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Developing Academic Accountability and Leadership Among Student-Athletes

Developing Academic Accountability and Leadership Among Student-Athletes. Jennifer Sturm Mike McCall Learning Specialist Learning Specialist & Tutor Coordinator & School Psychologist University of South Carolina Academic Enrichment Center.

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Developing Academic Accountability and Leadership Among Student-Athletes

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  1. Developing Academic Accountability and Leadership Among Student-Athletes Jennifer Sturm Mike McCall Learning Specialist Learning Specialist & Tutor Coordinator & School Psychologist University of South Carolina Academic Enrichment Center

  2. Session Outline • Foundations • Description • Results • Considerations • Discussion

  3. Study Skill Development Cooperative Learning Peer Mentoring Foundations

  4. Study Skill Development • More practical and experiential than research-based • Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) • Pauk, W. & Owens, R. J. (2005). How to Study in College (8th ed.). Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

  5. Cooperative Learning (CL) • “instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning” (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1998, p. 1:14) • Elements: • Positive interdependence • Individual and group accountability • Use of interpersonal and small group skills • Promotive interaction

  6. CL: Promotive Interaction • Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1998) characterized PI as students: • Assisting each other • Sharing resources (info, materials) • Providing constructive feedback • Enhancing decision-making and insight • Improving each other’s accountability

  7. CL: Educational Principles • Chickering & Gamson (1987) outlined good practice in undergraduate education: • Encourages cooperation among students • Encourages active learning • Emphasizes time on task • Respects diverse talents and ways of learning

  8. CL: Education Principles cont. Hansen and Stephens (2000) on student centered learning • Learning as socially interactive • “a social act that makes students accountable to others” (p. 47)

  9. Peer Mentoring (PM)What Is It? • Terrion and Leonard (2007) define PM as a model where a more experienced person serves to work on career (academic) functions and/or psychosocial functions • Mentors have relevant experience to pass on to mentees (Sanchez et al.) • Peer tutoring can be seen as a form of peer mentoring

  10. Elements of Peer Mentoring • Small or large groups (1:1 to 20:1) • Mentor should be similar to mentees • Mentor should be older but share experience with mentees • Mentors should regularly meet with mentees • Mentors should undergo training • Mentors should follow a plan

  11. Peer Mentor Communication Skills Mentors: • Need to be able to give constructive feedback • Need to listen to mentees and show empathy • Need to be able to teach a variety of skills through multiple modalities • Need to instill trust in mentees • Need to lead by example • Nee to be enthusiastic

  12. Peer Mentoring and Academics • It is cost effective • Benefits both mentors and mentees • Increase instructional opportunities since professors mostly lecture • Offers opportunities to respond and check knowledge • Mentees experience empathy, praise (feedback), and attention

  13. A study on Peer Mentoring Freshmen • Sanchez, R. J., Bauer, T. N., & Paronto, M. E. (2006). Peer-mentoring freshmen:  Implications for satisfaction, commitment, and retention to graduation.  Academy of Management Learning and Education, 5, 25-37. • Based on Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), which states behavior is influenced by attitudes towards engagement, influence from social situations, and commitment to the organization

  14. A study on Peer Mentoring Freshmen • This study evaluated mentoring of freshmen business majors • Results indicated that brief peer mentoring can be effective for improving student outcomes • Students who were mentored reported more satisfaction with the university • Improved attitudes towards the university can result in higher retention rates

  15. Rationale Participants Measures Sessions description

  16. Rationale • Academic skills workshop for 1st year student-athletes • Promote academic accountability and engagement in a specific course • Student-athlete leader/mentor

  17. Participants • Students (N=7) • 6 males, 1 female • 5 freshmen, 2 sophomores • 6 football, 1 track & field • GEOL 101 • Leader (N=1) • Female • Senior • Track & Field • Accounting, 3.6

  18. Measures • LASSI – pre and post • BASC-2 – pre and post • Reading – pre and post • Session evaluations – weekly • Student questionnaire – post

  19. Measures – LASSI • www.hhpublishing.com/_assessments/LASSI/scales.html • 10 scales • Attitude – Information Processing • Motivation – Selecting Main Ideas • Time Management – Study Aids • Anxiety – Self-testing • Concentration – Test Strategies • Factors that significantly contribute to success in college • Can be modified through interventions

  20. Measures – BASC-2 • Goal was to assess attention problems, test anxiety, and school maladjustment • Measure – Behavior Assessment Scale for Children – 2nd edition, college self report • There are 16 scales derived from 185 items • T-scores above 60 are at-risk, and T-scores above 70 are clinically significant • Measure is sensitive to changes in behavior

  21. Measures – Reading • To measure change, the assessment tool must be sensitive • Nelson Denny Reading Test and Woodcock-Johnson III reading measures lack sensitivity for a short-term intervention • Reading Curriculum Based Measurement (R-CBM) is quick and sensitive to improvements

  22. Measures – Reading cont. • Students read orally for 1 minute • Assess accuracy (number of words read correctly/total words attempted) • Assess fluency (Words read correctly per minute) • Any text can be turned into a reading probe by visiting http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/tools/okapi/okapi.php • Oral reading fluency for adults should be able to read more than 150 words correctly per minute with above 90% accuracy

  23. Measures – Session Evaluations • Student self-evaluation and leader’s evaluation of student • Likert Scale (1=Poor, 5=Excellent) • Student’s preparation for today’s session • Student’s attention during today’s session • Student’s effort during today’s session • Report to advisor: • Present • Book • Notes • This week’s goal • Goals for next week

  24. Measures – Student Questionnaire • 6 Items • 7-pt Likert Scale (1=Not at all, 7=Significantly) • 8 Items • Open-ended questions • Specific questions in results section

