Cognitive Schemas, Expertise Development, and Promoting Student Success

1. 2011 PSU Student Affairs Professional Development Meeting Cognitive Schemas, Expertise Development, and Promoting Student Success Dr. Peter Collier, Portland State University

2. My Research

3. Issue that contributes to relatively poorer academic performance for ALL students : they may not have a clear understanding of how college works

4. Traditional Model of Ed achievement Student’s Abilities Student’s Performances Understanding of Course Material

5. Two Path Model Understanding of Professor’s Expectations Student’s Abilities Student’s Performances Demonstrated Capacity Cultural Capital Actual Capacity Academic Skills Understanding of Course Material Collier & Morgan, 2007

6. One way to promote college student success is to facilitate their negotiation of the upper path of the two-path model – i.e. increase their relative level of student expertise

7. Model of Student Problem-solving Identify the problem / issue

8. Model of Student Problem-solving Identify the problem / issue 2. Develop range of possible solutions

9. Model of Student Problem-solving Identify the problem / issue 2. Develop range of possible solutions 3. Select preferred solution

10. Model of Student Problem-solving Identify the problem / issue 2. Develop range of possible solutions 3. Select preferred solution 4. Act on choice & monitor outcomes

11. Experts are more likely to

12. Experts are more likely to • quickly recognize issue

13. Experts are more likely to • quickly recognize issue • develop multiple workable solutions

14. Experts are more likely to • quickly recognize issue • develop multiple workable solutions • generate high-success solutions

15. Experts are more likely to • quickly recognize issue • develop multiple workable solutions • generate high-success solutions • evaluate solution more realistically

16. Experts are more likely to • quickly recognize issue • develop multiple workable solutions • generate high-success solutions • evaluate solution more realistically • chose a high-success solution

17. Experts are more likely to • quickly recognize issue • develop multiple workable solutions • generate high-success solutions • evaluate solution more realistically • chose a high-success solution • turn chosen solution into action that addresses issue

18. How does Student Expertise develop?

19. Schema: organized cognitive knowledge structure of conceptually related elements that guide the processing of information

20. No schema

21. Schema

22. Why Should we care? • Schemas influence info processing Schematic individuals are: • quicker in recognizing schema related information • more certain when judging if new info relates to important schemas 2. Schemas develop as new info is incorporated

23. becoming a “college student” involves the development of 2 schemas role schema: organized knowledge about being a college student self-in-role schema: organized knowledge about myself in regards to being a college student

24. Role / self-in-role schemas develop by combining more rudimentary “event schemas” or scripts event schema /script: detailed “line of action” for completing specific schema-related tasks

25. issue strategy resource Model of an Event schema Collier,2009

26. Expertise = well developed schema expert / schematic person is: • quicker to recognize issue • more likely to know set of workable strategies for addressing issue • more likely to select a high-likelihood-of-success strategy • more likely to know relevant resources for implementing strategy

27. How are role and self-in-role schemas built from “scripts?”

31. Process of adding additional scripts to role and self-in-role schemas continues until person realizes immediate goal – for a student this might be successfully completing 1st year in school

32. From my research: participation in mentoring program facilitated the development of more complete schemas More complete schemas = greater # of scripts for addressing key issues I propose that having greater # of scripts for addressing specific college adjustment issues may explain these students’ superior 1st year academic performance

33. Practical Suggestions(caveat)

34. Expertise Development Advising / Mentoring and promoting student success

35. Expertise development advising /mentoring involves “experts” sharing useful information about • what to do in order to succeed at the university, • insights into the culture of higher education, and • tips on how to become “more expert” students.

36. This approach involves helping students succeed by making them aware of available campus support services and showing how those services can help with specific college adjustment issues.

37. In addition, this approach provides students with a variety of scripts for how to use specific campus resources appropriately as well as strategies for key campus interactions

38. Points of Impact Understanding of Professor’s Expectations Student’s Abilities Student’s Performances A B Demonstrated Capacity Cultural Capital Actual Capacity Academic Skills Understanding of Course Material

39. 2nd point from my research

40. On-line Mentoring Works. Within the framework of the my intervention, it appears WHAT mentoring information is provided is more important than HOW that information is delivered

41. This is important because of set of related issues: • how to identify range of possible adjustment issues • matching campus resources to issues • indentifying strategies that work • advisor/mentor availability when students need information

42. On-line resources exist University StudiesUniversity.Connect System http://uconnect.unst.pdx.edu

43. “Access without support is not opportunity”Dr. Vincent Tinto Syracuse University

44. Dr. Peter Collier Professor of Sociology, Portland State University cfpc@pdx.edu 503-725-3961