Using a Solution-Focused and Transtheoretical Model

Intervention in a Second-Semester Seminar to Retain Students

Elizabeth S. Bambacus, MEd, NCC

Virginia Commonwealth University

The “R” Word

RETENTION

Retention

Student engagement• E.g., living-learning communities, service-

learning

Grade point average• First semester/year: significant predictor

of graduation (Clarke & Cundiff, 2011; Jamelske,

2008)• First-semester seminars

- Effectiveness inconclusive (Hendel, 2007)

- Focus here on second semester

UNIV 102

• MINDSET for Academic Success(Motivation, Investigation, Navigation,

Direction, Study Skills, Expectations, Time Management)

• Second-semester first-year seminar• Academic warning, murky middle• Taught by advisors• Problem: engagement and

motivation

Getting Buy-in

• Have students choose their own goal

• Have them self-monitor and self-regulate

• Use theoretical models

– Transtheoretical Model’s Stages of Change

– Solution-Focused Therapy

Transtheoretical Model: Stages of Change

• 18 psychotherapies: shared processes, 5 stages(Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982)

• Process: how the person changes • Stages: when the person changes• Processes and stages take time – Early stages = cognitive processes– Late stages = behavioral processes– (Grant & Franklin, 2007)

Transtheoretical Model

• Abundantly represented in medical (addictions) and athletic fields (Norcross, Krebs, & Prochaska, 2011)

• Only two known studies in collegiate setting (Grant & Franklin, 2007; O’Brien, 2002)

• Changeology (Norcross, 2012)

Stages of Change1. Precontemplation

Person does not realize need for behavior change

2. ContemplationAware of problem; decides change is needed

3. PlanningThinks about steps necessary for change

4. ActionImplements the plan

5. MaintenanceAfter 6 months of success, prevents relapse

Stages in College Students (GPA)

1. PrecontemplationFirst-semester even if grades are bad

2. ContemplationEnd of first semester, during winter break; decide to take 2nd semester orientation course

3. PlanningDevelop steps for getting better grades

4. ActionSpend semester working towards their goal

5. MaintenanceUse new skills through rest of college to keep on track

Solution-Focused Theory

• Constructivism paradigm: Response to lengthy psychotherapies finding root cause of problems (Berg & De Jong, 1996)

• Client is the expert

• Client defines problem

• Client sets goals to overcome problem

Solution-Focused Theory

• Counselor’s role: –Help client reconstruct perception of

reality–Use techniques to highlight client’s

strengths

• Common techniques–Miracle question– Exception questions– Coping questions– Scaling questions

SFT and College Students• Plethora of studies in higher education

• Positive outcomes in academic development when using techniques: (Devlin, 2006)– Goal setting– Acknowledging pre-session change– Scaling questions

• Few apply SFT approach to freshman orientation courses (Fitch, Marshall & McCarthy, 2012)

90-Day Academic Challenge• Semester-long, goal-oriented series of

assignments and activities

• Uses SFT and the stages of change

• Objectives:– For students to take ownership of academic

improvement for continued success– Increase in second-semester GPAs from first

semester– Increase in retention rates due to increased

GPAs

90-Day Academic Challenge (Reasoning)

• Contemplation stage: – Students choose to take the course– Ownership of change begins

• Self-monitoring– Subset of self-regulation– Student observes own behavior and

determines if it positively or negatively influences academic achievement

90-Day Academic Challenge Action Plan

• Planning Stage

• Matt Cutt’s (2011) TED Talk “Try Something New for 30 Days”

• 18 – 254 days for form a habit (Lally, Van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle, 2010)

• Students create detailed action plan

Choosing a Goal• Student chooses goal– One of the best predictors of academic

success (Klomegah, 2007)– Ownership and pride–Main component of both SFT (Devlin,

2006) and transtheoretical model (Norcross, Krebs, & Prochaska, 2011)

• Instructor guides student in choosing appropriate goal (SFT)

Steps for Achieving the Goal

• Student lists detailed small goals toward end goal• SFT technique – builds self-efficacy– More likely to keep working toward main goal (Cheng

& Chiou, 2010)

• Transtheoretical planning stage– List identifies specific steps needed to achieve change

• Be specific: – Do say: “I will study every Monday and Wed from 3-

5pm”– Don’t say: “I will study more.”