  25. Sessions • One evening per week, 1hr session • During football study hall • Private study room • Conference table with chairs • White boards • Note taking, reading, discussion, goal setting, test preparation

  26. Sessions – General Agenda • Check for book, notes, and last week’s goal/assignment (5min) • Review last week’s assignment (10min) • Brief discussion of new course material (5min) • Activity (20-25min) • Chapter quiz (10min) • Set goal/assignment for next week (5min)

  27. Sessions – Sample Activities • Current event • Read section, answer questions, and share • Read, identify 5 facts, teach group • Read, create quiz questions for group • Read, choose 1 concept and relate to real life, share • Teams given 2 topics to research and present • Individual outlines, compare, discuss differences, create master outline • Flashcards • Chapter quizzes, ways to recall information

  28. Participants Leader results

  29. LASSI • Increases of more than 6pts: • Self-Testing: 47.9 – 54.5 • Selecting Main Idea: 37.9 – 45.7 • Decreases of more than 6pts: • Study Aids: 69 – 57.1 • Individual Improvements • Participant 4: 6/10 categories • Participant 6: 8/10 categories • (Participant 3: 1/10 categories)

  30. BASC-2 College Self Report • One student remained at-risk for attention problems on both pre and post tests, but the student reported reduced school maladjustment • One student reported reduced test anxiety but an increased school maladjustment • One student reported reduced attention problems but increased test anxiety • One student had a reduced report of attention problems due to treatment for ADHD • Three students reported no significant changes

  31. Conclusions About Changes in Behavior • A few students reported reduced test anxiety, which could indicate that students felt more comfortable during test due to a better understanding of how to take tests • The student who experienced increased test anxiety may have increased awareness of testing difficulties due to increased study efforts and test taking strategies (i.e. more responsibility for test performance) • The student with the increased school maladjustment score generally had a poor attitude towards participating in the group

  32. Reading Curriculum Based Measurement • WRCM Range 91-150 • All of the readers need to improve their fluency on the Geology material • Three students improved fluency (1, 4, and 13 words) • Accuracy range 97.2% to 99.3% • All students were sufficiently accurate readers • Accuracy was similar or slightly lower for all students (91%-98.7%) • Second reading probe was slightly more difficult than the first probe

  33. Reading Results cont. • Overall, students did not make significant improvements to their reading rate • Overall, students accuracy was sufficient on the pre and post test • Although improving reading was a goal, we didn’t specifically target fluency as much as comprehension • The number of skills we attempted to include may have limited the impact of each skill due to lack of time to practice • Difference in probe difficulty may have limited findings though passages graded out similar according to reading difficulty calculations

  34. Session Evaluations • Leader rated better – green • Within 0.3 – blue • Student rated at least 1pt higher – salmon

  35. Student Questionnaires

  36. Student Questionnaires cont. • What skills did you work on during this semester? • Highlighting (6) • Notetaking (4) • Flashcards (4) • Outlining (3) • Identifying important information (2) • Reading (2) • Time management (1) • Test taking (1)

  37. Student Questionnaires cont. • What parts of the GEOL Study Group helped your performance? • Read section and teach important parts (4) • Read and do quiz questions (3) • Going over the material (2) • Visual learning (1) • Highlighting (1) • Flashcards (1) • Knowing more information for each exam (1)

  38. Student Questionnaires cont. • What would have helped you do better in Study Group? • Nothing (2) • More closed-off area (1) • Being more prepared (1) • Focusing better (1) • “Regular” people (1) • More visual aids (1) • More homework (1) • Less distracting group members (1) • More meaningful activities (1)

  39. Student Questionnaires cont. • What would have helped you do better in GEOL class? • Pay better attention (3) • Take notes (2) • Start study group earlier (2) • Take advantage of i-clicker questions (1) • See notes before class (1)

  40. Student Questionnaires cont. • What study skills do you want to improve? • Studying (2) • Reading comprehension (2) • Notetaking (2) • Identifying/highlighting important information (2) • Focusing (1) • Organization (1) • Writing (1) • Reading (1) • Flashcards (1)

  41. Student Questionnaires cont. • What did the Study Group leader do that was helpful? • Show different ways of studying (3) • Break down information (2) • Relate to us (2) • Printing off online quizzes (2) • Hints on how to remember information (1) • Kept control (1) • Very encouraging (1)

  42. Student Questionnaires cont. • What could the Study Group leader do differently? • Nothing (2) • Give notes (1) • Organize the first few sessions (1) • Write on board (1) • Stricter on football boys (1) • Be a GEOL major (1)

  43. Student Questionnaires cont. • Any final comments? • Thanks for helping me pass this class (1) • Glad I did it (1) • Made me go over the information (1) • Keep doing it for first year students (1)

  44. Leader Results • Weekly Journals • Researcher Observations

  45. Weekly Journals • Journals contained: • Session activities – successful or not • Student behavior • Goal/assignment for next week • Additional comments • Introduction/bio provided her with an “in” • Study tips well-received • Sessions went smoother as weeks advanced

  46. Researcher Observations • At first, unsure of what she could contribute to the sessions • As sessions progressed, she developed more and more into role of leader • During sessions, she maintained a good demeanor • Connected with students immediately because of her similarity to them, and earned their respect because of her academic success • Students listened to her study suggestions

  47. Before During After considerations

  48. Considerations – Before • Initiating group with students who are beyond 1st semester • Scheduling • Finding a leader • Choosing a course • Number and diversity of students • Skills to target

  49. Considerations – During • Students’ responses to activities • Cannot follow a strict schedule • Professor’s presentation of material • Students did not want to complete work outside of sessions • Misinterpretation by staff of the purpose of the group • Rescheduling session time

  50. Considerations – After • Start with 1st semester freshmen • Late start in the semester • Number of skills – less may be more • Number of students • More diverse group

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