Newsletter - April 2016
UCI School of Education Presentations at 2016 AERA
2016 AERA Annual Meeting
April 8-12
Washington, D.C.
List of School of Education presentations (organized alphabetically by presentation title and category)
"Acknowledging Reciprocity: The Interrelations of Teacher Support, Grades, and Student Motivation Over Time"
AERA Event: Poster Session 13: Motivation in Education
Presenters: Anna-Lena Dicke, Jacquelynne Eccles
Abstract
Teacher support and grades are known to be related to student motivation and achievement-related behavior. However, not enough is known about how these contextual classroom factors and student motivation interact over time. Using data from 1986 students and their teachers from the longitudinal MSALT study, the current study investigates the longitudinal reciprocal interrelations of teacher support and grades with student motivation (success expectancies and subjective task value) and effort across two school years. Two-level cross-lagged analyses showed differential patterns of reciprocal relations between student motivation and effort and teacher support and grades. Findings suggest that student motivation and effort should not only be considered as important outcomes, but also as important antecedents to better understand classroom and teaching processes.
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"Argumentation and Explanation when Participating in After School Citizen Science Program"
AERA Event: Impacts and Implications of Participation in Informal Science Education for Students' Science Engagement and Teachers' Practice
Presenters: David Liu, Jennifer Long
Abstract
The purpose of this video ethnographic case study will be to describe the interaction between students and how they interact and engage in authentic scientific practices in an after school citizenship science project. Preliminary findings show that students throughout the entire course of the program participated in some form of an authentic scientific practice such as gathering and analyzing data and samples. Peers notice students who position themselves outside of authentic scientific practices and make it known. The instructional aid’s engagement in authentic scientific practices positions the students as incorrect or wrong. Findings from this study highlight the importance participating in scientific practices mediates becoming part of a scientific community of practice with its own purpose, discourse, and methods.
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"Assessing and Predicting Student Treatment Compliance in a Utility-Value Intervention Study"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 1: Advances in Utility-Value Research
Presenters: Brigitte Marie Brisson (Tübingen University); Chris Hulleman (University of Virginia); Hanna Gaspard, Isabelle Häfner, & Barbara Flunger (University of Tübingen); Anna-Lena Dicke; Benjamin Nagengast (University of Tübingen)
Abstract
The study of treatment fidelity including students’ compliance with the intervention material is essential to make valid claims about the effectiveness of motivational interventions. The current study assessed students’ treatment compliance in two classroom-based motivational interventions (writing a text or commenting on quotations about the personal utility of mathematics) through coding students’ essays. First, the degree to which students complied with the instructions, measured through three fidelity indicators (positive argumentation, personal connections, and innovative argumentation) was described. The fidelity criteria were then combined into a single compliance index. Students’ conscientiousness and motivational predispositions predicted treatment compliance positively for both interventions, but students’ cognitive ability and gender played a role only for the intervention based on free text writing.
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"Beyond Tracking and Detracking: The Dimensions of Organizational Differentiation in Schools"
AERA Event: How Schools and Neighborhoods Matter
Presenters: Thurston Domina, Paul Hanselman, Andrew McEachin (RAND), Priyanka Agarwal, NaYoung Hwang, Ryan Lewis
Abstract
We use administrative data from four large public school districts to articulate several dimensions of school-level academic tracking systems, investigate the school-level factors associated with these dimensions of tracking, and assess the consequences of school tracking systems and students' subsequent achievement. In contrast to the national probability sample data widely used in the tracking literature, our data make it possible to capture school differentiation practices in detail. We measure the extent to which schools horizontally differentiate curricula in middle school math and English, as well as the degree of selectivity, inclusiveness, scope, bias, and mobility among school tracks in these two crucial academic areas. We then examine the link between dimensions of organizational differentiation and students’ subsequent academic outcomes.
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"Collaborative Writing Patterns in a Cloud-Based Environment"
AERA Event: Exploring the Internet Applications in Education
Presenters: Binbin Zheng (Michigan State University), Soobin Yim, Mark Warschauer
Abstract
We use administrative data from four large public school districts to articulate several dimensions of school-level academic tracking systems, investigate the school-level factors associated with these dimensions of tracking, and assess the consequences of school tracking systems and students' subsequent achievement. In contrast to the national probability sample data widely used in the tracking literature, our data make it possible to capture school differentiation practices in detail. We measure the extent to which schools horizontally differentiate curricula in middle school math and English, as well as the degree of selectivity, inclusiveness, scope, bias, and mobility among school tracks in these two crucial academic areas. We then examine the link between dimensions of organizational differentiation and students’ subsequent academic outcomes.
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"Critical Colleagueship Among Secondary Science Teachers in a Video Club"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 18: Coaching and Facilitation in Professional Development
Presenters: Tara Barnhart, Elizabeth van Es
Abstract
This study explores science teachers' critical colleagueship in the context of a semester-long video club. Participants engaged in the collaborative examination of artifacts of teaching to develop a more student-centered professional vision of teaching. Participants demonstrated attention to student thinking about disciplinary core ideas to problematize teaching and learning in science throughout the semester-long PD. Participants also utilized a mixture of evidence from artifacts in combination with professional anecdotes to make sense of the student reasoning in the artifacts. Participants built on each other’s ideas as well as challenged each other’s interpretations of student thinking as well as conceptions of core disciplinary ideas. The design features of the PD series and their possible influence on the group’s participation are discussed.
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"Differential Vocabulary Growth Trajectories Among Adolescent Language-Minority Students: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 28: Research in Vocabulary
Presenters: Jin Kyoung Hwang, Joshua Lawrence, Catherine E. Snow (Harvard University)
Abstract
We investigated general and academic vocabulary growth trajectories of adolescent language minority students across two years. Our sample included 3,653 sixth- to eighth-grade students from an urban school district in California. Our language minority students included initially fluent English proficient (IFEP), redesignated fluent English proficient (RFEP), and limited English proficient (LEP) students. On both vocabulary measures, IFEPs slightly outperformed English-only (EO) students on average, and EO students scored higher than RFEPs and LEPs at baseline. There were differences in the general and academic vocabulary growth trajectories of students by language status. The findings of this study underscore that there indeed are differences within adolescent language minority students and suggest that educators need to take them into consideration in their instruction.
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"Does It Matter to Have an Adjunct Instructor in the Developmental Education Course? Evidence From a Community College System"
AERA Event: Innovative Approaches to Developmental Education
Presenters: Di Xu, Xiaotao Ran (Columbia University)
Abstract
Our Study examined the impact of having adjunct instructors in developmental education, in both concurrent and subsequent course performance. Using unique longitudinal student-unit record data from a large community college system in one state, this paper extends the current literature on teacher effectiveness by examining the impacts of taking one’s developmental English and developmental math course with an adjunct instructor on the student’s current course, as well as on their enrollment and performance in the English and math gatekeeper courses. We used course fixed effects and instrumental variables to solve the potential student self-selection among course sections. This study provides key information to college administrators and policy makers about the characteristics and impacts of adjuncts in developmental education.
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"Effects of an Early Mathematics Intervention on Stable and Time-Varying Components of Mathematics Achievement"
AERA Event: Academics in the Earliest Years of Formal Schooling: Building Evidence for Policy and Practice
Authors: Tyler Watts, Douglas H. Clements & Julie Sarama (University of Denver), Christopher B. Wolfe, SUNY, Mary Elaine Spitler (State University of New York), Drew Bailey
Abstract
The current study tested whether long-run treatment impact fadeout from a preschool mathematics intervention could be explained by a latent factor model that parsed the variation in long-run mathematics achievement measures into stable and time-varying components.
Perspective
Well-controlled correlational studies show a strong relation between children’s early mathematics skills and their later achievement (e.g. Duncan et al., 2007). Such correlational findings imply that if interventions can boost early mathematics achievement, the effects of such efforts may last many years. Unfortunately, recent evidence suggests that this may not be the case, as the treatment impacts of a successful preschool mathematics curriculum faded substantially in the years following the end of treatment (Clements et al., 2013). The current study hypothesized that such fadeout patterns could arise because the treatment affected time-varying aspects of mathematics achievement, but failed to affect factors related to mathematics achievement that were stable over time.
Methods
We relied on data from the TRIAD evaluation study (Clements et al., 2013), which evaluated the scale-up of the Building Blocks (BB) preschool curriculum. The study randomly assigned schools to one of two conditions: BB preschool curriculum or control (business as usual). Student-level mathematics achievement was assessed at the beginning (pre-treatment) and end (post-treatment) of preschool, and follow-up assessments were collected in kindergarten, first, and fourth grade.
We modeled the measures of long-run mathematics achievement from preschool through fourth grade as a state-trait model (see Bailey et al., 2014), in which we regressed a latent trait on the four post-treatment and follow-up measures of achievement. The trait loadings for this latent factor represented trait effects, or the amount of variance in the four measures that was stable over time. Within the model, we also regressed each measure of mathematics achievement on the previous measure; we refer to the resulting paths as “state effects” (amount of variation in achievement explained by changes in the previous measure). We then tested the effect of the treatment on both state and trait mathematics achievement.
Results
We found that the latent trait factor explained much more variation in mathematics achievement than the state effects, as trait loadings ranged from .76 to .94, whereas state effects ranged from .04 to .25. Further, we found that the treatment had no detectable effect on trait mathematics, but had a large impact on state mathematics (β= .53, p < .001), indicating that the treatment effects probably faded due to a failure to impact the stable characteristics that influence mathematics achievement over time.
When we tested our model in both the treatment and control groups separately, we observed larger state effects for students in the treatment group. This indicates that more transfer of knowledge occurred in the treatment group, but these differences were only present in the two earliest follow-up measures.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that a one-time intervention is probably not sufficient to affect mathematics achievement in the long-run, as such efforts are unlikely to affect the underlying factors that strongly influence achievement patterns over time.
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"Evaluating the Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction for English Language Learners: A Meta-Analysis"
AERA Event: Poster Session 6: Curriculum and Instruction in the Science Classroom
Presenters: Gabriel Estrella, Jacky Au, Penelope Collins, Susanne Jaeggi
Abstract
Despite being one of the fastest growing segments of the student population, ELLs have yet to meet the same academic success as their English proficient peers, especially in science. In an effort to support the unique pedagogical needs of this group, educators have been urged to adopt inquiry-based approaches to science education. Although inquiry has been found to improve ELLs’ understanding of science, the magnitude of these effects and whether or not inquiry instruction provides comparable benefits to ELLs relative to their non-ELL counterparts, remain unexplored in the literature. In order to shed light upon this question, the current study conducted a meta-analysis and quantitatively evaluated the effect of inquiry-based instruction on science achievement for elementary grade ELL students.
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"Executive Functioning Deficits Increase Kindergarten Children's Risk for Reading and Mathematics Difficulties in First Grade"
AERA Event: Poster Session 3: Early Experiences
Presenters: Paul Morgan, Hui Li, Michael Cook, Wik Hung Pun (Pennsylvania State University), George Farkas, Marianne Hillemeier (Pennsylvania State University)
Abstract
Whether executive functioning deficits result in children experiencing learning difficulties is presently unclear. Yet preliminary evidence of this causal relation has many implications for early intervention design and delivery. We used a multi-year panel design, multiple independent and dependent measures, and extensive statistical control for potential confounds including autoregressive prior histories of both reading and mathematics difficulties to establish whether and to what extent executive functioning deficits uniquely predicted children’s risk for either type of learning difficulties. Results indicated that kindergarten children with working memory and, separately, cognitive flexibility deficits were at increased risk of experiencing learning difficulties in reading and mathematics by the end of first grade. The risks associated with working memory deficits were particularly strong.
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"A Focus on Learning in the Field: Connecting Coursework and Field Experience Through Teacher Educator Collaboration"
AERA Event: How You Doing? Cooperating Teacher and Supervisor Selection, Needs, and Expectations
Presenters: Jessica Tunney
Abstract
This research investigates a collaboratively constructed observation tool as it is implemented by teacher educators into their direct work with pre-service teachers in the classroom. Constructed by the group with the explicit intention of connecting university coursework with field experience, research examines adaptations made by practitioners during feedback conferences with pre-service teachers and considers shifts in conceptions of their roles as teacher educators. Findings suggest an expanded role for classroom mentor teachers in teacher preparation, as mentor teachers are able to highlight key learning opportunities to pre-service teachers as they emerge in practice. In addition, findings point to the potential for school-university collaborations to improve coordination and coherence between coursework and fieldwork settings.
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"Formative Assessment and Noticing: Toward a Synthesized Framework for Attending and Responding During Instruction"
AERA Event: Teachers, Teaching, and Classroom Assessment
Presenters: Erin Marie Furtak (University of Colorado), Jessica Thomspon (University of Washington), Elizabeth van Es
Abstract
In recent decades, two lines of scholarship have emerged that explicate the ways in which teachers attend to student thinking in the course of instruction. In mathematics education, researchers focus on noticing, or the process by which teachers see and make sense of particular events during classroom instruction. In science education, there is a focus on formative assessment, or the process by which teachers elicit and respond to student thinking on-the-fly. We propose a synthesized framework consisting of eliciting student ideas, attending to particular ideas, interpreting those ideas, deciding how to respond, and providing feedback. We analyze whole-class discussions to illustrate the utility of this synthesized framework, and connect our findings to core teaching practices for preservice and inservice teachers.
