Promo%ng College & Career Success in FYE Courses
A.J. Metz Paul A. Gore
University of Utah &
Wade Leuwerke Drake University
Presenta%on at the 34th Annual Conference on The First Year Experience 1
What characteris%cs are associated with a successful student?
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Outline • Current landscape of higher educa%on • College and career readiness • Non-‐cogni%ve factors
– Defini%on – Empirical support – Assessment tools
• Data use models • Ac%vi%es to promote non-‐cogni%ve factors • Ques%ons • Resource share
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Success?
Fail to Complete High School
Fail to A)end College
Fail to Complete college Is this what we want
to call Success?
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Public Universities
Private Universities
80%
70%
2-Year Colleges 50%
Retention Rates
Is this what we want to call Success?
Success?
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• Schools differ markedly in their effec%veness • Full-‐%me cohort reten%on to second year (IPEDS) Public – Angelo State University 61% – Stephen F. Aus%n State University 65% – University of North Texas 78% – Texas State (San Marcos) 79% – Texas Tech 82% – Texas A&M 91% – University of Texas – Aus%n 92%
Success?
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First Generation &
Students of Color
30%
Retention Rates
Is this what we want to call Success?
Success?
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Grades, ACT, SAT
4-Year University
Risk Mitigation Does it work?
I just don’t know how to study
My friends were all going to college so I
went too
College is so much harder than high school – I was too stressed out
I don’t know what happened. I never paid acen%on in my high
school classes!
I didn’t feel welcomed or
involved on campus
Success?
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Open Admission
Risk Mitigation
2-Year College
Success?
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Predic%ng & Promo%ng Success
• Tradi%onal predictors of student success: – Cogni%ve (academic) factors – Pre-‐enrollment situa%onal factors – Post-‐enrollment situa%onal factors
• More recent acen%on: – Non-‐cogni%ve factors
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Non-‐Cogni%ve Factors
• Mo%va%onal, psychological, and social factors that predict a student’s ability to adapt and meet the varying demands of a college environment
• Sommerfeld (2011) classifica%on: – Disposi%ons (personality, temperament, ajtudes, values) – Habits of mind (crea%ve thinking, outcome expecta%ons, apprecia%on for diversity, leadership, self-‐concept)
– Execu%ve Func%oning (study habits, self-‐control, goal commitment, decision making, reasoning)
– External resources (“fit,” family beliefs about educa%on, mentor)
– College knowledge (structure, requirements, norms) 11
Non-‐Cogni%ve Factors
• Dozens of factors have been iden%fied • Specific examples:
– Academic engagement – Academic self-‐efficacy – Educa%onal commitment – Resiliency – Social comfort – Campus engagement
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Why Focus on Non-‐cogni%ve Factors?
• Non-‐cogni%ve variables are malleable and can be supported, developed, or remediated
• When combined with cogni%ve measures (GPA, ACT/SAT), they significantly add to our ability to predict student outcomes
• They are important components of both college and career readiness
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Changing Workplace Skills • A Whole New Mind (Pink, 2005)
– Informa%on Age to Conceptual Age • Inven%veness, empathy, joyfulness, and meaning
• enGauge 21st Century Skills (2003) – Four skill clusters:
• Digital-‐age literacy • Inven%ve thinking • Effec%ve communica%on • High produc%vity
• The New Division of Labor: How Computers Are CreaBng the Next Job Market (Levy & Murnane, 2005)
– Expert thinking – solving new problems for which there are no rou%ne answers – Complex communica%on – persuading, explaining, and conveying informa%on
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Academic vs. Career Success
• Goal Striving • Commitment to College • Social Ac%vity • Social Connec%on • Academic Self-‐Efficacy • General Determina%on • Study Skills • Communica%on Skills • Emo%onal Control
• Strong Work Ethic 1 • Mo%va%on/Ini%a%ve 1 • Organiza%onal Commitment • Interpersonal Skills 1 • Adaptability 1 • Self-‐Confidence 1 • Integrity/Dependability 1
• Well Mannered/Polite 1
1 NACE Research: Job Outlook 2006
• Job-‐related skills 1 • Communica%on Skills 1
• Academic Discipline
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Development of 21st Century Skills • Microsoq Partners in Learning/Pearson Founda%on/Gallup Survey (2013)
– 60% of respondents said they developed most of their current work skills outside of school
– Respondents’ use of 21st century skills • 86% use computers and technology to complete projects • 73% spend %me analyzing informa%on and drawing conclusions • 29% develop solu%ons to real world problems • 14% work with others through online communica%on plarorms
– Good teacher-‐student rela%onships in school were associated with percep%ons of success and value on the job
– Younger workers (18-‐22) reported slightly higher levels of 21st century skill development than older workers (23-‐35)
