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Framing a Theory-Grounded Research Agenda Related to STUDENTS

Framing a Theory-Grounded Research Agenda Related to STUDENTS Julie Hatcher, Peggy Fitch, Jay Brandenberger. IUPUI Series on Service Learning Research. Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Assessment Vol 2A: Students & Faculty Vol 2B: Communities, Institutions, &

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Framing a Theory-Grounded Research Agenda Related to STUDENTS

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  1. Framing a Theory-Grounded Research Agenda Related to STUDENTS Julie Hatcher, Peggy Fitch, Jay Brandenberger

  2. IUPUI Series on Service Learning Research • Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Assessment Vol 2A: Students & Faculty Vol 2B: Communities, Institutions, & Partnerships (Stylus 2013)

  3. Focusing on theory “Bringle(2003) has advocated for theory from cognate areas to be clearly used as a basis of research. These could include theories from psychology about motivation, interpersonal relationships, and cognitive and moral development; from business about interorganizational relationships, leadership, and change management; from philosophy about value systems and decision-making; from political theory about individual and collective action; from history about social movements; from communication about conflict resolution.”

  4. Focusing on theory “The theory or conceptual framework might precede the data collection, or it might emerge from or be modified based on data analysis and interpretation. Procedures for measuring quantitative or qualitative aspects of attributes do not stand alone, and their meaningfulness is often a function of how solidly they are situated in theory.”

  5. Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Assessment • I. STUDENTS • II. FACULTY • III. COMMUNITIES • IV. INSTITUTIONS • V. PARTNERSHIPS

  6. Section: STUDENTS • Cognition • Academic learning • Civic learning • Personal development • Intercultural competence

  7. Chapter template • Theoretical / conceptual frameworks • Critical review of past research • Measurement approaches and instruments • Implications for practice • Future research agenda • Recommended reading Lets do some of this same thinking together ….

  8. Critical review of research to date: STUDENTS (+) (Δ) Participants? Authors?

  9. Cognitive Outcomes of Service Learning Peggy Fitch, Pam Steinke & Tara Hudson Intellectual Development Cognitive Processes Related to Critical Thinking Metacognition Problem Solving Transfer

  10. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Relationship between intellectual development and cognitive processes related to critical thinking.

  11. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Intellectual Development: Perry’s Scheme • Dualism • Multiplicity • Contextual Relativism • Commitment within Relativism • Knowledge is “black & white” • Gray areas exist; all just opinion • Knowledge depends upon context • Can never really know, but must make commitments anyway (Perry, 1968/1999)

  12. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Predictive Modeling Design

  13. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Developmental Design RQ: How does level of intellectual development mediate or moderate students’ interpretations of, and responses to challenges and supports encountered in the service learning experience? Developmental Instruction Variables: • Structure • Diversity • Personalism • Experiential learning (Knefelkamp & Widick, cited in Moore, 1994)

  14. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Conversation Other research questions? Implications of the theory?

  15. Investigating Personal Development Outcomes in Service Learning: Theory and Research Jay Brandenberger, University of Notre Dame

  16. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Personal Outcomes of Service Learning self-understanding autonomy locus of control emotional intelligence character courage political efficacy political behavior civic understanding spiritual/religious orientation attitudes toward social issues conceptions of fairness & justice openness to diversity moral judgment identity development sense of integrity & purpose motivation interdependence wisdom well-being flourishing leadership skills personal ways of knowing Most of these have a moral or prosocial component.

  17. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Personal Outcomes  Salient Bringle, Phillips, and Hudson (2004)  majority of scales listed assessed personal outcomes, constructs

  18. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Personal Outcomes of Learning Are common but often implicit goals of service learning, if not much of higher education . . . Consider: "You don't go to Notre Dame to learn how to do something, you go to learn how to be someone."  — Lou Holtz

  19. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH APB: Theory Gone Missing Service-learning scholar-practitioners are often better than other faculty at identifying learning outcomes, though we still often leave the personal outcomes unstated or assumed and address constructs in an atheoretical manner Much is known in developmental theory that can enhance understanding of how service-learning may or may not facilitate growth and student development

  20. Theory Matters Begin with a Developmental Perspective Draw from well-developed knowledge of human learning and development nothing is so practical as a good theory

  21. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Do we want change, or development? Development suggests enhanced complexity (differentiation and integration) and suggests greater mastery or environmental fit

  22. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Theoretical Frameworks for Personal Outcomes (Development) Cognitive-Developmental Framework (Piaget, Kohlberg, Rest, Gilligan, Vygotsky…) Moral Development Theory Psychosocial and Identity Development Theory Positive Psychology