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"Fostering Students' Value Beliefs for Mathematics With a Relevance Intervention in the Classroom"
AERA Event: The Roles of Value and Interest in Promoting Learning
Presenters: Hanna Gaspard (University of Tübingen), Anna-Lena Dicke, Barbara, Flunger (University of Tübingen), Brigitte Maria Brisson (Tuebingen University)
Abstract
Students’ interests for various subjects tend to decline across secondary school (e.g., Frenzel, Goetz, Pekrun, & Watt, 2010). Aiming to find ways to buffer this decline, researchers have developed targeted interventions based on expectancy-value theory (Eccles et al., 1983). Expectancy-value-theory differentiates between four types of reasons for students to engage in a specific task: intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value, and (low) cost. Focusing on the value component most malleable through external interventions, interventions try to increase the perceived utility value of the learning material (for an overview, see Harackiewicz, Tibbetts, Canning, & Hyde, 2014). However, through stimulating relevance, these interventions ultimately aim at developing students’ interest and promoting their engagement (cf., Hidi & Renninger, 2006). Relevance interventions can, therefore, yield insight into processes of interest development that are triggered through enhanced value.
The aims of our current research are two-fold. First, we tested whether students’ value beliefs can be promoted through relevance interventions in the classroom. To answer this question, we compared two relevance interventions and examined effects of these interventions on all four value components. Second, we investigated whether these relevance interventions actually fostered interest development. To this end, we examined students’ situational interest regarding homework during the period after the intervention.
Eighty-two ninth grade mathematics classes in Germany (N=1916 students) were randomly assigned to one of two intervention conditions or a waiting control condition. The intervention consisted of a 90 minute session on the relevance of mathematics for students’ future lives. In the quotations condition, students were asked to evaluate interview quotations on the relevance of mathematics. In the text condition, students were asked to write an essay about the relevance of mathematics to their lives. Using a 37-item scale tapping all four value components, students’ value beliefs for mathematics were assessed before and both six weeks and five months after the intervention. Additionally, students filled out a homework diary for four weeks after the intervention. Herein, students reported on their homework experience with respect to triggered and maintained situational interest.
Students in both intervention conditions reported significantly higher utility value at the posttest as well as at the follow-up in comparison to students in the control condition. Additionally, students in the quotations condition also reported higher attainment value at both time points and higher intrinsic value at the follow-up. With respect to students’ situational interest regarding their homework in the four weeks after the intervention, students in the text condition reported a higher level of triggered situational interest, whereas students in the quotations condition reported a higher level of maintained situational interest.
Our findings show that relatively short interventions in the classroom can be successful in promoting students’ value beliefs until five months after the intervention. The differentiation between multiple value aspects in expectancy-value theory is helpful in developing and evaluating interventions. Examining students’ interest development can shed further light on the mechanisms underlying intervention effects. Further analyses will examine how students’ value beliefs reported before and after the intervention are related to situational interest.
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"Has Kindergarten Become Too Academic? Instruction and Children's Development in the First Year of School"
AERA Event: Academics in the Earliest Years of Formal schooling: Building Evidence for Policy and Practice
Authors: Mimi Engel (Vanderbilt), Daphna Bassok (University of Virginia), Amy Claessens (University of Chicago), Sarah Kabourek (Vanderbilt), Tyler Watts
Abstract
Objectives and Perspective
Recent research documents the academicization of kindergarten. In light of this and the codification of academic standards for kindergarten through the Common Core, some advocacy groups argue that today’s kindergarten overemphasizes academics. Others maintain that academics need not be at odds with play and that young children benefit from exposure to rigorous academic content. Further, a number of studies show that achievement gains made in math and reading during kindergarten predict student outcomes through eighth grade. Surprisingly, there is little empirical evidence regarding how exposure to academics in kindergarten impacts children’s development. We address this gap in the literature using two large, nationally representative datasets to answer three related questions:
Data and Methods
We leverage the National Center for Educational Statistics two Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) of kindergarten; the Kindergarten Classes of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) and 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). Both are nationally representative, longitudinal samples of children who were in kindergarten in 1998-99 and 2010-11, respectively and include direct assessments of students’ academic achievement at fall and spring of kindergarten as well as teacher assessments of children’s social skills and behavior. In addition, teachers completed surveys and answered detailed questions about time spent on academics, the reading and math content they covered, and their instructional approach. We model the association between teacher-reported time use and children’s academic and behavioral outcomes in kindergarten. Our key explanatory variables are measures of classroom academic focus (e.g., time on reading and math, pedagogy measures of basic or advanced content, and teacher-directed or child-centered instruction). Our outcome variables are academic assessment scores and teacher-reported behavioral ratings measured in the spring of kindergarten. We control for the same measures assessed in the fall, such that our models capture cross-kindergarten growth and change, as well as an extensive array of child, family, teacher, and school characteristics.
Results and Implications
OLS regression results indicate, as would be expected, that overall time on academic content is positively associated with student learning gains. Further, students whose teachers report spending substantially less time on academic content have significantly smaller achievement gains. Interestingly, preliminary results also indicate that students in these classrooms – where less time is spent on academics – also experience reductions in internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Results from this study will inform the debate around kindergarten. Preliminary results suggest that kindergarten classrooms with a heavy academic focus may have positive effects on student achievement but negative effects on students’ behavioral outcomes. Implications for policy and practice will be discussed.
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"Improving in Executive Function and Visuomotor Integration Predicts Kindergarten Achievement: Evidence From Two U.S. States"
AERA Event: Poster Session 3: Cognitive Processes
Presenters: Claire Cameron (SUNY), Helyn Kim (University of Virginia), Robert Duncan, Derek Becker, Megan McClelland (Oregon State University)
Abstract
This study examined whether children who improved in two cognitive skills, executive function (EF) and visuo-motor integration, learned more over the kindergarten year in mathematics and reading. In a single analysis (N=520), we combined similar data gathered with children from Oregon and South Carolina. Before and after kindergarten, children were assessed using the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) executive function (EF) task, the Beery-Buktenica Visuo-motor Integration (VMI) design copying subtest, and Woodcock-Johnson III Applied Problems and Letter-Word Identification. Hierarchical linear models found that, controlling for demographics and prior achievement, improvement in both EF and visuo-motor integration were each associated with improvement in mathematics and reading. Implications for early elementary teaching of the traditional achievement areas, i.e., through supporting foundational cognitive skills, are discussed.
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"Inside the Black Box of Self-Affirmation: Explaining the Effects on Achievement"
AERA Event: Poster Session 13: Motivational Processes
Presenters: Alex Schmidt (University of Wisconsin) Chris Rozek (University of Chicago), Paul Hanselman, Rachel Feldman, Erin Quast, Evan Crawford, Geoffrey Borman (University of Wisconsin)
Abstract
Despite numerous findings demonstrating that self-affirmation writing exercises improve academic outcomes for stereotyped groups, the mechanisms underlying the effects remain unclear. In this paper, we use data from a district-wide scale-up of a self-affirmation intervention to explore these mechanisms. We examine 1) how what students write about in self-affirmation exercises mediates the treatment effects, and 2) the extent to which these initial treatment effects on academics and behavior mediate long-term academic improvements. Our results show that complying with exercise instructions by engaging in perspective broadening writing is essential for the effectiveness of the exercises, and is associated with initial academic and behavioral improvements that explain the majority of the long-term academic treatment effects.
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"Is Delayed School Entry Harmful for Children With Disabilities? Evidence From North Carolina"
AERA Event: Academics in the Earliest Years of Formal schooling: Building Evidence for Policy and Practice
Authors: Kevin Fortner (Georgia State), Jade Jenkins
Abstract
Objective
In recent years, increasing numbers of parents have been choosing to delay their child’s entry into kindergarten, commonly referred to as “redshirting”. In addition, several states have increased their age cutoffs for kindergarten entry, requiring that children be at least five years old at the start of kindergarten. This trend has been influenced by both evidence suggesting positive effects of entering school at an older age, and marked increases in educational accountability. However results of research on the effects of age at school entry are equivocal, including evidence that delaying entry to school may be detrimental for children, especially for at-risk populations. Indeed, there exists a strong empirical basis for early educational interventions for impoverished children and children with special needs (Yoshikawa et al., 2013).
Data and Methods
We use recent (2006-2014) statewide micro-level census data from North Carolina, including student’s exact birthdates and information from kindergarten through 3rd grade to examine differences in the incidence and type of disability designations amongst children who enter kindergarten on time and those who are redshirted, and test for differences in student achievement on reading and mathematics exams at the end of 3rd grade by disability designation. North Carolina public schools use ten specific disability designations: Autism Spectrum disorders, Deaf-Blind, Deaf & Hard of Hearing, Emotional, Intellectual, Significant Cognitive, Specific Learning, Speech-Language Impairments, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Visual Impairments. We also estimate selection models to test whether parents’ decisions to delay their child’s entry into kindergarten are associated with the type or severity of children’s later designated disability. We include student, classroom, and school-level covariates, along with district-level fixed effects to account for differences in disability testing policies.
Results and Implications
Preliminary results indicate that redshirted students were overwhelmingly more likely to be designated by their school as having a disability - up to 2.8 times the risk of being designated as disabled. Furthermore, students who were both redshirted and disabled were associated with significantly lower math and reading achievement (0.2 SD) at the end of 3rd grade compared with disabled children who entered kindergarten on time.
Our study has several important policy implications. First, this study will provide information on whether test score outcomes for disabled redshirted students vary substantially across categories of disability. If certain disability categories are more negatively related to third grade outcomes, these findings could facilitate targeted dissemination of the negative effects of redshirting and the importance of on-time school enrollment for children within the categories of disability associated with diminished outcomes. Finally, this can help to inform state-level implementation of IDEA services. Preliminary results indicate that children with disabilities are better off starting elementary school as soon as they are eligible rather than spending an additional year “redshirted”, thereby delaying kindergarten entry. Results also highlight the role of public schools in delivering services to children with disabilities.
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"Kindergarten Components of Executive Functions and First-Grade Achievement: A National Study"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 22: Young Children’s Self-Regulation and Executive Function
Presenter: Tutrang Chung Nguyen
Abstract
This study replicates and extends past research on the relationship between school-entry readiness skills and achievement using nationally representative data from the ECLS-K 1998-1999 and 2010-2011. This study replicates with new data that early academic skills and approaches to learning behaviors are predictive of first grade reading and math outcomes. New evidence is provided that in addition to these skills, components of executive functions are also predictive of outcomes. In the absence of controls for children’s approaches to learning behaviors, executive functions contributed significantly to predicting later reading and math outcomes. One factor conceptualized as executive functions indicated that these skills are substantial developmental predictors of later achievement, although associations are still less than those found for school-entry achievement skills.
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"A Meta-Analysis of One-to-One Computing and Academic Achievements"
AERA Event: Poster Session 12: Innovative Approaches and Strategies to Program Evaluation in Schools
Presenters: Binbin Zheng, Chi Chang, Chin-Hsi Lin (Michigan State University), Mark Warschuaer
Abstract
Over the last decade, the number of one-to-one laptop programs in schools has steadily increased. Despite the growth of such programs, there is little consensus about whether they contribute to improved educational outcomes. This paper reviews 10 rigorously-designed studies published from January 2001 to May 2015 to examine the effect of one-to-one laptop programs on students’ academic achievements in K-12 schools. Our meta-analyses found significantly positive average effect sizes in English, Writing, Mathematics, and Science, but not in reading
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"Noncognitive Skills as Mediator of Relations Between Middle Childhood Organized Activities and Later Academic Performance"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 43: Fostering Noncognitive and Social-Emotional Skills in Out-of-School Settings
Presenters: Sabrina Kataoka, Deborah Lowe Vandell
Abstract
Organized activities are associated positively with academic functioning, with gender sometimes moderating these effects. However, the mechanisms of these relations are unclear. Using data from NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we test the hypothesis that organized activities are supportive contexts for the development of noncognitive skills and that these skills, in turn, support positive academic functioning. Structural equation model results indicate that middle childhood organized activities positively predict end of high school grades, and that this relation is partially mediated by noncognitive skills at Grade 9 in girls. Future out-of-school research should consider the development of noncognitive skills as a mechanism explaining academic outcomes, while simultaneously examining the moderating role of gender.
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"Not Writing" Writing: Learning Identity Stances in Networked Fandoms"
AERA Event: Learning Identifies: Trajectories of Identification and Participation in Digital Learning Publics
Presenters: Ksenia Korobkova
Abstract
This paper uses discourse analytic techniques to inquire into the stances toward learning taken by young people and parents in two distinct informal learning environments: an online platform to share creative writing and a Lego-sponsored exhibit at a Children’s Museum. Combining ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews, this inquiry explores how participants understood learning and schooling and how they positioned their identity vis-à-vis learning and schooling.