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• Research clearly establishes the rela%onship between non-‐cogni%ve factors and student success outcomes – Academic success and reten%on predicted by self-‐efficacy, academic engagement, goal sejng
• Non-‐cogni%ve factors promote academic stamina – persistence in the face of adversity and higher levels of performance
Empirical Support
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Student Academic
Performance & Persistence
Demographics
High School GPA +
Standardized Achievement Test Scores
Non-‐Cogni%ve Factors
Non-‐Cogni%ve Factors
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HS GPA 3.2 ACT 23 SAT 1600
HS GPA 3.2 ACT 23 SAT 1600
Low academic engagement Licle commitment to educa%on Finds it difficult to get involved
Acends class regularly Has clear goals that require educa%on Involved in pro-‐academic campus ac%vi%es
Non-‐Cogni%ve Factors
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• Measurement of non-‐cogni%ve factors – 30 year history – Used in predic%on of risk and iden%fica%on of appropriate resources
– Newer models promote individual ac%on planning and interac%vity between advisor/instructor and student
– Have u%lity at the ins%tu%onal, group/classroom, and individual levels.
Measurement
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• Commonly used assessments • Student Strengths Inventory (Beacon), CampusLabs • Student Readiness Inventory (Engage), ACT • College Student Inventory, Noel-‐Levitz • College Readiness Inventory, Jenzabar • ACES, Bedford/St. Mar%n’s • StrengthsQuest, Gallup, Inc.
Measurement
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Now That You Have Data… • Data Use Models
– Individual Level • Reach out EARLY • Raise awareness • Connect to resources • Develop plans
– Group/Class Level • Adapt FYE content • Adjust supports • Change programming
– Ins%tu%onal Applica%ons • Resource alloca%on • Benchmark • Risk Mi%ga%on
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Group/Class Level Data • As a group the 23 students in your FYE are:
• Strong on campus engagement • Very low on %me management and resiliency
– Is this informa%on valuable to you? How? What could you do with this informa%on?
• As a group the 250 new students in SSS are: • Moderate to strong on social comfort and educa%onal commitment
• Low on self-‐efficacy
– Is this informa%on valuable to you? How? What could you do with this informa%on?
• Long term
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Ins%tu%onal Applica%ons • Pre-‐enrollment assessment
– Characteris%cs of incoming cohort • Risk iden%fica%on & mi%ga%on • Targeted outreach • Alloca%on of resources • Program development • Capitalize on student strengths
• First semester – Tailored FYE courses
• Long term 28
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Ac%vi%es to Promote Non-‐Cogni%ve Factors (Used With or Without Data)
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Informal Assessment of Non-‐Cogni%ve Factors
• Large Group Discussion – Have students “build a successful student” (Slide 2)
• Small Group Ac%vity – Iden%fy a small number of non-‐cogni%ve factors you would like to focus on – Write each construct on a separate sheet of newsprint and tape to the walls of your classroom – Have small groups of students stand by each construct – Ask them to iden%fy ajtudes, thoughts, and behaviors associated with the construct – Once complete, have students reflect
• Strengths and weaknesses • How these constructs relate to academic success • How these constructs relate to workplace success
• Individual Ac%vity – Aqer one of the above ac%vi%es, have each student create an ac%on plan to develop 1-‐2 weaker
non-‐cogni%ve constructs – Ask them to also iden%fy relevant campus resources – Follow-‐up on their ac%on plans
• Journal ac%vity • Dyad sharing • Assignment
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Developing an Ac%on Plan
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Self-‐Determina%on Coaching Yourself to Mo3va3on One aspect of personal responsibility is self-‐mo%va%on. But how can you mo%vate yourself? One way is to be your own coach. A coach is a source of moral support and inspira%on when the going gets tough. Be your own coach by iden%fying a quote, saying, or poem that you find meaningful, and can serve as your mantra, or inspira%on, when things get difficult this year. Describe why you selected this mantra and what meaning it holds for you. Where will you place it so it is easily visible or accessible? How will you use it to stay mo%vated? Developing Personal Responsibility Taking personal responsibility for your learning means that you monitor your progress, evaluate the outcomes, and adjust your strategies. Monitoring your academic success is a skill that requires truthfulness, objec%vity, and openness to feedback. Pretend you are the instructor of this course and give yourself a lecer grade that honestly reflects your ajtude, effort, and outcomes up to this point in the semester in this class. You may use + or – designa%ons such as A-‐ or C+. Explain why you would give yourself this grade. Be sure to provide yourself with both posi%ve and nega%ve feedback. What are you doing well? What could you improve upon? Provide a plan for increasing or maintaining your grade in this course.
