HeroesandDifferencesTwoActiveLearningExperiencesforStudentSuccessHaroldStanislawCaliforniaStateUniversity,Stanislaus

2

• USDeptofEducationTitleIIIPartFGrantP031C160070

• STEMSuccesspersonnel

• CherieDavis(grantdirector)

• IqbalAtwalandMissyLebray(staff)

• MartyGiaramito(facultycoordinator)

• AdditionalPsychologyfacultyassistance

• KellyCotter

• JuneNewman

• BruceHesse

Thanks!

3

• AimstoincreasethenumberofSTEMdegreesreceivedbyHispanicandotherhistoricallyunderrepresentedstudents

• Focusesinpartonpsychosocialfactors (“non-cognitiveskills”)thatimpactacademicsuccess

Not“traditionally”

Stan State’s STEM Success grant

4

• Academiccapital

• Senseofbelonging

• Self-efficacy

• Resilience

• Futurevision

• etc.

Psychosocial factors for students in transition

Especiallyiffirstgeneration

Especiallyifunderrepresented

Especiallyifneeding

remediation

5

Example: Cruz’s Dream (from Cars 3)

6

• Academiccapital

• Senseofbelonging

• Self-efficacy

• Resilience

• Futurevision

• etc.

Psychosocial factors for students in transition

✓Mentor

✓Community(othersarelikeme!)

✓Growthmindset

✓ Increasesenseofbelonging

✓Connectacademicstocareerplans

7

• Hero’sJourney

• Helpsstudentsrealizetheyareinatransitionthatwillchallengethem

• Helpsstudentsrecognizeandconnectwithcampusresourcessuchasmentors,tutoringcenter,etc.

• Buildsacademiccapitalandfuturevision

• Similarities/DifferencesGame

• Helpsstudentsrecognizetheyarepartofacommunity

• Increasessenseofbelonging

Two activities

8

• Canbeimplementedin1-2hoursinaclassroom

• “Safezone”climateisessential!

• Studentsmustfeelcomfortablesharinghighlypersonalinformation

• Respectprivacy/confidentiality

• Maytriggerstrongemotions

• Havecontingencyplansinplace

• Maybeastransformativeforfaculty/staffasforstudents

General features Studentsdon’tdooptional

9

• UsedasapedagogicaltoolforincomingSTEMstudentsbyElizabethImhofatSantaBarbaraCityCollege,helpingtoimproveacademicperformance

• Frequentlycitedintheliteraturetoexplaineducationaltransitions,butnottofacilitatethem

• DrawsonJosephCampbell’s(1949)conceptofthemonomythasubiquitousacrosserasandcultures

The Hero’s Journey

10

• Theherotraversesacommonsequenceofevents

The Hero’s Journey

11

The Hero’s Journey

• Proposetostudentsthatcollegeisahero’sjourney

• Discussthestageswithstudents,tostartthem thinkingaboutwhere theyareintheir journeys

• Providefunexamples, oraskstudentstofindexamples,toimproveengagement

12

Call to action (from Moana)

13

Crossing the threshold (from Big Hero 6)

14

Accepting the new role (from Moana)

15

• Thejourneyalsoinvolvesarchetypicalcharacters

The Hero’s Journey

GloveandBoots

16

The Hero’s Journey

• Proposetostudentsthatarchetypicalcharactersarecampusresources

• Providefunexamples,oraskstudentstofindexamples

Cars

17

• Askstudentstoengageinsmall-groupdiscussionsabouttheircurrentorpreviousjourneys

• Reportouttotheentireclass

• Useadditionalactivitiestointernalizethelessonsandhelpthem“stick”

• Writeanessayorpresentaskitdescribingafriend’sjourney

• Createanartifactrepresentingajourney (e.g.,LauraRendón’scajitaprojects)

• Assembleaplaylist,orcreateavideoorphotomontage

The Hero’s Journey

Matchtheactivitytothe

class

18

• Ourturn!

