INCREASING STUDENTS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL ENGAGEMENT

Adobe Connect MeetingMay 2012

Psychological Engagement- “I want to”

Self-Awareness• College and Career Planning• Self-efficacy

Self Management• Impulse control• Stress management• Self-discipline • Organization

Decision Making• Planning and problem solving skills• Goal Setting• Progress monitoring

Self-Awareness• Career and college planning– On-going exploration and guidance– Integrated into academic work– Connects school-work to occupational goals– Ensures understanding of career and college

entrance requirements– Incorporates community mentoring and

advisement

• More frequent and intensive advisement for at-risk students – Advisory program that goes beyond

counselors alone– Tiered guidance support

Resources

Resources• Curriculum materials available through

Project 10– Postsecondary Education and Training

(Sitlington, Patton, & Clark, 2008)– Employment and Career Planning ( Synatschk,

Clark, Patton, & Copeland, 2007)– Independent Living and Community Participation

(Synatschk, Clark, & Patton, 2008)

• Project 10 Website http://www.project10.info/ – Contains a multitude of resources for college

and career planning which are appropriate for all students

Self Efficacy

• Self-efficacy is the student’s view of his or her own abilities specific to a particular academic area (e.g., mathematics)

• Students who believe that they have the ability to complete a particular academic task (self-efficacy) do better and have higher levels of motivation (Jacobs et al., 2002).

• Students may sabotage their academic performance by engaging in negative self-talk about their abilities and by making faulty attributions to explain poor academic performance (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002).

Self EfficacyStudents’ self efficacy can be examined by asking students to:• Talk about their perceived strengths and weaknesses as

learners in particular subject areas• Give examples (with details) about specific successes and

failures that they have experienced on academic assignments

• Discuss how they complete a range of common academic tasks (e.g., undertaking a term paper, completing a chemistry lab exercise, doing homework)

• Disclose their routine for preparing for quizzes and tests

Student responses should be examined to determine if his/her attributions/explanations are unrealistically negative or do not adequately acknowledge the role of effort or other controllable factors in improving that academic skills or performance

Self EfficacyMastery Experiences• The most effective way of developing a strong

sense of efficacy is through the successful performance of tasks over time.

• Designing curricula which is appropriately challenging and providing instruction through a gradual release of responsibility will support students and help develop their self-efficacy regarding academic work.

• Pre-teaching and previewing academic content within intervention courses will help students feel more confident and be more engaged during core courses

Self EfficacySocial Modeling and Encouragement • Witnessing or learning about others’ successful

completion of a task through sustained effort raises observers' beliefs that they too possess the capabilities master comparable activities to succeed

• Providing ongoing encouragement and support and teaching positive self-talk increases self efficacy

• Implement mentoring programs which emphasize the connection between sustained effort and success, provide encouragement and teaches positive self-talk

Self Efficacy

Managing Psychological Responses• Moods, emotional states, physical

reactions, and stress levels can all impact how a person feels about their personal abilities in a particular situation.

• Teaching students how to manage stress and elevate mood when facing difficult or challenging tasks can improve their sense of self-efficacy

Self Efficacy

Engage in data chats which:

– Focus on students’ career and personal goals– Address students’ faulty attributions– Help students set short-term, attainable goals– Tie students’ effort to outcomes– Recognize and celebrate improvements

Jacobs, J. E., Lanza, S., Osgood, D. W., Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A., 2002; Linnenbrink, E. A., &

Pintrich, P. R., 2002– Video

Organization

• Teach students organization skills which are useful outside of the school setting and which can be generalized to career and college– Use of an agenda/planner– Strategies for managing materials– Strategies for managing time– Strategies for prioritizing, planning, and managing

projects– Effective note-taking strategies

• Use and reinforce the strategies across all content areas and within all classes

Organization and Study SkillsResources

• Dartmouth: Academic Skills. Center offers no-nonsense tutorials in the basics of good study practices, including 'Managing Your Time', 'Reading Your Textbooks' and 'Where to Study/How to Study‘ http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/

• List of Calculators, Assessments, and Useful Tools. Although written for college students, this helpful page features links to math and science reference tables and calculators that middle and high school students will find useful! http://www.onlinebachelordegreeprograms.com/resources/a-list-of-calculators-assessments-useful-tools-for-college-students/

• Prentice Hall: Academic Skills. These tip-sheets cover the core areas of study skills, including effective reading, note-taking, and preparing for tests. They are well-written and to the point. This academic skills section is part of a larger website created by Prentice Hall Publishers with tips to help college students to achieve success. http://www.prenhall.com/success/StudySkl/

Intervention Central

Organization and Study Skills

• Study Guides and Strategies. The Study Guides and Strategies web site is one of the most comprehensive of its kind on the web. The site contains brief tutorials in bullet format for easy and quick reading. It features a wide range of study- and learning-related topics such as reading, classroom participation, learning with others, and project management. http://www.studygs.net/

