A motivational account of the undergraduate experience in science: brief measures of students’ self-system appraisals,engagement in coursework,and identity as a scientist

ABSTRACT

As part of long-standing efforts to promote undergraduates’ success in science, researchers have investigated the instructional strategies and motivational factors that promote student learning and persistence in science coursework and majors. This study aimed to create a set of brief measures that educators and researchers can use as tools to examine the undergraduate motivational experience in science classes. To identify key motivational processes, we drew on self-determination theory (SDT), which holds that students have fundamental needs – to feel competent, related, and autonomous – that fuel their intrinsic motivation. When educational experiences meet these needs, students engage more energetically and learn more, cumulatively contributing to a positive identity as a scientist. Based on information provided by 1013 students from 8 classes in biology, chemistry, and physics, we constructed conceptually focused and psychometrically sound survey measures of three sets of motivational factors: (1) students’ appraisals of their own competence, autonomy, and relatedness; (2) the quality of students’ behavioural and emotional engagement in academic work; and (3) students’ emerging identities as scientists, including their science identity, purpose in science, and science career plans. Using an iterative confirmatory process, we tested short item sets for unidimensionality and internal consistency, and then cross-validated them. Tests of measurement invariance showed that scales were generally comparable across disciplines. Most importantly, scales and final course grades showed correlations consistent with predictions from SDT. These measures may provide a window on the student motivational experience for educators, researchers, and interventionists who aim to improve the quality of undergraduate science teaching and learning.     

Women planning to major in computer science: Who are they and what makes them unique?

Despite the current growing popularity of the computer science (CS) major, women remain sorely underrepresented in the field, continuing to earn only 18% of bachelor’s degrees. Understanding women’s low rates of participation in CS is important given that the demand for individuals with CS training has grown sharply in recent years. Attracting and retaining more women to high-paying fields like CS may also help narrow the gender pay gap. Further, it is important that women participate in developing new technology so that technology advances serve the needs of both women and men. This paper explores the background characteristics, career aspirations, and self-perceptions of 1636 female first-year college students in the United States who intend to major in CS and compares them with 4402 male CS aspirants as well as with 26,642 women planning to major in other STEM sub-fields. The findings reveal a unique profile of women who pursue the CS major and notes many significant differences between men and women in CS and between women in CS and those in other STEM fields. For instance, women in CS tend to earn lower high school grades than women in other STEM fields, but earn higher SAT verbal scores. They also rate themselves higher than men in CS and women in other STEM fields on measures of their artistic ability, but rate themselves lower on other self-ratings, including academic and leadership ability. Further, women in CS are more likely to be undecided in their career plans than men in CS and women in other STEM fields. Understanding the unique characteristics of women in CS will help inform policies and recruitment programs designed to address the gender gap in computing.     

面向STEM教学过程的学习动机序列模型建构与应用

当前我国STEM教学中普遍存在课程设计粗线条化、缺少足够的教学支架、无法满足学生完成探究过程等问题。造成这些问题最为核心的原因是STEM教学设计过程中没有充分考虑如何激发学习者的学习动机。STEM教学所强调的自主、合作、探究的\"做中学\"学习方式和注重跨学科、情境、体验、参与的特色,有助于激发学习者多个层面的学习动机,从而提升STEM教学效果。基于STEM教学过程模式、学习动机相关理论以及动机层次模型,通过归纳演绎构建的面向STEM教学过程的学习动机序列模型,包括教学目标/结果层、教学活动层、教学干预/策略层三层结构,通过每层核心要素的横向推进以及层与层之间的纵向转化,最终指向STEM学习动机的激发。该模型的特色体现在,从情境、语境和全局三个层次划分了学习动机,并指出在各教学环节可以通过不同的教学活动设计来激发不同类型的学习动机,且情境、语境和全局动机之间存在双向循环递归关系。案例分析结果表明,该模型有助于指导教师更好地在STEM教学中激发学习者的多层学习动机。     

Returning from earning: UK graduates returning to postgraduate study,with particular respect to STEM subjects,gender and ethnicity

It has been argued by some (e.g. the Confederation of British Industry [CBI]) that graduates lack the skills that render them employable. In particular, graduates of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects are often portrayed as being unready for the world of work. This study uses three large-scale national data-sets from the UK to explore this assertion, including the results of the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education surveys. It reports analysis of 22,207 individuals who graduated from their first degree in 2007, and works from the hypothesis that those entering the workforce and then returning for taught postgraduate study are primarily doing so due to underemployment in the period following graduation. The study uses binary logistic regression and finds that a range of educational, demographic and employment-based variables have a significant relationship with the propensity to return for taught postgraduate study. Of particular note, those returning tend to be high achievers from elite universities in low-skill work after graduation, as well as women and those from minority ethnic communities; this suggests a mix of individual and structural factors at work. In addition, STEM graduates were significantly less likely to return, apparently challenging the argument advanced by the CBI.     