The two learning contexts profiled here vary in terms of structural features, learner populations, and involvement of digital publics. The first studied context is a mobile creative writing app called Wattpad, especially popular with adolescent girls. The second is a museum exhibit sponsored by the Lego Corporation aimed at educating elementary school-aged children on building mechanics. Because the contexts of study are distinct, they afford a fruitful comparison of the environments and the identity stances made available in those environments. Interviews with 12 youth participants in each context, their parents, and a multimodal examination of their “works” (creative writing pieces and construction sets, respectively) form the backbone of this analysis of learning identity formation. Thematic and axial coding techniques (Saldaña, 2009) are enrolled to compare the two learning environments and the affordances and constraints they entail for identity building.
Designed environments -- whether physical or digital -- invoke sensibilities, scripts, and social actions, but humans acting within them do the important interpretive work of figuring out the context, what actions belong within it, and, identity “stances” (Gee, 2005). Drawing from critical literacy studies (Luke & Carrington, 2002), I consider how learning environments structure learning stances, dispositions, and positions. Laying out different perspectives on identity as an analytic lens in education research, Gee (2001) posits a tension between the institutional identity perspective and the affinity identity perspective. Institutional identities are imparted onto people by institutions (e.g., school) while affinity identities map onto identity stances based on shared interests (Gee, 2005). This contrast is explored in how and when participants narrate their interest driven activity as helpful for education, schooling, learning, or development. Processes of identification are interrogated within the contours of the particular learning context and the social location of each participant. For instance, some creative writers were able to map their practices onto those of schooling while others call it “not writing” writing distinguishing from school. In parallel, some parents of Lego fans translated play into developmental benefits, drawing on discourses borrowed from pop psychology while others located these practices outside of learning and development. Preliminary analyses show that notions of class and scripts of status mediated the intersection of affinity and institutional discourses.
Broadly, this study considers the way that youth negotiate narratives of identity not of their own making and the way that youth construct their own narratives of the self within power-laden overlapping networks of adult and peer group relations. Understanding how young people and their parents see themselves as “learners” and how such identities are afforded in digitally-mediated spaces has the potential to contribute to the conversation around learning across contexts.
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"Preservice Teachers' Mathematics Teaching Competence: Comparing Performance on Multiple Measures"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 18: Connections and Conditions for Improving Preservice Mathematics Teaching
Presenters: Rossella Santagata, Judith H. Sandholtz
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between pre-service teachers’ performance on a teaching performance assessment for licensure in elementary mathematics and two measures of knowledge that, in studies of practicing teachers, were found to predict effective mathematics teaching. A sample of 91 pre-service teachers completed the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT), the Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) survey, and the Classroom Video Analysis (CVA) Instrument. Correlation analyses found overall weak associations between measures for the whole group, but differences emerged for groups of high- and low-performing pre-service teachers. In addition to suggesting areas for future research, the findings raise questions about assessing pre-service teachers’ readiness to teach mathematics and the use of a single measure to make licensing decisions.
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"Professional Development Informing Practice and Practice Informing Professional Development: An Iterative Improvement Approach"
AERA Event: Inquiry-Based Professional Development in Science
Presenters: Doron Zinger, Elizabeth van Es, Brad Hughes
Abstract
Inquiry science instruction is especially challenging in elementary grades where teachers are constrained by crowded curricula and time. Professional development (PD) may provide an opportunity to support elementary teacher development of inquiry science instruction. The study examines the inquiry practice of two teachers who participated in an inquiry science PD and the relationship between their enactment of inquiry and PD experience. Classroom observations, teacher interviews and surveys, lesson plans, teacher presentations, and videos from the PD were analyzed. Teachers’ inquiry enactment assessed through discourse analysis revealed teacher controlled discourse, low level questioning, and limited discussion. Analysis of the PD revealed limited teacher opportunities to experience inquiry, and a disconnect between lesson content and inquiry practice. Implications for PD are discussed.
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"Racial Achievement Gap in Early Science Achievement"
AERA Event: Young Children’s STEM Learning and Development
Presenters: Wei Wang, Greg Duncan
Abstract
Previous research has recognized the importance of racial disparities in reading and math achievement while little is known about early science. This paper utilizes the ECLSK: 2011 to provide an up-to-date examination of racial achievement gaps in science during the first two years of school. Large gaps were found among Black, Hispanic and Asian students relative to whites. Family characteristics and school quality can explain some, but not all, of the racial science gap. From kindergarten to the 1st grade, Hispanic-White gap and Asian-White gap in science have decreased, but the black-white science gap does not change much.
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"Reappraising Adversity Improves Students' Academic Achievement, Behavior, and Well-Being"
AERA Event: Different Routes to the Similar Outcomes: Improving Students' Well-Being in Addition to Achievement in School
Presenters: Geoffrey Borman (University of Wisconsin), Chris Rozek (University of Chicago), Jaymes Ray Pyne (University of Wisconsin), Paul Hanselman, Rachel Feldman (University of Wisconsin)
Abstract
Objectives
Most people experience occasional threats to their sense of social belonging. This study examined how an intervention designed to help students to reappraise academic and social concerns might alleviate the negative effects of the transition from elementary to middle school on students’ grades, behavior, and well-being.
Theoretical Framework
Social belonging is defined as a sense of having positive relationships with others (Walton and Cohen, 2011) and is theorized to be an essential human need (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). When students transition from school to school, they may experience a perceived threat to their sense of fitting in, called belonging uncertainty (Walton & Cohen, 2007). In this psychological state, students associate ambiguous or negative cues in their environments (e.g., getting one bad grade, having an argument with a friend) with the idea that they do not belong, and often attribute the cause of this non-belonging to internal and permanent characteristics instead of changeable conditions (Sekaquaptewa, 2011; Murphy et al., 2007). This attribution error cultivates a negative feedback loop; as students vigilantly assess all available information in order to figure out if they are capable of making it academically and socially in their new environment, negative or ambiguous information confirms their interpretation that they do not belong academically and socially, which leads to diminished academic motivation and effort (Thoman et al., 2013).
Social belonging interventions can mitigate such attribution errors by normalizing the fears of failure about academic achievement (Walton & Cohen, 2007). This intervention alters students’ mindsets by helping them to reappraise academic and social adversity. The intervention (a) provides reassurance that difficulties occur for everyone, and not just particular students or groups, and (b) suggests that the situation will naturally resolve with time. This normalization process can change how students interpret stress (i.e., from unchangeable to changeable) in school during difficult transitions.
Methods/Data Sources
During the 2013-14 school year, all sixth-graders in a racial diverse school district were involved in a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a social belonging intervention (see Table 1 for experimental balance). Study outcomes of interest included students’ sixth-grade GPA, failing grades, behavioral referrals, absences, and four measures of student academic well-being, including school trust, social belonging, evaluation anxiety, and identification with school, which were measured pre- and post-intervention.
Results/Scientific Significance
Controlling for pre-treatment performance and several demographic factors (e.g., free/reduced lunch status), we found significant intent-to-treat effects for all outcomes in the expected directions. While students entering middle school are at an increased risk of belonging uncertainty, and typically experience a downward trajectory in academics and well-being, the results of this study show that a social belonging intervention can substantially mitigate this phenomenon and improve students’ academic outcomes. The practical implications of such an intervention are far-reaching. In addition to immediate academic, behavioral, and social and psychological improvements, reaching students at such a critical juncture has the potential to prepare students for longer-term success, including preparation for college and the workforce.
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"Reducing Achievement Gaps in Academic Writing for Latinos and English Learners in Grades 7–12"
AERA Event: Professional Development to Support English Learners
Presenters: Carol B. Olson, Tina Matuchniak, Huy Quoc Chung, Rachel Stumpf, George Farkas
Abstract
This study reports findings from a randomized controlled trial of a professional development program that takes a cognitive strategies approach to teaching text-based analytical writing to students, specifically Latinos and mainstreamed English Learners (ELs). 95 teachers in 16 secondary schools were stratified by school and grade and then randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Treatment teachers participated in 46 hours of training to help students write analytical essays. Difference-in-differences and regression analyses revealed significant effects on student writing outcomes in both years of the intervention (Year 1 d=0.48 and Year 2 d=0.60). Additionally, treatment students had higher pass rates than control students on the California High School Exit Exam in both years.
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"Repeated Evidence of Minority Underrepresentation in Special Education"
AERA Event: Roundtable 9: Are We Identifying the Right Students for Special Education? Emerging Directions in Disproportionality Research
Paper Title: Repeated Evidence of Minority Underrepresentation in Special Education
Presenters: Paul Morgan (Pennsylvania State University), George Farkas
Abstract
Objectives and Perspective
We summarize findings from five recent studies examining minority disproportionate representation. We situate these five studies within conflicting theoretical and empirical work regarding whether minority children are disproportionately over- or under-represented in special education. We briefly summarize this conflicting work, provide both methodological and substantive limitations that may account for these conflicting findings, and report on mechanisms (e.g., school-level economic and racial composition) that may explain disparities in disability identification and treatment.
Methods and Data Sources
We overview multivariate analyses of two nationally representative and longitudinal datasets maintained by the U.S. Department of Education. We report results using a range of analytical methods, including multilevel logistic regression modeling and event history modeling, as well as estimates for special education placement generally and across specific disability conditions. These analyses were designed to account for an unusually extensive set of potential confounding factors (e.g., individual-level academic achievement, family economic resources, school-level racial composition) when estimating minority children’s likelihood of being identified as disabled and so placed into special education, thereby allowing for contrasts with “otherwise similar” white, English-speaking children.
Results
Our results repeatedly indicate that minority children are less likely than otherwise similar white, English-speaking children to be identified as disabled and so receive special education services for which they may be legally entitled. The magnitude of these disparities can be quite large (e.g., a 60% difference in the estimated odds ratios). We find that under-identification is evident both prior to and following school entry, in separate analyses of the two datasets, and both for special education generally as well as across a range of specific disability conditions. This includes under-identification for both intellectual disabilities and emotional disturbances, the two conditions which minority children are often reported to be over-identified for. For example, we find that black children are 57% (covariate-adjusted odds ratio = .43) and 64% (covariate adjusted odds ratio = .36) less likely to be identified as having intellectual disabilities and emotional disturbances, respectively, than otherwise similar white children. We provide empirical evidence indicating that attending racially segregated schools may be a mechanism that helps explain minority children’s under-representation.
Scholarly Significance
Results from the five studies help address substantial ambiguity for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers as to whether minority children are over- or under-represented in special education. Our work addresses previously identified substantive and methodological limitations in the existing work (e.g., National Research Council, 2002). These results also have far-reaching implications. For example, our results suggest that current federal legislation and policy, which is largely directed towards reducing minority over-representation, may be inadvertently exacerbating racial/ethnic disparities in disability identification and treatment.
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"The Roles of Transfer and Forgetting in the Persistence and Fadeout of Early Childhood Mathematics Interventions"
AERA Event: Poster Session 2: Cognitive Processes
Presenters: Connie Yun Kang, Greg Duncan, Douglas H. Clements, Julie Sarama (University of Denver), Christopher B. Wolfe (SUNY), Mary Elaine Spitler (State University of New York), Drew Bailey
Abstract
The fact that mathematics achievement gaps develop prior to school entry suggests the need to develop effective early childhood mathematics interventions. While effective interventions have generated immediate positive effects on mathematics achievement, many of these effects dissipate, or fade out, over time while only few persist. This study extends early math intervention research by focusing on how children’s cognitive processes mediate the effects of Building Blocks – an established pre-K mathematics curriculum intervention that utilizes manipulatives and computer objects to mathematize everyday life. This investigation helps in better understanding how students remember and forget math skills over time, ultimately informing educators interested in prolonging early math intervention effects to help create longer-lasting interventions that will better benefit disadvantaged students in the future. Using the TRIAD evaluation dataset and logistic regression analysis, this study estimates the mediating effect of cognitive processes, particularly forgetting and learning transfer, on the fadeout and persistence of Building Blocks. This study also investigates the effect of having a sustaining environment mitigate forgetting and promote learning transfer. Control and treatment group differences in forgetting account for about 15% of the fadeout of the intervention effects, and this difference was reduced by one-third with a sustained environment. Control and treatment group differences in learning difficult questions in later grades account for about 51% of the persistence of the intervention effects, although this only accounted for 20% of the initial effect. Since the ratio of transfer to original learning gain is very small, this suggests that the key to creating persistent math intervention impacts may rely more on mitigating forgetting through creating sustaining environments for students after the intervention.