• Formgroupsof4-6peopleandintroduceyourselvestoeachother

• Ifyouhaveacompellingjourneynarrative,shareitwithyourgroup

• Afterwards,brieflyreportouttotheentireroomanythingimpactful

The Hero’s Journey

19

• Groundrules

• Givethoughtfulfeedback

• Respectothersandtheirthoughts

• Offersupportandideas

• Usekindwords

• Participate

• Stayfocused

The Hero’s Journey

• Groundrules

• G

• R

• O

• U

• P

• S

WhathappensinGrand2staysinGrand2

20

•Whatdidyoulearn?

• Howmightyouadaptthisforyourinstitution?

The Hero’s Journey

21

• BasedonastudybyStephens,Hamedani,andDestin(2014)

The Similarities/Differences (SimDiff) Game

Psychological Science2014, Vol. 25(4) 943 –953© The Author(s) 2014Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navDOI: 10.1177/0956797613518349pss.sagepub.com

Research Article

A paradox is undermining social mobility in the United States. On the one hand, earning a 4-year college degree is the surest path to higher socioeconomic status (Bowen, Kurzweil, & Tobin, 2005). On the other hand, college students who do not have parents with 4-year college degrees (i.e., first-generation students) receive lower grades and drop out at higher rates than students who have at least one parent with a 4-year degree (i.e., con-tinuing-generation students; Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak, & Terenzini, 2004; Sirin, 2005). Consequently, over the past 50 years, U.S. colleges and universities have contin-ued to reproduce and widen, rather than close, the social-class achievement gap (Duncan & Murnane, 2011;

Fiske & Markus, 2012). In the current article, we report a novel intervention that significantly reduces this gap.

Many colleges and universities seek to mitigate social-class disparities by offering programs to help first-gener-ation students transition into higher education (e.g., Engle, Bermeo, & O’Brien, 2006; Inkelas, Daver, Vogt, & Leonard, 2007). These programs are often founded on the assumption that first-generation students lack the

518349 PSSXXX10.1177/0956797613518349Stephens et al.The Social-Class Achievement Gapresearch-article2014

Corresponding Author:Nicole M. Stephens, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2001 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208 E-mail: n-stephens@kellogg.northwestern.edu

Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap: A Difference-Education Intervention Improves First-Generation Students’ Academic Performance and All Students’ College Transition

Nicole M. Stephens1, MarYam G. Hamedani2, and Mesmin Destin3,4

1Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University; 2Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University; and 3Department of Psychology, Northwestern University; and 4School of Education & Social Policy, Northwestern University

AbstractCollege students who do not have parents with 4-year degrees (first-generation students) earn lower grades and encounter more obstacles to success than do students who have at least one parent with a 4-year degree (continuing-generation students). In the study reported here, we tested a novel intervention designed to reduce this social-class achievement gap with a randomized controlled trial (N = 168). Using senior college students’ real-life stories, we conducted a difference-education intervention with incoming students about how their diverse backgrounds can shape what they experience in college. Compared with a standard intervention that provided similar stories of college adjustment without highlighting students’ different backgrounds, the difference-education intervention eliminated the social-class achievement gap by increasing first-generation students’ tendency to seek out college resources (e.g., meeting with professors) and, in turn, improving their end-of-year grade point averages. The difference-education intervention also improved the college transition for all students on numerous psychosocial outcomes (e.g., mental health and engagement).