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Self-‐Regula%on Building Emo3onal Intelligence Everyone is en%tled to feelings – good, bad, or ugly. When we have nega%ve feelings it’s important to recognize them, try to understand them, and respond to them in healthy ways. This exercise will help you reflect on some of the nega%ve feelings you’ve had in the last week and how you reacted. If you find that your reac%on had nega%ve consequences, you can think about what you’ll do in the future to handle things differently. From the list of feeling words below, choose five emo%ons that you experienced in the last week and write them in the first column of the table (under “Emo%on Experienced”). Then complete the table by responding to the ques%ons it contains. An example is provided. Feeling Words: Irritated Aggressive Resenrul Provoked Disappointed Discouraged
Lonely Helpless Pessimis%c Distrusrul Shy Embarrassed Sorrowful Crushed Offended Anxious Fearful Preoccupied
Emo+on experienced
What caused this emo+on?
How did you respond? What was the consequence?
If appropriate, provide an alternate response.
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A Success Ajtude Coping with Stress Using Humor Have you heard the saying that “laughter is the best medicine”? This may actually be true! It relaxes tense muscles; reduces blood pressure and heart rate; exercises the muscles of the face, diaphragm and abdomen; boosts the immune system; and causes the body to release pain-‐figh%ng hormones. In fact, muscle tension remains low for up to 45 minutes aqer a session of vigorous laughter. In addi%on to physical benefits, laughter can help mentally by offering a distrac%on from a stressful situa%on. What makes you laugh? Find a funny cartoon, joke, quote or picture and place it in an accessible loca%on (e.g., refrigerator, cell phone, computer, wallet, mirror, etc.) Glance at it throughout the day. Describe the item you found, where you placed it, and how oqen you viewed it. What events during the course of the day sparked your need for a laughter break? How did it help you cope with stress? Next week you may want to find a new funny item, share it with others, or even create a scrapbook of things that make you laugh.
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School to Work Connec%on Providing Instruc3ons Effec3vely In school you may be asked to develop oral presenta%ons that inform, persuade, and entertain. One way you may be asked to transfer these skills to the workplace is in the form of training. For example, you may be asked to provide new employees with verbal instruc%ons on how to do something. By prac%cing how to break down a complicated task into small, specific steps, you’ll be much more effec%ve in communica%ng your message to another person or a group of people. To prac%ce this skill, you’ll need a partner, two sheets of paper, and a pencil. Without showing your partner, draw a couple of lines or abstract shapes on one piece of paper. Don’t make it too complicated as you will be providing instruc%ons to your partner on how to duplicate this design or shape on their piece of paper. Without showing your partner your drawing, give them very specific instruc%ons for how to draw your design on their piece of paper. Be very specific about where to begin (“Hold your piece of paper horizontally and begin two thirds down the leq hand side of the page…”) and how long and how big to make each shape and each line. If they fail to understand your instruc%ons, you may have to ask them to erase part of their drawing and give them alternate instruc%ons. Once you are finished, compare your original drawing with theirs. How accurate is it? Reflect on this ac%vity. What did you learn about giving instruc%ons and communica%ng effec%vely?
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School to Work Connec%on • Name: Tiona Blyden • Profession: Entrepreneur • School: Morgan State University • Degree: Bachelor of Science • Majors: Communica%ons and Broadcast Journalism
“Knowing the facts and the op%ons available can help you make the best decision.” • Name: Chris Funderburk • Profession: Branch Manager • School: Indiana University • Degree: Bachelor of Science • Major: Biology "Having a very clear, concrete goal helps me focus on what I need to do each day to
achieve my goals for the month." 42
Share Your Ideas
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