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"Schools, Maintained Inequalities, and Algebra for All"
AERA Event: Pathways Through Math Across Levels of Schooling
Presenters: Paul Hanselman, Thurston Domina, NaYoung Hwang
Abstract
Stratification research demonstrates that educational inequalities often persist in the face of educational expansion, but it reveals relatively little about how and where such equalities are maintained. To address these questions, this paper focuses on the schools and local institutions in which key resources, such as course placement, are allotted. We develop an organizational perspective on maintained inequality, and apply this framework to empirical case of California’s recent “Algebra for All” initiative, which saw dramatic increases in middle school algebra enrollments but only slight decreases in economic course-taking gaps. We find that overall trends masked substantial heterogeneity across schools, which we trace to differences in changes in maximal possible inequality (given spaces and students) and the realized level of inequality
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"Science Achievement Gaps Begin Very Early, Persist, and Are Largely Explained by Modifiable Factors"
AERA Event: Poster Session 3: Early Experiences
Presenters: Paul Morgan (Pennsylvania State University), George Farkas, Marianne Hillemeier, Steve Maczuga, Michael Cook, Hui Li (Pennsylvania State University)
Abstract
We examined the age of onset, over-time dynamics, and mechanisms possibly underlying the science achievement gaps commonly experienced by at-risk elementary and middle schoolchildren in the U.S. Analyses of a longitudinal sample of 7,757 children indicated large gaps in general knowledge already evident at kindergarten entry. Kindergarten general knowledge was the strongest predictor of first grade general knowledge, which in turn was the strongest predictor of science achievement from third to eighth grade. Large science achievement gaps were subsequently evident when science achievement measures first became available in third grade. These gaps persisted until at least the end of eighth grade. Most or all of the observed science achievement gaps were explained by the study’s many predictors.
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"Sustaining Teacher Change: Examining Factors That Influence the Longevity of Professional Development Outcomes"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 5: Longitudinal Professional Development for Teacher Learning
Presenters: Judith Sandholtz, Cathy Ringstaff, Bryan Matien (WestEd)
Abstract
This longitudinal study investigated the extent to which state-funded teacher professional development designed to improve K-2 science led to changes that persisted two and three years beyond the funding period. This study included 30 teachers, representing 14 schools and 13 districts. Data sources included a teacher survey, self-efficacy assessment, and interviews. Separate linear mixed effects ANCOVA models were fit to teacher ratings for all outcome measures. Results indicate instructional time in science and teachers’ use of inquiry-based and student-centered strategies remained stable after the program ended. In contrast, teachers’ perceptions of principal support for teaching science and their self-efficacy related to science instruction significantly decreased. The research identifies factors that influence long-term changes, leading to practical implications for follow-up support.
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"Tracking High School Students' Pathways to Male- and Female-Dominated STEM Careers"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 30: Pathways and Academic Experiences
Presenters: Marcela Martinez, Melissa Powell, Anne McDaniel (Ohio State University)
Abstract
STEM has recently become bifurcated into male and female dominated fields, making it crucial to no longer consider STEM as one uniform, male-dominated concept. This study uses the Education Longitudinal Study nationally representative dataset to examine students’ decisions to choose a STEM major, earn a STEM bachelor degree, and have a career particularly in male or female dominated STEM fields. Results show, most high school students expect to go into careers traditionally associated to their gender, which matters greatly for declaring a major, earning a degree, or having a career in male- or female-STEM. Self-efficacy, course completion and math achievement are less effective indicators. Educators should encourage students to pursue careers contrary to how the STEM field is gender stratified.
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"Traditional Gender Role Beliefs Have Consequences: Long-Term Impacts on Educational and Occupational Choices"
AERA Event: Poster Session 7: Gender and Identity: Links to Adjustment
Presenters: Anna-Lena Dicke, Nayssan Safavian, Jacquelynne Eccles
Abstract
Gender-role beliefs are key determinants of adolescents and adults’ occupational and educational aspirations and choices (Schoon & Parsons, 2002). These gender-role beliefs develop in response to important socialization experiences, such as parents’ gendered beliefs, actions and behaviors (Witt, 1997). The current study investigated how parents’ traditional gender-role beliefs and educational attainment are associated with adolescents’ gender-role beliefs and subsequent gendered aspirations, occupational and educational attainment. Using data from participants of the 30-year longitudinal MSALT study and their parents, multi-group path analyses showed differential associations of mothers and fathers’ traditional gender role beliefs with male and female adolescents’ gender role beliefs. These gender role beliefs, in turn, showed differential associations with occupational and educational attainment for females than males.
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"A Two-Year Campus-Wide Study of Student Response Systems in STEM Courses"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 3
Authors: Mariela Janet Rivas, Lynn C. Reimer, Amanda Nili, Mark Warschauer
Abstract
Student response systems (or clickers) can enhance classroom interaction and provide formative feedback for both students and instructors. The present population-based study involves two years of naturalistic observations of 133 undergraduate courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, and physics, 39% of which employed clickers. Course observations were conducted to evaluate the frequency and type of clicker use during class. Results from year 1 indicate that clicker usage was positively associated with higher grades in the course as well as grades in the subsequent course. Clicker use was associated with slightly less likelihood of progressing to the next course. Preliminary year 2 results provide more detailed qualitative information on clicker usage.
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"Three Unique Approaches to Introductory Biology: A Comparison of the Attitudes and Academic Outcomes of Underrepresented Groups"
AERA Event: Leveraging Institutional Resources to Enhance the Experiences and Outcomes of Diverse Students
Presenters: Meghan Macias, Lynn C. Reimer, Amanda Nili
Abstract
The present study observed 10 course sections of introductory biology (N = 3,706) taught with three distinct methods (flipped, blended, and traditional) in fall of 2014 and 2015. The flipped method of teaching was associated with a .13 standard deviation increase in course grade (p < 0.01) and the students were 20% more likely to take the next course in the sequence. Student interviews reveal compelling stories of underrepresented students pursuing majors in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). We present the experiences of first generation, ethnic minority, and transfer students in these settings to explain the positive student outcomes in the flipped format.
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"Understanding Latino Parents' Support of Their High School Students in Science: Insights From Mixed Methods"
AERA Event: Parental Effects on Adolescents' and Young Adults' Motivation and Career Plans in STEM
Presenters: Sandra Simpkins
Abstract
Framework and Objectives
High school is a pivotal point in the STEM pipeline in the United States (Maltese & Tai, 2011). Approximately, 45% of US 10th grade students interested in pursuing a STEM career lost that interest by the end of high school (Aschbacher et al., 2010). Females and Latinos are at a particularly high risk to leave STEM. According to the Eccles’ expectancy-value model, parental support bolsters adolescents’ science motivation and should lessen the risk for dropping out (Wigfield et al., 2015). But, much of the existing empirical work focuses on elementary school and non-Latino students (e.g., Simpkins et al., 2015). Moreover, questions concerning the direction of influence (e.g., are parents driving the processes or reacting to adolescents’ achievement) become central during this age period but have yet to be addressed. Therefore, the goal of this mixed-methods study was to examine the relations between Latino parents’ support and adolescents’ ability and motivational beliefs at 9th and 10th grade.
Data / Method
Longitudinal data on 103 Latino parent- student dyads (see Table 1 for participant information) were collected in 9th and 10th grade (the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years, respectively). Quantitative data were collected on parents’ science-specific support (reported by parents, 6-10 items, α =.75-.81), adolescents’ science ability (reported by teachers, 3 items, α =.96), and adolescents’ science ability self-concept and value (reported by adolescents, 12-15 items, α =.92-.95). Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with adolescents and parents in 10th grade on a variety of topics including adolescents’ value of science, parents’ support of the adolescent in science, and who the adolescent goes to for science help.
Results / Significance
We characterized parents’ science support in terms of their overall support as well as three specific types of support: (a) coactivity, (b) school involvement, and (c) positivity. The quantitative results are similar across parents’ overall support and the three specific types of parents’ support, as well as within each wave and longitudinally. As shown in Figure 1, parents’ overall support was not related to adolescents’ science ability (or motivation), which contradicts previous work suggesting parents’ support is a positive predictor in a variety of domains (Simpkins et al., 2015; Wigfield et al., 2015). The six sections shown in Figure 1 are defined by the quantitative data and will determine our groups for the qualitative analysis. Comparisons across cases within each group and across groups will help explain cases that are unexpected based on theory. For example, it is possible that the adolescents in section 1 exemplify the natural developmental progression of increasing autonomy in areas in which adolescents are skilled. Alternatively, it is possible that parents in section 1 have little involvement do to cultural or socioeconomic barriers and that adolescents are succeeding due to other non-parental supports or individual assets. The qualitative findings will provide insight into the universality of the expectancy-value model and what other indicators need to be considered to understand the complex relations among Latino parents’ science support and adolescents’ ability and motivation.
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"Unpacking Reading Performances of Reclassified Fluent English Proficient Students"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 22: Trends in Second Language Reading Research
Presenters: Jin Kyoung Hwang, Joshua Lawrence
Abstract
We examined academic vocabulary, general vocabulary and reading comprehension growth trajectories of adolescent reclassified English proficient (RFEP) students using individual growth modeling analysis. Our sample included 1,226 sixth to eighth grade RFEP students from six schools in an urban school district in California. Students completed up to four waves of reading-related measures during two-year time period. Our findings indicate that 1) students’ scores on vocabulary and reading assessments were correlated with their years since redesignation and 2) students showed growth over time on all outcomes on average and the rate of growth did not differ by their years since redesignation. The results underscore the heterogeneity in reading-related outcomes within the RFEP student population.
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"Who Holds a Fixed Mind-Set and Whom Does It Harm in High School Mathematics?"
AERA Event: Advances in Mind-Set Research
Presenters: NaYoung Hwang, Marcela Martinez, Jacquelynne Eccles
Abstract
Research on theories of intelligence has shown that students with growth mindsets tend to outperform those with fixed mindsets in mathematics. However, most research has not examined whether holding a particular mindset varies by subgroup, including gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or achievement level, or whether holding fixed mindsets is particularly detrimental for any of these subgroups. Using a nationally representative dataset, we find that white students and students with higher socioeconomic statuses are more likely to view intelligence as a fixed trait than nonwhites and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. We also find that students with fixed mindsets and the lowest prior achievement scores experienced the greatest decrease in their 12th grade math achievement scores relative to the highest achievers.
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Invited Speakers
Invited Speaker Session: AERA 2017: You Only Have a Year to Get Your Next Proposal Ready!
Chair: Elizabeth van Es
Session Abstract
The 2017 annual meeting will be in San Antonio for the first time ever—very exciting! Everyone will want to attend and enjoy the South West, so competition for a space on the program will undoubtedly be steep. You can get a leg up on your proposal for 2017 by talking to the 2016 section chairs—they know what it takes to develop a great proposal and they are waiting to talk to you. In this session, 1) what makes a strong proposal; 2) choosing the right section for your submission; 3) common mistakes to avoid; 4) the review process including criteria and standards. You won’t want to miss it!
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Invited Speaker Session: Public Scholars on the Social Impact of School-Related Inequalities: Perspectives From Multiple Disciplines
Participant: Greg Duncan
Session Abstract
Recent research provides strong evidence that unequal educational outcomes between richer and poorer students are due in part to curricular inequalities occurring within schools and between schools. Accordingly, rather than ameliorating background inequalities, the U.S. educational system may be exacerbating them. This session premiers a new short video—an artifact of public scholarship that communicates these research findings. Scholars from multiple disciplinary perspectives (sociology, economics, political science, and educational theory) will discuss implications of this research. They also consider how public scholarship focused on schooling inequality; its relationship to larger social, political and economic inequalities; and the public’s understanding of what a commitment to equality requires can inform and be informed by insights from different intellectual perspectives.
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Chairs
When Education Policy Backfires and What Can We Learn
Chair: Gilberto Q. Conchas
Symposium Abstract
Over past decades, we have seen an influx of state and educational policies being implemented to reduce educational gaps and promote access and success. Yet, it has been the case that many of these schooling policies have backfired. That is, policies that were explicitly intended to reduce educational gaps through changes in schooling structures and practices have indeed caused the reverse effect – a widening of the gaps that they had indeed set out to close. This session represents a unique opportunity to present a multifaceted, multidisciplinary examination of instances when educational policymaking and practice do not converge. This session takes a critical look at these policies, why they backfired, and what we can learn.
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Discussants
Parental Effects on Adolescents' and Young Adults' Motivation and Career Plans in STEM
Discussant: Jacquelynne Eccles
Symposium Abstract
This session brings together international longitudinal findings from Australia, the U.S. and Europe regarding the effects of student-perceived and actual parents’ beliefs and behaviours on adolescents’ and young adults’ motivation and choices in STEM disciplines. Based on the Eccles et al. expectancy-value theoretical framework, the quantitative and mixed-methods studies investigate the psychological processes through which parents’ beliefs and behaviours influence their children’s motivation, educational and occupational plans and decisions, also considering the role of gender and socio-cultural context. All four studies analyse longitudinal data. Two studies include multi-informant data, one study applies a mixed-methods design. Taken together, complementary studies provide developmental insights into students’ motivational processes and choice behaviours in STEM.
