that peer-based measures are much less common for dual-class than single-class firms. These findings suggest that dual-class firms shield their executives from short-term market pressures and design stock compensation contracts that deemphasize volatile stock prices.
ContributorsLi, Ji (Author) / Matejka, Michal (Thesis advisor) / Hwang, Yuhchang (Committee member) / Reckers, Philip (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014