Predicting Challenges• Student lists possible obstacles

towards goal– Illness = missed classes– Sleep through a test– Forget deadline for a paper

• Student outlines solutions for each challenge– Exchange contact information with

other students– Follow up with professor, see academic

advisor– Follow up with professor, see academic

advisor

Support Network

Students lists as many resources as they can

– Campus resources: Writing Center, Counseling Services, Academic Advising, Library

–Other resources: Mother, father, sister, brother, friend, neighbor, RA, professor, advisor

– Particularly helpful for first-generation students (Swecker, et al., 2013)

Scaling• “On a scale of 1-5, rate your progress on

small goals this week; on main goal” (1= little, 5=met)

• Help student measure progress (Strong, Pyle & Sutherland, 2009)

• Seeing progress is critical to successful self-monitoring (Zimmerman & Paulsen, 1995)

• Weekly scales show improvement over time

• Report weekly with journals

Weekly Journals

• Submit online (Blackboard, Dropbox, etc.)

• Weekly reflection discussing accomplishments and disappointments

• Scaling ratings reported at end of reflection

• Grade on submission, not on progress

Role of Instructor• Provides ongoing encouragement and support

• Presents academic success skills (e.g., study skills, time management)

• Willing to change class topic depending upon immediate needs (disclosed in class or through journals)

• Confronts incongruent behavior to help develop self-monitoring

• Provides accountability (e.g., deduct points for missed assignments)

Outcome• Overall improvement in academic

achievement• Spring 2014: – Students who took the class:

• 17 students, 7 of them on academic warning (<2.0)• 58% of all 17 increased GPA• 43% of warning got on good academic standing

– Students who did not take the class:• 119 additional students on caseload• 39% increased GPA• None on warning made good academic standing

(probation)

Additional Observations• Small group discussions• Journaling invaluable• Scaling hit or miss• Requirements were met more after

middle of semester• Additional requirements: tutoring and

agendas– Difficult to meet– “Changed my life”

Limitations

• Not all students on academic warning were in the class (from caseload)

• Enrollment is optional

• Small “sample”

• Class meets once a week

ReferencesBerg, I.K., & De Jong, P. (1996). Solution-building

conversations: Co-constructing a sense of competence with clients.” Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 77(6), 376-391.

Clark, M. & Cundiff, N. (2011). Assessing the effectiveness of a college freshman seminar using propensity score adjustments. Research in Higher Education, 52(6), p. 616-639.

DeShazer, S. (1985). Keys to Solution in Brief Therapy. Norton: New York.

Hendel, D. (2007). Efficacy of participating in a first-year seminar on student satisfaction and retention. Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory and Practice, 8(4).

Jamelske, E. (2008). Measuring the impact of a university first-year experience program on student GPA and retention. Higher Education, 57(3), p. 373-391.

Grant, A. M., & Franklin, J. (2007). The transtheoretical model and study skills. Behaviour Change, 24(02), 99-113.

Klomegah, R. (2007). Predictors of academic performance of university students: an application of the goal efficacy model. College Student Journal, 41(2), 407-415.

Kuh, G. D., Cruce, T. M., Shoup, R., Kinzie, J., & Gonyea, R. M. (2008). Unmasking the effects of student engagement on first-year college grades and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(5), 540-563.

Norcross, J.C., Krebs, P.M., & Prochaska, J.O. (2011). Stages of change. Journal of clinical psychology, 67(2), 143-154.

Norcross, J.C. (2012). Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions (Vol. 35, No. 6). Simon and Schuster: New York City.

O'Brien, W. K. (2002). Applying the transtheoretical model to academic procrastination. Retrieved from ProQuest Information & Learning.

Prochaska, J.O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1982). Transtheoretical therapy: Toward a more integrative model of change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 19(3), 276.

Devlin, M. (2006). Solution focused work in individual academic development. International Journal for Academic Development 11(2), pp. 101-110.

Fitch, T., Marshall, J., & McCarthy, W. (2012). The effect of solution-focused groups on self-regulated learning. Journal of College Student Development, 53(4), 586-595.

Zimmerman, B.J., & Paulsen, A.S. (1995). Self-monitoring during collegiate studying: An invaluable tool for academic self-regulation. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 63, 13-27.

Cutts, Matt. (2011, March). Try Something New For 30 Days [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_ for_30_days.

Lally, P., Van Jaarsveld, C. H., Potts, H. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998-1009.

Cheng, P. Y., & Chiou, W. B. (2010). Achievement, attributions, self-efficacy, and goal setting by accounting undergraduates. Psychological Reports, 106(1), 54-64.

Strong, T., Pyle, N., & Sutherland, O. (2009). Scaling questions: asking and answering them in counselling, Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 22(2), 171-185.

Swecker, H. K., Fifolt, M., & Searby, L. (2013). Academic advising and first-generation college students: A quantitative study on student retention. NACADA Journal, 33(1), 46-53.

Thank you!Elizabeth S. Bambacusbambacuses@vcu.edu