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Print to Digital in the Language Arts: Small-Scale Studies of Digital Innovation
Discussant: Carol Connor
Session Abstract
Much of elementary school language arts teaching remains in a print world: paper-pencil, books, book reports, workbooks and book talk, not in a digital world: keyboards-screens. e-books, multimedia, apps and social media. How to innovate best practice in digital language arts curriculum and implement in real classrooms is a complex problem. Using an implementation research approach, symposium papers report small-scale studies on the transition from print-based to digital teaching on students’ online reading comprehension, teachers’ ed tech professional development, digital intervention program evaluation and district-level fiscal forecasting. Results describe the promise and pitfalls of tech in transforming to digital teaching while addressing the increasing demands for universal basic literacy, e-reading skills and high quality teaching.
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Video Analysis for Pedagogical Sense-Making Among Teacher Learners Across Disciplines
Discusssant: Elizabeth van Es
Symposium Abstract
This symposium’s objective is to discuss how teacher educators leverage video-based pedagogies to support teacher learning related to pedagogical moves, the teacher’s role, and student contributions. Consistent with efforts to encourage teacher learners to attend and respond to student learning, each paper highlights how teacher learners’ sense-making about effective instruction changes over video analysis projects. Presenters explicate how teacher learners benefit from video analyses and discuss the opportunities and challenges in facilitating this work (van Es et al., 2014). Bringing together researchers who work with in-service and pre-service teacher learners across elementary science, elementary and secondary literacy, and secondary social studies sheds light on commonalities and discipline-unique aspects of facilitating video analysis to help teacher learners prioritize student thinking.
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Members
AERA Council of Editors (closed meeting)
Greg Duncan, Jacquelynne Eccles, Mark Warschauer
AERA Journal Publications Committee and Journal Editors (closed meeting)
Greg Duncan, Jacquelynne Eccles, Mark Warschauer
AERA Open Editorial Board Meeting (closed meeting)
Carol Connor, Greg Duncan, Jacquelynne Eccles, George Farkas, Mark Warschauer (Chair)
2016 AERA Annual Meeting
April 8-12
Washington, D.C.
List of School of Education presentations (organized alphabetically by presentation title and category)
"Acknowledging Reciprocity: The Interrelations of Teacher Support, Grades, and Student Motivation Over Time"
AERA Event: Poster Session 13: Motivation in Education
Presenters: Anna-Lena Dicke, Jacquelynne Eccles
Abstract
Teacher support and grades are known to be related to student motivation and achievement-related behavior. However, not enough is known about how these contextual classroom factors and student motivation interact over time. Using data from 1986 students and their teachers from the longitudinal MSALT study, the current study investigates the longitudinal reciprocal interrelations of teacher support and grades with student motivation (success expectancies and subjective task value) and effort across two school years. Two-level cross-lagged analyses showed differential patterns of reciprocal relations between student motivation and effort and teacher support and grades. Findings suggest that student motivation and effort should not only be considered as important outcomes, but also as important antecedents to better understand classroom and teaching processes.
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"Argumentation and Explanation when Participating in After School Citizen Science Program"
AERA Event: Impacts and Implications of Participation in Informal Science Education for Students' Science Engagement and Teachers' Practice
Presenters: David Liu, Jennifer Long
Abstract
The purpose of this video ethnographic case study will be to describe the interaction between students and how they interact and engage in authentic scientific practices in an after school citizenship science project. Preliminary findings show that students throughout the entire course of the program participated in some form of an authentic scientific practice such as gathering and analyzing data and samples. Peers notice students who position themselves outside of authentic scientific practices and make it known. The instructional aid’s engagement in authentic scientific practices positions the students as incorrect or wrong. Findings from this study highlight the importance participating in scientific practices mediates becoming part of a scientific community of practice with its own purpose, discourse, and methods.
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"Assessing and Predicting Student Treatment Compliance in a Utility-Value Intervention Study"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 1: Advances in Utility-Value Research
Presenters: Brigitte Marie Brisson (Tübingen University); Chris Hulleman (University of Virginia); Hanna Gaspard, Isabelle Häfner, & Barbara Flunger (University of Tübingen); Anna-Lena Dicke; Benjamin Nagengast (University of Tübingen)
Abstract
The study of treatment fidelity including students’ compliance with the intervention material is essential to make valid claims about the effectiveness of motivational interventions. The current study assessed students’ treatment compliance in two classroom-based motivational interventions (writing a text or commenting on quotations about the personal utility of mathematics) through coding students’ essays. First, the degree to which students complied with the instructions, measured through three fidelity indicators (positive argumentation, personal connections, and innovative argumentation) was described. The fidelity criteria were then combined into a single compliance index. Students’ conscientiousness and motivational predispositions predicted treatment compliance positively for both interventions, but students’ cognitive ability and gender played a role only for the intervention based on free text writing.
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"Beyond Tracking and Detracking: The Dimensions of Organizational Differentiation in Schools"
AERA Event: How Schools and Neighborhoods Matter
Presenters: Thurston Domina, Paul Hanselman, Andrew McEachin (RAND), Priyanka Agarwal, NaYoung Hwang, Ryan Lewis
Abstract
We use administrative data from four large public school districts to articulate several dimensions of school-level academic tracking systems, investigate the school-level factors associated with these dimensions of tracking, and assess the consequences of school tracking systems and students' subsequent achievement. In contrast to the national probability sample data widely used in the tracking literature, our data make it possible to capture school differentiation practices in detail. We measure the extent to which schools horizontally differentiate curricula in middle school math and English, as well as the degree of selectivity, inclusiveness, scope, bias, and mobility among school tracks in these two crucial academic areas. We then examine the link between dimensions of organizational differentiation and students’ subsequent academic outcomes.
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"Collaborative Writing Patterns in a Cloud-Based Environment"
AERA Event: Exploring the Internet Applications in Education
Presenters: Binbin Zheng (Michigan State University), Soobin Yim, Mark Warschauer
Abstract
We use administrative data from four large public school districts to articulate several dimensions of school-level academic tracking systems, investigate the school-level factors associated with these dimensions of tracking, and assess the consequences of school tracking systems and students' subsequent achievement. In contrast to the national probability sample data widely used in the tracking literature, our data make it possible to capture school differentiation practices in detail. We measure the extent to which schools horizontally differentiate curricula in middle school math and English, as well as the degree of selectivity, inclusiveness, scope, bias, and mobility among school tracks in these two crucial academic areas. We then examine the link between dimensions of organizational differentiation and students’ subsequent academic outcomes.
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"Critical Colleagueship Among Secondary Science Teachers in a Video Club"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 18: Coaching and Facilitation in Professional Development
Presenters: Tara Barnhart, Elizabeth van Es
Abstract
This study explores science teachers' critical colleagueship in the context of a semester-long video club. Participants engaged in the collaborative examination of artifacts of teaching to develop a more student-centered professional vision of teaching. Participants demonstrated attention to student thinking about disciplinary core ideas to problematize teaching and learning in science throughout the semester-long PD. Participants also utilized a mixture of evidence from artifacts in combination with professional anecdotes to make sense of the student reasoning in the artifacts. Participants built on each other’s ideas as well as challenged each other’s interpretations of student thinking as well as conceptions of core disciplinary ideas. The design features of the PD series and their possible influence on the group’s participation are discussed.
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"Differential Vocabulary Growth Trajectories Among Adolescent Language-Minority Students: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 28: Research in Vocabulary
Presenters: Jin Kyoung Hwang, Joshua Lawrence, Catherine E. Snow (Harvard University)
Abstract
We investigated general and academic vocabulary growth trajectories of adolescent language minority students across two years. Our sample included 3,653 sixth- to eighth-grade students from an urban school district in California. Our language minority students included initially fluent English proficient (IFEP), redesignated fluent English proficient (RFEP), and limited English proficient (LEP) students. On both vocabulary measures, IFEPs slightly outperformed English-only (EO) students on average, and EO students scored higher than RFEPs and LEPs at baseline. There were differences in the general and academic vocabulary growth trajectories of students by language status. The findings of this study underscore that there indeed are differences within adolescent language minority students and suggest that educators need to take them into consideration in their instruction.
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"Does It Matter to Have an Adjunct Instructor in the Developmental Education Course? Evidence From a Community College System"
AERA Event: Innovative Approaches to Developmental Education
Presenters: Di Xu, Xiaotao Ran (Columbia University)
Abstract
Our Study examined the impact of having adjunct instructors in developmental education, in both concurrent and subsequent course performance. Using unique longitudinal student-unit record data from a large community college system in one state, this paper extends the current literature on teacher effectiveness by examining the impacts of taking one’s developmental English and developmental math course with an adjunct instructor on the student’s current course, as well as on their enrollment and performance in the English and math gatekeeper courses. We used course fixed effects and instrumental variables to solve the potential student self-selection among course sections. This study provides key information to college administrators and policy makers about the characteristics and impacts of adjuncts in developmental education.
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"Effects of an Early Mathematics Intervention on Stable and Time-Varying Components of Mathematics Achievement"
AERA Event: Academics in the Earliest Years of Formal Schooling: Building Evidence for Policy and Practice
Authors: Tyler Watts, Douglas H. Clements & Julie Sarama (University of Denver), Christopher B. Wolfe, SUNY, Mary Elaine Spitler (State University of New York), Drew Bailey
Abstract
The current study tested whether long-run treatment impact fadeout from a preschool mathematics intervention could be explained by a latent factor model that parsed the variation in long-run mathematics achievement measures into stable and time-varying components.
Perspective
Well-controlled correlational studies show a strong relation between children’s early mathematics skills and their later achievement (e.g. Duncan et al., 2007). Such correlational findings imply that if interventions can boost early mathematics achievement, the effects of such efforts may last many years. Unfortunately, recent evidence suggests that this may not be the case, as the treatment impacts of a successful preschool mathematics curriculum faded substantially in the years following the end of treatment (Clements et al., 2013). The current study hypothesized that such fadeout patterns could arise because the treatment affected time-varying aspects of mathematics achievement, but failed to affect factors related to mathematics achievement that were stable over time.
Methods
We relied on data from the TRIAD evaluation study (Clements et al., 2013), which evaluated the scale-up of the Building Blocks (BB) preschool curriculum. The study randomly assigned schools to one of two conditions: BB preschool curriculum or control (business as usual). Student-level mathematics achievement was assessed at the beginning (pre-treatment) and end (post-treatment) of preschool, and follow-up assessments were collected in kindergarten, first, and fourth grade.
We modeled the measures of long-run mathematics achievement from preschool through fourth grade as a state-trait model (see Bailey et al., 2014), in which we regressed a latent trait on the four post-treatment and follow-up measures of achievement. The trait loadings for this latent factor represented trait effects, or the amount of variance in the four measures that was stable over time. Within the model, we also regressed each measure of mathematics achievement on the previous measure; we refer to the resulting paths as “state effects” (amount of variation in achievement explained by changes in the previous measure). We then tested the effect of the treatment on both state and trait mathematics achievement.
Results
We found that the latent trait factor explained much more variation in mathematics achievement than the state effects, as trait loadings ranged from .76 to .94, whereas state effects ranged from .04 to .25. Further, we found that the treatment had no detectable effect on trait mathematics, but had a large impact on state mathematics (β= .53, p < .001), indicating that the treatment effects probably faded due to a failure to impact the stable characteristics that influence mathematics achievement over time.
When we tested our model in both the treatment and control groups separately, we observed larger state effects for students in the treatment group. This indicates that more transfer of knowledge occurred in the treatment group, but these differences were only present in the two earliest follow-up measures.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that a one-time intervention is probably not sufficient to affect mathematics achievement in the long-run, as such efforts are unlikely to affect the underlying factors that strongly influence achievement patterns over time.
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"Evaluating the Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction for English Language Learners: A Meta-Analysis"
AERA Event: Poster Session 6: Curriculum and Instruction in the Science Classroom
Presenters: Gabriel Estrella, Jacky Au, Penelope Collins, Susanne Jaeggi
Abstract
Despite being one of the fastest growing segments of the student population, ELLs have yet to meet the same academic success as their English proficient peers, especially in science. In an effort to support the unique pedagogical needs of this group, educators have been urged to adopt inquiry-based approaches to science education. Although inquiry has been found to improve ELLs’ understanding of science, the magnitude of these effects and whether or not inquiry instruction provides comparable benefits to ELLs relative to their non-ELL counterparts, remain unexplored in the literature. In order to shed light upon this question, the current study conducted a meta-analysis and quantitatively evaluated the effect of inquiry-based instruction on science achievement for elementary grade ELL students.
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"Executive Functioning Deficits Increase Kindergarten Children's Risk for Reading and Mathematics Difficulties in First Grade"
AERA Event: Poster Session 3: Early Experiences
Presenters: Paul Morgan, Hui Li, Michael Cook, Wik Hung Pun (Pennsylvania State University), George Farkas, Marianne Hillemeier (Pennsylvania State University)
Abstract
Whether executive functioning deficits result in children experiencing learning difficulties is presently unclear. Yet preliminary evidence of this causal relation has many implications for early intervention design and delivery. We used a multi-year panel design, multiple independent and dependent measures, and extensive statistical control for potential confounds including autoregressive prior histories of both reading and mathematics difficulties to establish whether and to what extent executive functioning deficits uniquely predicted children’s risk for either type of learning difficulties. Results indicated that kindergarten children with working memory and, separately, cognitive flexibility deficits were at increased risk of experiencing learning difficulties in reading and mathematics by the end of first grade. The risks associated with working memory deficits were particularly strong.