  23. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH The Swiss Watch Maker: Piaget • Knowledge is not a ‘‘passive copy’’ of reality; rather, ‘‘to know is to transform reality’’ and to construct ‘‘models among which experience can enable us to choose’’ (Piaget, 1970, p. 15). • Emphasis on processes of interaction and constructionthat are central to service learning

  24. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Cognitive-Mediational ModelAnderson, 1989 Service Learning is consistent with new understandings of learning that focus on how the learner mediates understanding of the environment Traditional learning assumptions  •receptive-accrual model •focus on effects of external inputs, accumulated

  25. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Cognitive-Mediational Model] We each construct our understanding of fairness, of justice, of liberty, of equality, of honesty, of community and the like no matter how long these constructs have existed, no matter how true or commonly held were earlier conceptions

  26. Action Development • We learn cognitively and morally through active engagement • Cultural contexts shape development • Knowledge of world and self is co-constructed through relationships • (See Santilli and Falbo, 1998) “… we learn to be just by doing just acts.” —Aristotle Consistent with models of service- and community-based learning

  27. Service Learning Outcomes in Personal Domain • Agency and Identity • Perspective Transformation and Ways of Knowing • Moral Development [and purpose] • Spirituality • Sociopolitical Attitudes, Citizenship, & Leadership • Career Development and Well-being

  28. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Moral and CivicD evelopmentDuring the College Years Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire. — Yeats Cognitive readiness:Moral development improves with level of education College environment provides cognitive and social challenge to prompt moral growth Idealism strong: change the world, search for a faith and commitment worthy of ones time and talents (S. Parks) 

  29. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Experience and Moral Development If higher education is to initiate the young adult into a conversation with the full force field of life, typically the student’s experience must be enlarged. The imagination must have plenty of experience to work upon if truth is to be appreciated. … This encounter is most powerfully achieved when the learner is not a detached observer but a responsible participant.(Parks, p. 143) See also: Moral Imagination, M. Johnson, 1993

  30. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH The heart cannot feel what the eyes have not seen. Moral Sensitivity First we must notice moral issues in context: “We must see, look about, interpret events.”(Lapsley) Cognitive processes: Perception, appraisal, interpretation Affective aspects:Anger, anxiety, empathy, apathy… Community-based learning provides opportunities for moral notice and role-taking

  31. Moral Reasoning/Judgment Is a constructive process: Individuals construct moral meaning Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky—> Is enhanced via interaction with people/environment Service-learning can provide both challenge and support for the above, and foster post-conventional moral reasoning

  32. Post-Conventional Moral Reasoning Moral Reasoning Compliments of Gary Larson Compliments of Gary Larson: 4(Wr)2 - 2(Wr)4 = R (x-y)2 + (y-x) From The Far Side (Universal Press Syndicate)

  33. Post-conventional Moral Reasoning At higher levels of moral reasoning (stages 5-6), individuals are able to: • Separate self from social conventions • See issues in multiple perspectives • Use complex problem-solving skills [consistent with goals of service-learning] Cognitive disequilibrium &social disequilibrium led to significant advancement on measure of moral development (DIT) for participants in ethics courses (Research by Boss, 1994)

  34. Moral Motivation Motivation to implement moral judgment, to take moral action Peer Autonomy “For Piaget … autonomy means collaboration in a spirit of generous mutual interest” by developing an attitude ‘that holds others’ values in esteem and asks for reasonable respect for one’s own values” (Philibert in Brandenberger, 1999) Service learning may foster: Moral Identity Erikson: key challenge of adolescence/youth is identity formation; must be understood in historical and cultural context … [see work of Yates and Youniss]

  35. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Moral Behavior Or: The road to hell is paved with good intentions Those “who come to believe that their prosocial behavior reflects values or dispositions in themselves have internal structures that can generate behavior across settings and without external pressures.”(Grusec and Dix in Kohn, p. 92, 1990) Moral action requires courage, perseverance, ego strength, and competence (Lapsley, 1996) Service learning can provide opportunities for action and self-reflection in moral contexts Moral Identity Enhanced:

  36. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Future Research Directions • Grounded in (developmental theory) • Focus on the process and trajectory of development, not just end gain • Holistic perspectives • Personal development for whom: justice or just us • Modeling, moral elevation • Skill development • Will and purpose

  37. IUPUI SERIES ON SERVICE LEARNING RESEARCH Discussion Dialogue (Research) Questions Collaboration PotentialsContact info: jbranden@nd.edu

  38. iarslceproceedings2012.wikispaces.com/Framing+a+research+agenda+-+student+outcomesiarslceproceedings2012.wikispaces.com/Framing+a+research+agenda+-+student+outcomes

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