Raising the Bar in Student
Success Courses: Expect,
Give, and Get
Dr. Christine Harrington
Alice Picardo
Middlesex County College
[email protected]
[email protected]
EXPECT
SSD 101-Learning Outcomes
1. Discuss and apply study skills and student success
research to daily practices as a college student.
2. Identify and critically evaluate information related to
success in college.
3. Develop personally meaningful oral, visual, and written
summaries of student success concepts.
4. Identify and engage in productive and ethical student
behaviors.
5. Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills in groups and
connections outside of the classroom.
Student Success Research
• Credibility for
students and campus
• Beyond “advice”
• Research based
practice
QUESTION: SHOULD STUDENTS
CHANGE THEIR ANSWER ON A TEST?
1. YES
2. NO
Di Milia, L. (2007). Benefitting from multiplechoice Exams: The positive impact of
answer switching. Educational Psychology,
27(5), 607-615.
Shatz, M.A., and Best, J. B. (1987). Students’
reasons for changing answers on objective
tests. Teaching of Psychology, 14 (4), 241
-242.
Di Milia (2007)
Judges reviewed
changed answers for
2776 international
students
Wrong to Right
50%
Right to Wrong
Wrong to Wrong
25%
25%
Note: Not many answers were changed (around 2%)
Shatz and Best (1987)
72% Wrong to Right if:
Misread or
Read something
Misinterpreted the later that provided
question
a hint or clue
Not worth the time if GUESSING!
Student Success Research:
Doing What Works!
ing
Read
Information
Literacy
Critical Thinking
GIVE
Support
• Believe in their Ability
• Tasks within Reach:
Breaking it down
• Tutorials and Models
Dickinson, D.J., & O’Connell, D. Q. (1990).
Effect of quality and quantity of study on
student grades. Journal of Educational
Research, 83 (4), 227- 231.
•
Does quantity or quality matter more?
Subjects
113 undergraduates
taking a learning
course (mostly
juniors)
91 Females
22 Males
Method
Trained in
Operational
Definitions
1. Reading
2. Reviewing
3. Organizing
Studied and
Tracked
Strategies Used
Took Test
ORGANIZING
WAS THE ONLY VARIABLE
THAT WAS LINKED TO
GRADES!
More Results
Average Number of
Minutes per Week
High Performers
M
(n = 20)
Low Performers
M
(n = 19)
Organizing *
43.13
10.28
Studying*
190.18
136.53
Reading
90.79
80.10
Reviewing
56.03
44.85
*p < .01
So What?
Link
material to
what you
know
Find
connections
Discover
structure
and
hierarchies
GET
Students:
• High academic self-efficacy
• Know what student success
strategies work
• Know value of peer reviewed
research
• Comfortable using databases
and reading research
SSD 101 Data
• Self-assessment
• Multiple choice
questions
• Presentation Rubric
• Focus groups
SSD 101 Data
Multiple Choice Question Topic
Percentage Correct
Plagiarism
83
Evaluating websites
86
Optimal study environments
93
Combating test anxiety
93
Peer reviewed research
60
Needs work!
SSD 101 Data
• Presentation Rubric:
• Consistent scores of 3+ on 4 point scale
• Self-assessment:
• Ability to locate and identify components
of research studies
• General Course: 74%
• Course with Research: 81%
HOW?
Zooming in on Research Worksheet
Introduction:
What question did the researcher seek to
answer?
Method:
Who participated in the study? What did the
researchers ask the participants to do?
Results:
What were the findings?
Application:
So What?
How can you use this information as a
student? What should we do with this
information?
Are cell phone policies important? Does a
ringing cell phone impact academic
performance?
Investigating Cell Phone Ringing in a Classroom
Setting
End, Worthman, Mathews, and Wetterau (2010)
71 Students (23 Males; 48 Females)
Watch Video
and Take
Notes
No
Interruption
Cell Phone
rings for 5
seconds
Outcome Measures
• Note Quality
• Test Performance
Results
Cell Phone Group:
• Missed information
• Performed worse on
test items
Results
Task
No Cell Phone
Cell Phone
Item #1
94.9%
68.8%
Item #2
79.5%
50.0%
Item #1
79.5%
53.1%
Item #2
82.1%
43.8%
Correct Answers
Important Information in Notes
Here’s the Plan:
Teach the “elements” of research studies
No Stakes- Read with Modeling
Low to Moderate Stakes- Individual or Group
Assignments
In Class Peer Review and Support
Feedback, Review and More Models
Reading, Critical Thinking and
Information Literacy
Reading
• What do you do when
you don’t know a
word?
• Taking notes while
reading
• Extracting key ideas
and points
Reading, Critical Thinking and
Information Literacy
Critical Thinking
• Can the results of the
study apply to you?
• How do you know the
findings are accurate?
• Look for additional
evidence!
• What else should the
researchers investigate?
Reading, Critical Thinking and Information
Literacy
Information Literacy
• How do you access
information?
• What type of information is
available?
• How do you evaluate
whether the information is
credible?
• Where do you find scholarly
sources like journal articles?
Work Collaboratively with Other
Departments on Campus
• Library
• English
• Communications
Questions?
Contact Dr. Christine Harrington at
[email protected] or Alice Picardo at
[email protected]
THANK YOU: KEEP
EXPECTING SUCCESS!