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"A Focus on Learning in the Field: Connecting Coursework and Field Experience Through Teacher Educator Collaboration"
AERA Event: How You Doing? Cooperating Teacher and Supervisor Selection, Needs, and Expectations
Presenters: Jessica Tunney
Abstract
This research investigates a collaboratively constructed observation tool as it is implemented by teacher educators into their direct work with pre-service teachers in the classroom. Constructed by the group with the explicit intention of connecting university coursework with field experience, research examines adaptations made by practitioners during feedback conferences with pre-service teachers and considers shifts in conceptions of their roles as teacher educators. Findings suggest an expanded role for classroom mentor teachers in teacher preparation, as mentor teachers are able to highlight key learning opportunities to pre-service teachers as they emerge in practice. In addition, findings point to the potential for school-university collaborations to improve coordination and coherence between coursework and fieldwork settings.
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"Formative Assessment and Noticing: Toward a Synthesized Framework for Attending and Responding During Instruction"
AERA Event: Teachers, Teaching, and Classroom Assessment
Presenters: Erin Marie Furtak (University of Colorado), Jessica Thomspon (University of Washington), Elizabeth van Es
Abstract
In recent decades, two lines of scholarship have emerged that explicate the ways in which teachers attend to student thinking in the course of instruction. In mathematics education, researchers focus on noticing, or the process by which teachers see and make sense of particular events during classroom instruction. In science education, there is a focus on formative assessment, or the process by which teachers elicit and respond to student thinking on-the-fly. We propose a synthesized framework consisting of eliciting student ideas, attending to particular ideas, interpreting those ideas, deciding how to respond, and providing feedback. We analyze whole-class discussions to illustrate the utility of this synthesized framework, and connect our findings to core teaching practices for preservice and inservice teachers.
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"Fostering Students' Value Beliefs for Mathematics With a Relevance Intervention in the Classroom"
AERA Event: The Roles of Value and Interest in Promoting Learning
Presenters: Hanna Gaspard (University of Tübingen), Anna-Lena Dicke, Barbara, Flunger (University of Tübingen), Brigitte Maria Brisson (Tuebingen University)
Abstract
Students’ interests for various subjects tend to decline across secondary school (e.g., Frenzel, Goetz, Pekrun, & Watt, 2010). Aiming to find ways to buffer this decline, researchers have developed targeted interventions based on expectancy-value theory (Eccles et al., 1983). Expectancy-value-theory differentiates between four types of reasons for students to engage in a specific task: intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value, and (low) cost. Focusing on the value component most malleable through external interventions, interventions try to increase the perceived utility value of the learning material (for an overview, see Harackiewicz, Tibbetts, Canning, & Hyde, 2014). However, through stimulating relevance, these interventions ultimately aim at developing students’ interest and promoting their engagement (cf., Hidi & Renninger, 2006). Relevance interventions can, therefore, yield insight into processes of interest development that are triggered through enhanced value.
The aims of our current research are two-fold. First, we tested whether students’ value beliefs can be promoted through relevance interventions in the classroom. To answer this question, we compared two relevance interventions and examined effects of these interventions on all four value components. Second, we investigated whether these relevance interventions actually fostered interest development. To this end, we examined students’ situational interest regarding homework during the period after the intervention.
Eighty-two ninth grade mathematics classes in Germany (N=1916 students) were randomly assigned to one of two intervention conditions or a waiting control condition. The intervention consisted of a 90 minute session on the relevance of mathematics for students’ future lives. In the quotations condition, students were asked to evaluate interview quotations on the relevance of mathematics. In the text condition, students were asked to write an essay about the relevance of mathematics to their lives. Using a 37-item scale tapping all four value components, students’ value beliefs for mathematics were assessed before and both six weeks and five months after the intervention. Additionally, students filled out a homework diary for four weeks after the intervention. Herein, students reported on their homework experience with respect to triggered and maintained situational interest.
Students in both intervention conditions reported significantly higher utility value at the posttest as well as at the follow-up in comparison to students in the control condition. Additionally, students in the quotations condition also reported higher attainment value at both time points and higher intrinsic value at the follow-up. With respect to students’ situational interest regarding their homework in the four weeks after the intervention, students in the text condition reported a higher level of triggered situational interest, whereas students in the quotations condition reported a higher level of maintained situational interest.
Our findings show that relatively short interventions in the classroom can be successful in promoting students’ value beliefs until five months after the intervention. The differentiation between multiple value aspects in expectancy-value theory is helpful in developing and evaluating interventions. Examining students’ interest development can shed further light on the mechanisms underlying intervention effects. Further analyses will examine how students’ value beliefs reported before and after the intervention are related to situational interest.
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"Has Kindergarten Become Too Academic? Instruction and Children's Development in the First Year of School"
AERA Event: Academics in the Earliest Years of Formal schooling: Building Evidence for Policy and Practice
Authors: Mimi Engel (Vanderbilt), Daphna Bassok (University of Virginia), Amy Claessens (University of Chicago), Sarah Kabourek (Vanderbilt), Tyler Watts
Abstract
Objectives and Perspective
Recent research documents the academicization of kindergarten. In light of this and the codification of academic standards for kindergarten through the Common Core, some advocacy groups argue that today’s kindergarten overemphasizes academics. Others maintain that academics need not be at odds with play and that young children benefit from exposure to rigorous academic content. Further, a number of studies show that achievement gains made in math and reading during kindergarten predict student outcomes through eighth grade. Surprisingly, there is little empirical evidence regarding how exposure to academics in kindergarten impacts children’s development. We address this gap in the literature using two large, nationally representative datasets to answer three related questions:
- How does time on academics in kindergarten relate to children’s academic and behavioral development?
- Do effects vary by type of academic content (e.g., basic or advanced) or by how it is taught (e.g., teacher-directed versus play-based)?
- Has the increased focus on academics in kindergarten over the past two decades resulted in changes in children’s learning and behaviors in kindergarten?
Data and Methods
We leverage the National Center for Educational Statistics two Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) of kindergarten; the Kindergarten Classes of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) and 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). Both are nationally representative, longitudinal samples of children who were in kindergarten in 1998-99 and 2010-11, respectively and include direct assessments of students’ academic achievement at fall and spring of kindergarten as well as teacher assessments of children’s social skills and behavior. In addition, teachers completed surveys and answered detailed questions about time spent on academics, the reading and math content they covered, and their instructional approach. We model the association between teacher-reported time use and children’s academic and behavioral outcomes in kindergarten. Our key explanatory variables are measures of classroom academic focus (e.g., time on reading and math, pedagogy measures of basic or advanced content, and teacher-directed or child-centered instruction). Our outcome variables are academic assessment scores and teacher-reported behavioral ratings measured in the spring of kindergarten. We control for the same measures assessed in the fall, such that our models capture cross-kindergarten growth and change, as well as an extensive array of child, family, teacher, and school characteristics.
Results and Implications
OLS regression results indicate, as would be expected, that overall time on academic content is positively associated with student learning gains. Further, students whose teachers report spending substantially less time on academic content have significantly smaller achievement gains. Interestingly, preliminary results also indicate that students in these classrooms – where less time is spent on academics – also experience reductions in internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Results from this study will inform the debate around kindergarten. Preliminary results suggest that kindergarten classrooms with a heavy academic focus may have positive effects on student achievement but negative effects on students’ behavioral outcomes. Implications for policy and practice will be discussed.
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"Improving in Executive Function and Visuomotor Integration Predicts Kindergarten Achievement: Evidence From Two U.S. States"
AERA Event: Poster Session 3: Cognitive Processes
Presenters: Claire Cameron (SUNY), Helyn Kim (University of Virginia), Robert Duncan, Derek Becker, Megan McClelland (Oregon State University)
Abstract
This study examined whether children who improved in two cognitive skills, executive function (EF) and visuo-motor integration, learned more over the kindergarten year in mathematics and reading. In a single analysis (N=520), we combined similar data gathered with children from Oregon and South Carolina. Before and after kindergarten, children were assessed using the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) executive function (EF) task, the Beery-Buktenica Visuo-motor Integration (VMI) design copying subtest, and Woodcock-Johnson III Applied Problems and Letter-Word Identification. Hierarchical linear models found that, controlling for demographics and prior achievement, improvement in both EF and visuo-motor integration were each associated with improvement in mathematics and reading. Implications for early elementary teaching of the traditional achievement areas, i.e., through supporting foundational cognitive skills, are discussed.
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"Inside the Black Box of Self-Affirmation: Explaining the Effects on Achievement"
AERA Event: Poster Session 13: Motivational Processes
Presenters: Alex Schmidt (University of Wisconsin) Chris Rozek (University of Chicago), Paul Hanselman, Rachel Feldman, Erin Quast, Evan Crawford, Geoffrey Borman (University of Wisconsin)
Abstract
Despite numerous findings demonstrating that self-affirmation writing exercises improve academic outcomes for stereotyped groups, the mechanisms underlying the effects remain unclear. In this paper, we use data from a district-wide scale-up of a self-affirmation intervention to explore these mechanisms. We examine 1) how what students write about in self-affirmation exercises mediates the treatment effects, and 2) the extent to which these initial treatment effects on academics and behavior mediate long-term academic improvements. Our results show that complying with exercise instructions by engaging in perspective broadening writing is essential for the effectiveness of the exercises, and is associated with initial academic and behavioral improvements that explain the majority of the long-term academic treatment effects.
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"Is Delayed School Entry Harmful for Children With Disabilities? Evidence From North Carolina"
AERA Event: Academics in the Earliest Years of Formal schooling: Building Evidence for Policy and Practice
Authors: Kevin Fortner (Georgia State), Jade Jenkins
Abstract
Objective
In recent years, increasing numbers of parents have been choosing to delay their child’s entry into kindergarten, commonly referred to as “redshirting”. In addition, several states have increased their age cutoffs for kindergarten entry, requiring that children be at least five years old at the start of kindergarten. This trend has been influenced by both evidence suggesting positive effects of entering school at an older age, and marked increases in educational accountability. However results of research on the effects of age at school entry are equivocal, including evidence that delaying entry to school may be detrimental for children, especially for at-risk populations. Indeed, there exists a strong empirical basis for early educational interventions for impoverished children and children with special needs (Yoshikawa et al., 2013).
Data and Methods
We use recent (2006-2014) statewide micro-level census data from North Carolina, including student’s exact birthdates and information from kindergarten through 3rd grade to examine differences in the incidence and type of disability designations amongst children who enter kindergarten on time and those who are redshirted, and test for differences in student achievement on reading and mathematics exams at the end of 3rd grade by disability designation. North Carolina public schools use ten specific disability designations: Autism Spectrum disorders, Deaf-Blind, Deaf & Hard of Hearing, Emotional, Intellectual, Significant Cognitive, Specific Learning, Speech-Language Impairments, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Visual Impairments. We also estimate selection models to test whether parents’ decisions to delay their child’s entry into kindergarten are associated with the type or severity of children’s later designated disability. We include student, classroom, and school-level covariates, along with district-level fixed effects to account for differences in disability testing policies.
Results and Implications
Preliminary results indicate that redshirted students were overwhelmingly more likely to be designated by their school as having a disability - up to 2.8 times the risk of being designated as disabled. Furthermore, students who were both redshirted and disabled were associated with significantly lower math and reading achievement (0.2 SD) at the end of 3rd grade compared with disabled children who entered kindergarten on time.
Our study has several important policy implications. First, this study will provide information on whether test score outcomes for disabled redshirted students vary substantially across categories of disability. If certain disability categories are more negatively related to third grade outcomes, these findings could facilitate targeted dissemination of the negative effects of redshirting and the importance of on-time school enrollment for children within the categories of disability associated with diminished outcomes. Finally, this can help to inform state-level implementation of IDEA services. Preliminary results indicate that children with disabilities are better off starting elementary school as soon as they are eligible rather than spending an additional year “redshirted”, thereby delaying kindergarten entry. Results also highlight the role of public schools in delivering services to children with disabilities.
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"Kindergarten Components of Executive Functions and First-Grade Achievement: A National Study"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 22: Young Children’s Self-Regulation and Executive Function
Presenter: Tutrang Chung Nguyen
Abstract
This study replicates and extends past research on the relationship between school-entry readiness skills and achievement using nationally representative data from the ECLS-K 1998-1999 and 2010-2011. This study replicates with new data that early academic skills and approaches to learning behaviors are predictive of first grade reading and math outcomes. New evidence is provided that in addition to these skills, components of executive functions are also predictive of outcomes. In the absence of controls for children’s approaches to learning behaviors, executive functions contributed significantly to predicting later reading and math outcomes. One factor conceptualized as executive functions indicated that these skills are substantial developmental predictors of later achievement, although associations are still less than those found for school-entry achievement skills.