Keywordssociocultural factors, social class, culture, higher education, intervention

Received 4/9/13; Revision accepted 12/2/13

by Harold Stanislaw on May 24, 2016pss.sagepub.comDownloaded from

22

• Studentsintransitionheardademographicallydiversepanelofjuniorsandseniorsanswerquestionsillustratingthattheirvariedbackgroundsservedasassets,ratherthandeficits,inmeetingchallenges

• Tomaketheactivity“stick,”thestudentsintransitioncreatedashortvideotestimonialforfuturestudents

• Amongfirst-generationstudentsespecially…

• Betterusewasmadeofcollegeresources

• GPAwashigher1yearlater

The SimDiff Game

23

• GamifyingStephensetal.(2014)makesiteasiertoimplementasaclassroomactivity whilestillhelpingthelesson“stick”

• Couldbemorefun

• MostquestionsaremodifiedfromStephensetal.(2014)

• Studentscanhaveawidevarietyofexperienceswhentheyhavemajortransitionsintheirlives,suchasmoving, attendinganewschool,beginninganewjob,or startingafamily.Describeoneofyourtransitionsandhowyouexperiencedit.

The SimDiff Game

CAUTIONAREA UNDER

CONSTRUCTION

24

• Collegestudentscomefrommanydifferentbackgrounds.Howmightyourbackgroundhelpyoucompleteyourundergraduatestudies?

• Whatexperiencesthatyouhadearlierinyourlifepreparedyoutoexcellaterinwaysthatyouwouldn’thave anticipatedatthetime?

• Peoplegotocollegeformanydifferentreasons.Whatdoesgoingtocollegemeantoyou?

• Provideanexampleofanobstaclethatyoufacedinyouracademiccareer,anddescribehowyouovercamethat obstacle.

The SimDiff Game

25

• Whataretheimportantrelationshipsinyourlife,andhowwillyoumaintaintheserelationshipsasyoucompleteyouracademiccareer?

• Howhaveyourpersonalvaluesimpactedyouracademicandcareerchoices?*

• Howhaveyourpersonalvalueshelpedyouovercomechallenges?*

The SimDiff Game

*BasedonvaluesaffirmationresearchbyMiyakeetal.(2010)

26

Values affirmation research DETOUR

27

• Idealforsmallgroups(6-8students),butlargergroupsworkifamoderatorensureseveryoneparticipates

The SimDiff Game

28

• OnestudentanswersaSimDiffquestion

The SimDiff Game

Tome,collegemeans…

29

• OnestudentanswersaSimDiffquestion,andearnsatoken

The SimDiff Game

Tome,collegemeans…

30

• Themoderatorputsonetokeninthe“similar”potandonetokeninthe“different”pot

The SimDiff Game

Similar Different

31

• Asecondstudentanswersthesamequestion

The SimDiff Game

Collegeformeisabout…

Similar Different

32

• Asecondstudentanswersthesamequestion,andexplainshowtheanswerissimilar(ordifferent)

The SimDiff Game

That’ssimilarbecause… Similar Different

33

• Allthestudentsdebatewhetherthetwoanswersaremoresimilarordifferent

The SimDiff Game

Iagree,because…

Butdon’ttheyboth…

Atadeeperlevel…

Ithinkbothanswers…

Similar Different

34

• Thestudentsvotewhetherthesecondanswerismostlysimilarormostlydifferentfromthefirstanswer

The SimDiff Game

Similar

SimilarDifferent

SimilarDifferent

Similar

Similar Different

35

• Themoderatorawardsthetokensfromthe appropriatepot

The SimDiff Game

Similaritis

DifferentSimilar

36

• Themoderatoraddsonetokentothe“similar”potandonetokentothe“different”pot

The SimDiff Game

Similar Different

37

• Anotherstudentanswersthequestion

The SimDiff Game

Similar Different

I’mincollegebecause…

38

• Thenextstudentanswersthesamequestion,andexplainshowtheanswerisdifferent(orsimilar)

The SimDiff Game

Similar Different

Idecidedtogobecause…

That’sdifferentbecause…

39

• Thestudentsdebate,thenvoteiftheanswerismostlysimilarormostlydifferentfromthepreviousanswer

• Themoderatorawardsthetoken(s)fromtheappropriatepotandaddsonetokentoeachpot

• Repeatthecycle,changingquestionswhenstudents appearreadytomoveontoanewquestion

• Sometimesstudentsreallywanttoanswer aquestion

• Superficialsimilaritiesanddifferencesdon’tcount

The SimDiff Game

40

•Whenthegameends,allowallstudentstochooseprizes

• Chooseinorderofnumberoftokensearned

• Impactfulfeatures

• Encouragesstudentstoconsiderhowpeoplediffer butareneverthelesssimilar

• Analysesquicklybecome“deep”(higherlevelinBloom’staxonomy)

The SimDiff Game

Goalofdifferenceeducation

41

• Ourturn!