透视高等教育评估“热”

高等教育评估机构不断出现,更多的对象与项目被纳入到评估中。通过对近些年我国高等教育评估“热”的分析,从理论上指出评估存在“工具理性驱逐价值理性”、“鉴定功能排斥其他功能”和“评估手段置换评估目的”的三大陷阱,提出跨越陷阱需要“重视高等教育评估的特殊性”、“正视不同评估的效用”和“回归评估是手段而不是目的”。     

高等教育评估中几个值得探讨的问题

我国高等教育评估已经开展20年,经验值得总结,有必要在下列几个问题上从理论上进行反思:高等教育评估的目的和功能问题;高等教育评估与高等教育质量保障体系问题;高等教育评估与人文精神问题;高等教育评估的再评估问题等。     

论高等教育评估的现状与走向

高等教育评估，一方面它作为一种手段协助政府实施对高等教育的宏观控制；另一方面，它能帮助和促进高等学校走持续、稳定发展的道路。     

全球化背景下的高等教育责任制

高等教育责任制是一个与效率、效果和绩效评估相关的概念,它要求通过有效的方式证明高等教育取得了预定的结果和绩效。关注效率、效果,注重结果、产出是高等教育责任制的基本特征。高等教育评估是责任制的实施形式,也是质量保障的一个基本途径。通过评估加强质量保障,反映了全球化背景下高等教育管理中一种新的责任制文化。高等教育过程的内在复杂性决定了责任制及绩效测量的难度,我国高等教育评估要实现保障和提高高等教育质量的目的,同时避免对高校办学自主权造成不利影响,需要总结已有评估经验并借鉴国外有益经验,进行创造性的探索。     

Defining and navigating ‘action’ in a Participatory Action Research project

ABSTRACT

While the ‘action’ portion of a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project is a crucial component of the process, action tends to be challenging to define, achieve, and measure. The current paper both defines and describes action within the context of a particular PAR collaboration and explores the process and challenges of navigating and implementing action in a PAR project. The specific PAR project detailed in this paper was executed within a higher education setting and involves a group of undergraduate women co-researchers studying their experiences in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields.     

Is cost separate from or part of subjective task value? An empirical examination of expectancy-value versus expectancy-value-cost perspectives

Situated expectancy-value theorists propose that students’ domain-specific expectancies and subjective task values are critical predictors of their achievement and academic choices in those domains. The theory also posits that subjective task values are multidimensional and can be separated into four subcomponents: intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value, and perceived cost. Recently, there have been debates regarding whether perceived cost should be conceptualized and operationalized as part of subjective task value (i.e., the classic expectancy-value perspective), or as a separate construct from subjective task value (i.e., the expectancy-value-cost perspective). In the present study, we explore different structural associations among expectancies, values, and costs using a hierarchical structural equation modeling approach in a high-stakes undergraduate biochemistry course. We use two different measures of perceived cost: one that measured cost as a unidimensional construct and one that measured cost as a multidimensional construct. We also report on data collected both before and after the COVID-19 lockdowns in the United States. Overall, our results suggested that models that supported the expectancy-value perspective and models that supported the expectancy-value-cost perspective both fit the data reasonably well. However, in line with situated expectancy-value theory, we discuss how aspects of the educational context (a high-stakes undergraduate context), the historical context (COVID-19), and measurement of cost (unidimensional vs. multidimensional) may have impacted our findings. Implications for SEVT and future research in this area are discussed.     

University students’ motivation,engagement and performance in a large lecture-format general education course

We investigated how high-performers and low-performers differ with regard to motivation and engagement in a university-level, large-format general education geography course. One hundred and ten students participated in the study. A self-report measure was administered three times (at the beginning, middle and end of the semester). Performance data were obtained from final course grades. Results showed there were significant differences between the high- and low-performer groups in motivation but not in engagement. With regard to students’ perceptions of motivational aspects of the course, the low-performer group showed a significant decrease in attention but the high-performer group showed a significant increase. The relevance perceived by both groups decreased over time. The confidence and satisfaction of the low-performer group decreased whereas there was no change in those of the high-performer group throughout the semester. Findings as well as implications for teaching in a college large-format general education course are discussed.     

美国高校关于学生学习结果评估的论争

学生学习结果评估能直接反映高校教学质量和学生学习状况,是高等教育质量保障的重要一环。美国高校较早开展了学生学习结果评估,但教师和管理者对评估的理解存在差异。从对威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校24位教师和管理者的访谈情况来看,教师与管理者在评估目的、评估方法、评估结果、评估有效性等维度上存在“问责”与“改进”、“评定成绩”与“元分析”、“结果”与“后果”、“做评估”与“使用评估结果”等方面的论争。     

档案袋评价的创新创业教育应用研究

在对档案袋评价的方法和特点进行归纳总结的基础上,将其应用于我国大学生创业教育教学过程的可行性和必要性进行了分析,结果是档案袋评价的应用可以加强大学生创新创业教育的针对性,优化创新创业教育教学效果,提升大学生创业能力。同时,在创业教育教学过程中使用档案袋评价法时,需要根据不同的项目和教学要求进行共性个性相结合的设计,明确使用原则和使用方法,注意及时纠偏。该评价方法的使用在创业教育教学过程中有利有弊,但从长期发展趋势来看具有较好的应用前景。