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"A Meta-Analysis of One-to-One Computing and Academic Achievements"
AERA Event: Poster Session 12: Innovative Approaches and Strategies to Program Evaluation in Schools
Presenters: Binbin Zheng, Chi Chang, Chin-Hsi Lin (Michigan State University), Mark Warschuaer
Abstract
Over the last decade, the number of one-to-one laptop programs in schools has steadily increased. Despite the growth of such programs, there is little consensus about whether they contribute to improved educational outcomes. This paper reviews 10 rigorously-designed studies published from January 2001 to May 2015 to examine the effect of one-to-one laptop programs on students’ academic achievements in K-12 schools. Our meta-analyses found significantly positive average effect sizes in English, Writing, Mathematics, and Science, but not in reading
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"Noncognitive Skills as Mediator of Relations Between Middle Childhood Organized Activities and Later Academic Performance"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 43: Fostering Noncognitive and Social-Emotional Skills in Out-of-School Settings
Presenters: Sabrina Kataoka, Deborah Lowe Vandell
Abstract
Organized activities are associated positively with academic functioning, with gender sometimes moderating these effects. However, the mechanisms of these relations are unclear. Using data from NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we test the hypothesis that organized activities are supportive contexts for the development of noncognitive skills and that these skills, in turn, support positive academic functioning. Structural equation model results indicate that middle childhood organized activities positively predict end of high school grades, and that this relation is partially mediated by noncognitive skills at Grade 9 in girls. Future out-of-school research should consider the development of noncognitive skills as a mechanism explaining academic outcomes, while simultaneously examining the moderating role of gender.
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"Not Writing" Writing: Learning Identity Stances in Networked Fandoms"
AERA Event: Learning Identifies: Trajectories of Identification and Participation in Digital Learning Publics
Presenters: Ksenia Korobkova
Abstract
This paper uses discourse analytic techniques to inquire into the stances toward learning taken by young people and parents in two distinct informal learning environments: an online platform to share creative writing and a Lego-sponsored exhibit at a Children’s Museum. Combining ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews, this inquiry explores how participants understood learning and schooling and how they positioned their identity vis-à-vis learning and schooling.
The two learning contexts profiled here vary in terms of structural features, learner populations, and involvement of digital publics. The first studied context is a mobile creative writing app called Wattpad, especially popular with adolescent girls. The second is a museum exhibit sponsored by the Lego Corporation aimed at educating elementary school-aged children on building mechanics. Because the contexts of study are distinct, they afford a fruitful comparison of the environments and the identity stances made available in those environments. Interviews with 12 youth participants in each context, their parents, and a multimodal examination of their “works” (creative writing pieces and construction sets, respectively) form the backbone of this analysis of learning identity formation. Thematic and axial coding techniques (Saldaña, 2009) are enrolled to compare the two learning environments and the affordances and constraints they entail for identity building.
Designed environments -- whether physical or digital -- invoke sensibilities, scripts, and social actions, but humans acting within them do the important interpretive work of figuring out the context, what actions belong within it, and, identity “stances” (Gee, 2005). Drawing from critical literacy studies (Luke & Carrington, 2002), I consider how learning environments structure learning stances, dispositions, and positions. Laying out different perspectives on identity as an analytic lens in education research, Gee (2001) posits a tension between the institutional identity perspective and the affinity identity perspective. Institutional identities are imparted onto people by institutions (e.g., school) while affinity identities map onto identity stances based on shared interests (Gee, 2005). This contrast is explored in how and when participants narrate their interest driven activity as helpful for education, schooling, learning, or development. Processes of identification are interrogated within the contours of the particular learning context and the social location of each participant. For instance, some creative writers were able to map their practices onto those of schooling while others call it “not writing” writing distinguishing from school. In parallel, some parents of Lego fans translated play into developmental benefits, drawing on discourses borrowed from pop psychology while others located these practices outside of learning and development. Preliminary analyses show that notions of class and scripts of status mediated the intersection of affinity and institutional discourses.
Broadly, this study considers the way that youth negotiate narratives of identity not of their own making and the way that youth construct their own narratives of the self within power-laden overlapping networks of adult and peer group relations. Understanding how young people and their parents see themselves as “learners” and how such identities are afforded in digitally-mediated spaces has the potential to contribute to the conversation around learning across contexts.
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"Preservice Teachers' Mathematics Teaching Competence: Comparing Performance on Multiple Measures"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 18: Connections and Conditions for Improving Preservice Mathematics Teaching
Presenters: Rossella Santagata, Judith H. Sandholtz
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between pre-service teachers’ performance on a teaching performance assessment for licensure in elementary mathematics and two measures of knowledge that, in studies of practicing teachers, were found to predict effective mathematics teaching. A sample of 91 pre-service teachers completed the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT), the Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) survey, and the Classroom Video Analysis (CVA) Instrument. Correlation analyses found overall weak associations between measures for the whole group, but differences emerged for groups of high- and low-performing pre-service teachers. In addition to suggesting areas for future research, the findings raise questions about assessing pre-service teachers’ readiness to teach mathematics and the use of a single measure to make licensing decisions.
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"Professional Development Informing Practice and Practice Informing Professional Development: An Iterative Improvement Approach"
AERA Event: Inquiry-Based Professional Development in Science
Presenters: Doron Zinger, Elizabeth van Es, Brad Hughes
Abstract
Inquiry science instruction is especially challenging in elementary grades where teachers are constrained by crowded curricula and time. Professional development (PD) may provide an opportunity to support elementary teacher development of inquiry science instruction. The study examines the inquiry practice of two teachers who participated in an inquiry science PD and the relationship between their enactment of inquiry and PD experience. Classroom observations, teacher interviews and surveys, lesson plans, teacher presentations, and videos from the PD were analyzed. Teachers’ inquiry enactment assessed through discourse analysis revealed teacher controlled discourse, low level questioning, and limited discussion. Analysis of the PD revealed limited teacher opportunities to experience inquiry, and a disconnect between lesson content and inquiry practice. Implications for PD are discussed.
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"Racial Achievement Gap in Early Science Achievement"
AERA Event: Young Children’s STEM Learning and Development
Presenters: Wei Wang, Greg Duncan
Abstract
Previous research has recognized the importance of racial disparities in reading and math achievement while little is known about early science. This paper utilizes the ECLSK: 2011 to provide an up-to-date examination of racial achievement gaps in science during the first two years of school. Large gaps were found among Black, Hispanic and Asian students relative to whites. Family characteristics and school quality can explain some, but not all, of the racial science gap. From kindergarten to the 1st grade, Hispanic-White gap and Asian-White gap in science have decreased, but the black-white science gap does not change much.
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"Reappraising Adversity Improves Students' Academic Achievement, Behavior, and Well-Being"
AERA Event: Different Routes to the Similar Outcomes: Improving Students' Well-Being in Addition to Achievement in School
Presenters: Geoffrey Borman (University of Wisconsin), Chris Rozek (University of Chicago), Jaymes Ray Pyne (University of Wisconsin), Paul Hanselman, Rachel Feldman (University of Wisconsin)
Abstract
Objectives
Most people experience occasional threats to their sense of social belonging. This study examined how an intervention designed to help students to reappraise academic and social concerns might alleviate the negative effects of the transition from elementary to middle school on students’ grades, behavior, and well-being.
Theoretical Framework
Social belonging is defined as a sense of having positive relationships with others (Walton and Cohen, 2011) and is theorized to be an essential human need (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). When students transition from school to school, they may experience a perceived threat to their sense of fitting in, called belonging uncertainty (Walton & Cohen, 2007). In this psychological state, students associate ambiguous or negative cues in their environments (e.g., getting one bad grade, having an argument with a friend) with the idea that they do not belong, and often attribute the cause of this non-belonging to internal and permanent characteristics instead of changeable conditions (Sekaquaptewa, 2011; Murphy et al., 2007). This attribution error cultivates a negative feedback loop; as students vigilantly assess all available information in order to figure out if they are capable of making it academically and socially in their new environment, negative or ambiguous information confirms their interpretation that they do not belong academically and socially, which leads to diminished academic motivation and effort (Thoman et al., 2013).
Social belonging interventions can mitigate such attribution errors by normalizing the fears of failure about academic achievement (Walton & Cohen, 2007). This intervention alters students’ mindsets by helping them to reappraise academic and social adversity. The intervention (a) provides reassurance that difficulties occur for everyone, and not just particular students or groups, and (b) suggests that the situation will naturally resolve with time. This normalization process can change how students interpret stress (i.e., from unchangeable to changeable) in school during difficult transitions.
Methods/Data Sources
During the 2013-14 school year, all sixth-graders in a racial diverse school district were involved in a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a social belonging intervention (see Table 1 for experimental balance). Study outcomes of interest included students’ sixth-grade GPA, failing grades, behavioral referrals, absences, and four measures of student academic well-being, including school trust, social belonging, evaluation anxiety, and identification with school, which were measured pre- and post-intervention.
Results/Scientific Significance
Controlling for pre-treatment performance and several demographic factors (e.g., free/reduced lunch status), we found significant intent-to-treat effects for all outcomes in the expected directions. While students entering middle school are at an increased risk of belonging uncertainty, and typically experience a downward trajectory in academics and well-being, the results of this study show that a social belonging intervention can substantially mitigate this phenomenon and improve students’ academic outcomes. The practical implications of such an intervention are far-reaching. In addition to immediate academic, behavioral, and social and psychological improvements, reaching students at such a critical juncture has the potential to prepare students for longer-term success, including preparation for college and the workforce.
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"Reducing Achievement Gaps in Academic Writing for Latinos and English Learners in Grades 7–12"
AERA Event: Professional Development to Support English Learners
Presenters: Carol B. Olson, Tina Matuchniak, Huy Quoc Chung, Rachel Stumpf, George Farkas
Abstract
This study reports findings from a randomized controlled trial of a professional development program that takes a cognitive strategies approach to teaching text-based analytical writing to students, specifically Latinos and mainstreamed English Learners (ELs). 95 teachers in 16 secondary schools were stratified by school and grade and then randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Treatment teachers participated in 46 hours of training to help students write analytical essays. Difference-in-differences and regression analyses revealed significant effects on student writing outcomes in both years of the intervention (Year 1 d=0.48 and Year 2 d=0.60). Additionally, treatment students had higher pass rates than control students on the California High School Exit Exam in both years.
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"Repeated Evidence of Minority Underrepresentation in Special Education"
AERA Event: Roundtable 9: Are We Identifying the Right Students for Special Education? Emerging Directions in Disproportionality Research
Paper Title: Repeated Evidence of Minority Underrepresentation in Special Education
Presenters: Paul Morgan (Pennsylvania State University), George Farkas
Abstract
Objectives and Perspective
We summarize findings from five recent studies examining minority disproportionate representation. We situate these five studies within conflicting theoretical and empirical work regarding whether minority children are disproportionately over- or under-represented in special education. We briefly summarize this conflicting work, provide both methodological and substantive limitations that may account for these conflicting findings, and report on mechanisms (e.g., school-level economic and racial composition) that may explain disparities in disability identification and treatment.
Methods and Data Sources
We overview multivariate analyses of two nationally representative and longitudinal datasets maintained by the U.S. Department of Education. We report results using a range of analytical methods, including multilevel logistic regression modeling and event history modeling, as well as estimates for special education placement generally and across specific disability conditions. These analyses were designed to account for an unusually extensive set of potential confounding factors (e.g., individual-level academic achievement, family economic resources, school-level racial composition) when estimating minority children’s likelihood of being identified as disabled and so placed into special education, thereby allowing for contrasts with “otherwise similar” white, English-speaking children.
Results
Our results repeatedly indicate that minority children are less likely than otherwise similar white, English-speaking children to be identified as disabled and so receive special education services for which they may be legally entitled. The magnitude of these disparities can be quite large (e.g., a 60% difference in the estimated odds ratios). We find that under-identification is evident both prior to and following school entry, in separate analyses of the two datasets, and both for special education generally as well as across a range of specific disability conditions. This includes under-identification for both intellectual disabilities and emotional disturbances, the two conditions which minority children are often reported to be over-identified for. For example, we find that black children are 57% (covariate-adjusted odds ratio = .43) and 64% (covariate adjusted odds ratio = .36) less likely to be identified as having intellectual disabilities and emotional disturbances, respectively, than otherwise similar white children. We provide empirical evidence indicating that attending racially segregated schools may be a mechanism that helps explain minority children’s under-representation.
Scholarly Significance
Results from the five studies help address substantial ambiguity for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers as to whether minority children are over- or under-represented in special education. Our work addresses previously identified substantive and methodological limitations in the existing work (e.g., National Research Council, 2002). These results also have far-reaching implications. For example, our results suggest that current federal legislation and policy, which is largely directed towards reducing minority over-representation, may be inadvertently exacerbating racial/ethnic disparities in disability identification and treatment.