• RemembertheGROUPSgroundrules

• Therearenorightorwronganswers

Howhaveyourpersonalvaluesimpactedyouracademicandcareerchoices?

The SimDiff Game

Grand2isanojudgment

zone!

42

•Whatdidyoulearn?

• Howmightyouadaptthisforyourinstitution?

The SimDiff Game

43

Quantitative evidence

• Hero’sJourney(withstudentscreatingaskit)wascombinedwithSimDiffgameinasummerresidentialacademyforincomingSTEMmajors

• Oneyearlater,retentionoffreshmeninSTEMwas100%,comparedto67%offreshmeninacomparisongroup

Smalln

Possibleselectionbiases

Manyotheractivitiesduringthose4weeks

44

Quantitative evidence

• Studentsinapsychologycareersclasswererandomlyassigned(aftermatching)totheHero’sJourney,SimDiff,oracontrolcondition(a10-yearreunion)

15

18

21

24

27

30

Hero'sJourney(n=20)

SimDiff(n=19)

Reunion(n=19)

Missedclass

(n=18)

19.3

27.428.128.4

Additionalunits

completedoneyearlater

Differencesnotsignificant

45

Quantitative evidence

-0.120

-0.060

0.000

0.060

0.120

Hero'sJourney(n=18)

SimDiff(n=18)

Reunion(n=18)

Missedclass

(n=16)

-0.091

0.0220.0300.056Changein

cumulativeGPAoneyearlater

Missedclassisonlysignificantdifference

• Studentsinapsychologycareersclasswererandomlyassigned(aftermatching)totheHero’sJourney,SimDiff,oracontrolcondition(a10-yearreunion)

46

Qualitative evidence: Hero’s Journey

• “Ireallyenjoyedthisactivity…aswellaslearningaboutotherpeople'sjourneys”

• “Ilikedgettingtoknowmypeersandlearningaboutthestrugglestheyhad/have.Insomecases,Ilearnedthatwehadsimilar obstaclesinlife.”

• “Ilearnedwhatatruementoris”

• “I…learnedthatamentordoesn'tnecessarilyhave tobesomeonewhoisofhigherintelligencethanyou,butinsteadsomeonewhogivessupport”

Classroomsrarelyfacilitate

this

47

• “Weallgothroughdifferentthingsbutwearenotalone”

• “TherearemanythingsthatIhaveincommonwithotherpeople.…SomeofthewaysIfeelorhavebeenstrugglingwith,theyhadthesameexperiences.”

• “MypeersandIsharethesamestruggle”

• “Everyoneistheherooftheirownstory”

Qualitative evidence: Hero’s Journey

48

• “Alotoftheresponseswerepersonal&gaveusachancetolearnaboutourpeers”

• “Weallhaveourdifferencesbutwealsohavesimilarities,thingsthatbringustogether”

• “[Thegame]helpedmereflectonwhyIchosepsychology”

• “Sharingpersonalinformationmademefeelaconnectionwithotherstudents”

Qualitative evidence: SimDiff Game

49

• “Everyonegoesthroughdifferentobsticlesinlife&theyarejustopportunitiestolearnfromthem”

• “Wearemoresimilarthanwearedifferent”

Qualitative evidence: SimDiff Game

50

HaroldStanislaw209.667.3213

HStanislaw@csustan.edu

51