• Virginia Tech: Study Skills Self-Help Information. Find tutorials on taking notes, managing the study environment, proofreading, writing papers and more. The site also features several self-guided 'online study skills workshops' on topics such as improving concentration and time management. The site is sponsored by the Cook Counseling Center at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html

Intervention Central

Note Taking

• Teach students effective note-taking skills to all students

• Utilize common note-taking strategies within all classrooms

• Provide more intensive note-taking supports for students who need more support– E.g., Guided Notes Development Tool http://

www.jimwrightonline.com/htmdocs/interventions/study/gnotes.php

– Note Taking Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCrslHx7xA&feature=related

Self-Monitoring

Select or create resources and supports which allow students to self monitor:• Progress toward college and career

readiness• Progress toward learning goals• Progress toward behavior goals• Performance on academic tasks and

assignments

Self-Monitoring

• State and post learning goals in student friendly language

• Develop or select rubrics aligned with learning goals• Teach students to self evaluate their learning utilizing

the learning rubrics• Teach students to set goals and self monitor their

progress toward the learning goals

Students will be able to self monitor their learning only when learning goals are clear and the use of rubrics and other self monitoring tools are taught and reinforced

Self-Monitoring

• All students utilize the general checklist for self-monitoring

• Some students may require more scaffolded or specific self-monitoring checklists

• Students should be reinforced for using self-monitoring checklist

• Discuss the link between self-monitoring work and more successful performance with students

• Fade out the use of checklist when student demonstrates mastery of the skill

Self-Monitoring Academic Example

• Analyze pattern of errors commonly made by students when solving a math algorithm (on either computation or word problems)

• Develop a brief error self-correction checklist• Teach students to use the checklist to self-

monitor—and when necessary correct—his or her performance on math assignments before turning them in

(Dunlap & Dunlap, 1989; Uberti et al., 2004)

Self-Monitoring Example

Videos

Behavioral Self-Monitoring Resource • Http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=muyQyZN8BpU&feature=related

Decision Making and Problem Solving

• Develop an appreciation for why structured problem solving methods should be used when approaching problems

• Teach students to utilize structured approaches to solving problems– What is my goal?– What barrier(s) are or could prevent me from achieving

my goal?– What could I do to address these barriers to achieve

my goal? What type of help or support do I need?– How will I know that I am on the right track to

achieving my goal?– Did I reach my goal?

Goal Setting and Progress Monitoring

• Support all students to set short and long term goals for each class and for their education in general

• Ensure that students have “effort” goals and mastery goals– I will complete 85% of my homework in my

science class during Fall semester– I will earn at least a “B” (80-89%) in my science

class for Fall and Spring semesters

• Utilize student self assessments and assignment rubrics to allow students to self monitor their progress toward learning goals

Goal Setting and Progress Monitoring

Teach students how to ensure that goals are SMART– Specific–Measurable– Actionable– Realistic– Time bound

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uThBb3kGf4k&feature=related

Multi-Tiered Intervention Example

Tier 1 (All Students)• Teach students how to collect data to

monitor their progress toward their goals (provide necessary resources)

• Support all students to regularly review goals and monitor their progress toward them (include in data chats)

• Teach students how to problem solve when unanticipated barriers arise

Multi-Tiered Intervention Example

Some students may require supplemental or targeted support to set and monitor SMART goals

Tier 2 and Tier 3• Provide support within intervention courses

for students to formulate or refine short and long term goals for core courses

• Engage in frequent data chats (weekly to bi-weekly) with students focusing on:– Progress and attainment of short-term goals, and– The relationship of attaining short-term goals to

making progress toward long-term goals

Videos

Teaching Goal Setting • http://

video.about.com/712educators/How-to-Set-Goals-With-High-School-Students.htm

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ftg_hTI488

Goal Setting and Progress Monitoring Resources

• Intervention Resource Guide disk and dropbox cite include:– Journal articles reviewing techniques for

teaching goal setting and progress monitoring

– Tools and lesson plans for teaching goal setting and progress monitoring

Instructional Implications

Teaching goal setting, problem solving, organization, and self management and monitoring skills requires: 1. Explaining the purpose of the skill (e.g.,

explaining what mastery of the skill will do for a student),

2. Presenting the steps involved in the skill, 3. Giving students ample opportunities to practice

the skill, 4. Creating and using multiple opportunities for

reinforcing the skill, 5. Periodically assessing the degree of mastery of

the skill, and 6. Following up with skill maintenance activities.

Issa, 2009

Instructional Implications

Skill instruction should not occur in isolation but rather as a means to achieving college and career readiness goals

Consistent use and reinforcement of skills across classrooms will result in greater student adoption and utilization

Some students may require tiered intervention supports such as additional instruction, scaffolded resources, individualization, as well as more frequent monitoring and feedback to adopt and utilize specific skills

Intervention courses/programs should teach and reinforce the same skills expected and taught within core courses and vice versa