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"The Roles of Transfer and Forgetting in the Persistence and Fadeout of Early Childhood Mathematics Interventions"
AERA Event: Poster Session 2: Cognitive Processes
Presenters: Connie Yun Kang, Greg Duncan, Douglas H. Clements, Julie Sarama (University of Denver), Christopher B. Wolfe (SUNY), Mary Elaine Spitler (State University of New York), Drew Bailey
Abstract
The fact that mathematics achievement gaps develop prior to school entry suggests the need to develop effective early childhood mathematics interventions. While effective interventions have generated immediate positive effects on mathematics achievement, many of these effects dissipate, or fade out, over time while only few persist. This study extends early math intervention research by focusing on how children’s cognitive processes mediate the effects of Building Blocks – an established pre-K mathematics curriculum intervention that utilizes manipulatives and computer objects to mathematize everyday life. This investigation helps in better understanding how students remember and forget math skills over time, ultimately informing educators interested in prolonging early math intervention effects to help create longer-lasting interventions that will better benefit disadvantaged students in the future. Using the TRIAD evaluation dataset and logistic regression analysis, this study estimates the mediating effect of cognitive processes, particularly forgetting and learning transfer, on the fadeout and persistence of Building Blocks. This study also investigates the effect of having a sustaining environment mitigate forgetting and promote learning transfer. Control and treatment group differences in forgetting account for about 15% of the fadeout of the intervention effects, and this difference was reduced by one-third with a sustained environment. Control and treatment group differences in learning difficult questions in later grades account for about 51% of the persistence of the intervention effects, although this only accounted for 20% of the initial effect. Since the ratio of transfer to original learning gain is very small, this suggests that the key to creating persistent math intervention impacts may rely more on mitigating forgetting through creating sustaining environments for students after the intervention.
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"Schools, Maintained Inequalities, and Algebra for All"
AERA Event: Pathways Through Math Across Levels of Schooling
Presenters: Paul Hanselman, Thurston Domina, NaYoung Hwang
Abstract
Stratification research demonstrates that educational inequalities often persist in the face of educational expansion, but it reveals relatively little about how and where such equalities are maintained. To address these questions, this paper focuses on the schools and local institutions in which key resources, such as course placement, are allotted. We develop an organizational perspective on maintained inequality, and apply this framework to empirical case of California’s recent “Algebra for All” initiative, which saw dramatic increases in middle school algebra enrollments but only slight decreases in economic course-taking gaps. We find that overall trends masked substantial heterogeneity across schools, which we trace to differences in changes in maximal possible inequality (given spaces and students) and the realized level of inequality
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"Science Achievement Gaps Begin Very Early, Persist, and Are Largely Explained by Modifiable Factors"
AERA Event: Poster Session 3: Early Experiences
Presenters: Paul Morgan (Pennsylvania State University), George Farkas, Marianne Hillemeier, Steve Maczuga, Michael Cook, Hui Li (Pennsylvania State University)
Abstract
We examined the age of onset, over-time dynamics, and mechanisms possibly underlying the science achievement gaps commonly experienced by at-risk elementary and middle schoolchildren in the U.S. Analyses of a longitudinal sample of 7,757 children indicated large gaps in general knowledge already evident at kindergarten entry. Kindergarten general knowledge was the strongest predictor of first grade general knowledge, which in turn was the strongest predictor of science achievement from third to eighth grade. Large science achievement gaps were subsequently evident when science achievement measures first became available in third grade. These gaps persisted until at least the end of eighth grade. Most or all of the observed science achievement gaps were explained by the study’s many predictors.
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"Sustaining Teacher Change: Examining Factors That Influence the Longevity of Professional Development Outcomes"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 5: Longitudinal Professional Development for Teacher Learning
Presenters: Judith Sandholtz, Cathy Ringstaff, Bryan Matien (WestEd)
Abstract
This longitudinal study investigated the extent to which state-funded teacher professional development designed to improve K-2 science led to changes that persisted two and three years beyond the funding period. This study included 30 teachers, representing 14 schools and 13 districts. Data sources included a teacher survey, self-efficacy assessment, and interviews. Separate linear mixed effects ANCOVA models were fit to teacher ratings for all outcome measures. Results indicate instructional time in science and teachers’ use of inquiry-based and student-centered strategies remained stable after the program ended. In contrast, teachers’ perceptions of principal support for teaching science and their self-efficacy related to science instruction significantly decreased. The research identifies factors that influence long-term changes, leading to practical implications for follow-up support.
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"Tracking High School Students' Pathways to Male- and Female-Dominated STEM Careers"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 30: Pathways and Academic Experiences
Presenters: Marcela Martinez, Melissa Powell, Anne McDaniel (Ohio State University)
Abstract
STEM has recently become bifurcated into male and female dominated fields, making it crucial to no longer consider STEM as one uniform, male-dominated concept. This study uses the Education Longitudinal Study nationally representative dataset to examine students’ decisions to choose a STEM major, earn a STEM bachelor degree, and have a career particularly in male or female dominated STEM fields. Results show, most high school students expect to go into careers traditionally associated to their gender, which matters greatly for declaring a major, earning a degree, or having a career in male- or female-STEM. Self-efficacy, course completion and math achievement are less effective indicators. Educators should encourage students to pursue careers contrary to how the STEM field is gender stratified.
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"Traditional Gender Role Beliefs Have Consequences: Long-Term Impacts on Educational and Occupational Choices"
AERA Event: Poster Session 7: Gender and Identity: Links to Adjustment
Presenters: Anna-Lena Dicke, Nayssan Safavian, Jacquelynne Eccles
Abstract
Gender-role beliefs are key determinants of adolescents and adults’ occupational and educational aspirations and choices (Schoon & Parsons, 2002). These gender-role beliefs develop in response to important socialization experiences, such as parents’ gendered beliefs, actions and behaviors (Witt, 1997). The current study investigated how parents’ traditional gender-role beliefs and educational attainment are associated with adolescents’ gender-role beliefs and subsequent gendered aspirations, occupational and educational attainment. Using data from participants of the 30-year longitudinal MSALT study and their parents, multi-group path analyses showed differential associations of mothers and fathers’ traditional gender role beliefs with male and female adolescents’ gender role beliefs. These gender role beliefs, in turn, showed differential associations with occupational and educational attainment for females than males.
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"A Two-Year Campus-Wide Study of Student Response Systems in STEM Courses"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 3
Authors: Mariela Janet Rivas, Lynn C. Reimer, Amanda Nili, Mark Warschauer
Abstract
Student response systems (or clickers) can enhance classroom interaction and provide formative feedback for both students and instructors. The present population-based study involves two years of naturalistic observations of 133 undergraduate courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, and physics, 39% of which employed clickers. Course observations were conducted to evaluate the frequency and type of clicker use during class. Results from year 1 indicate that clicker usage was positively associated with higher grades in the course as well as grades in the subsequent course. Clicker use was associated with slightly less likelihood of progressing to the next course. Preliminary year 2 results provide more detailed qualitative information on clicker usage.
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"Three Unique Approaches to Introductory Biology: A Comparison of the Attitudes and Academic Outcomes of Underrepresented Groups"
AERA Event: Leveraging Institutional Resources to Enhance the Experiences and Outcomes of Diverse Students
Presenters: Meghan Macias, Lynn C. Reimer, Amanda Nili
Abstract
The present study observed 10 course sections of introductory biology (N = 3,706) taught with three distinct methods (flipped, blended, and traditional) in fall of 2014 and 2015. The flipped method of teaching was associated with a .13 standard deviation increase in course grade (p < 0.01) and the students were 20% more likely to take the next course in the sequence. Student interviews reveal compelling stories of underrepresented students pursuing majors in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). We present the experiences of first generation, ethnic minority, and transfer students in these settings to explain the positive student outcomes in the flipped format.
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"Understanding Latino Parents' Support of Their High School Students in Science: Insights From Mixed Methods"
AERA Event: Parental Effects on Adolescents' and Young Adults' Motivation and Career Plans in STEM
Presenters: Sandra Simpkins
Abstract
Framework and Objectives
High school is a pivotal point in the STEM pipeline in the United States (Maltese & Tai, 2011). Approximately, 45% of US 10th grade students interested in pursuing a STEM career lost that interest by the end of high school (Aschbacher et al., 2010). Females and Latinos are at a particularly high risk to leave STEM. According to the Eccles’ expectancy-value model, parental support bolsters adolescents’ science motivation and should lessen the risk for dropping out (Wigfield et al., 2015). But, much of the existing empirical work focuses on elementary school and non-Latino students (e.g., Simpkins et al., 2015). Moreover, questions concerning the direction of influence (e.g., are parents driving the processes or reacting to adolescents’ achievement) become central during this age period but have yet to be addressed. Therefore, the goal of this mixed-methods study was to examine the relations between Latino parents’ support and adolescents’ ability and motivational beliefs at 9th and 10th grade.
Data / Method
Longitudinal data on 103 Latino parent- student dyads (see Table 1 for participant information) were collected in 9th and 10th grade (the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years, respectively). Quantitative data were collected on parents’ science-specific support (reported by parents, 6-10 items, α =.75-.81), adolescents’ science ability (reported by teachers, 3 items, α =.96), and adolescents’ science ability self-concept and value (reported by adolescents, 12-15 items, α =.92-.95). Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with adolescents and parents in 10th grade on a variety of topics including adolescents’ value of science, parents’ support of the adolescent in science, and who the adolescent goes to for science help.
Results / Significance
We characterized parents’ science support in terms of their overall support as well as three specific types of support: (a) coactivity, (b) school involvement, and (c) positivity. The quantitative results are similar across parents’ overall support and the three specific types of parents’ support, as well as within each wave and longitudinally. As shown in Figure 1, parents’ overall support was not related to adolescents’ science ability (or motivation), which contradicts previous work suggesting parents’ support is a positive predictor in a variety of domains (Simpkins et al., 2015; Wigfield et al., 2015). The six sections shown in Figure 1 are defined by the quantitative data and will determine our groups for the qualitative analysis. Comparisons across cases within each group and across groups will help explain cases that are unexpected based on theory. For example, it is possible that the adolescents in section 1 exemplify the natural developmental progression of increasing autonomy in areas in which adolescents are skilled. Alternatively, it is possible that parents in section 1 have little involvement do to cultural or socioeconomic barriers and that adolescents are succeeding due to other non-parental supports or individual assets. The qualitative findings will provide insight into the universality of the expectancy-value model and what other indicators need to be considered to understand the complex relations among Latino parents’ science support and adolescents’ ability and motivation.
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"Unpacking Reading Performances of Reclassified Fluent English Proficient Students"
AERA Event: Roundtable Session 22: Trends in Second Language Reading Research
Presenters: Jin Kyoung Hwang, Joshua Lawrence
Abstract
We examined academic vocabulary, general vocabulary and reading comprehension growth trajectories of adolescent reclassified English proficient (RFEP) students using individual growth modeling analysis. Our sample included 1,226 sixth to eighth grade RFEP students from six schools in an urban school district in California. Students completed up to four waves of reading-related measures during two-year time period. Our findings indicate that 1) students’ scores on vocabulary and reading assessments were correlated with their years since redesignation and 2) students showed growth over time on all outcomes on average and the rate of growth did not differ by their years since redesignation. The results underscore the heterogeneity in reading-related outcomes within the RFEP student population.
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"Who Holds a Fixed Mind-Set and Whom Does It Harm in High School Mathematics?"
AERA Event: Advances in Mind-Set Research
Presenters: NaYoung Hwang, Marcela Martinez, Jacquelynne Eccles
Abstract
Research on theories of intelligence has shown that students with growth mindsets tend to outperform those with fixed mindsets in mathematics. However, most research has not examined whether holding a particular mindset varies by subgroup, including gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or achievement level, or whether holding fixed mindsets is particularly detrimental for any of these subgroups. Using a nationally representative dataset, we find that white students and students with higher socioeconomic statuses are more likely to view intelligence as a fixed trait than nonwhites and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. We also find that students with fixed mindsets and the lowest prior achievement scores experienced the greatest decrease in their 12th grade math achievement scores relative to the highest achievers.
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Invited Speakers
Invited Speaker Session: AERA 2017: You Only Have a Year to Get Your Next Proposal Ready!
Chair: Elizabeth van Es
Session Abstract
The 2017 annual meeting will be in San Antonio for the first time ever—very exciting! Everyone will want to attend and enjoy the South West, so competition for a space on the program will undoubtedly be steep. You can get a leg up on your proposal for 2017 by talking to the 2016 section chairs—they know what it takes to develop a great proposal and they are waiting to talk to you. In this session, 1) what makes a strong proposal; 2) choosing the right section for your submission; 3) common mistakes to avoid; 4) the review process including criteria and standards. You won’t want to miss it!
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Invited Speaker Session: Public Scholars on the Social Impact of School-Related Inequalities: Perspectives From Multiple Disciplines
Participant: Greg Duncan
Session Abstract
Recent research provides strong evidence that unequal educational outcomes between richer and poorer students are due in part to curricular inequalities occurring within schools and between schools. Accordingly, rather than ameliorating background inequalities, the U.S. educational system may be exacerbating them. This session premiers a new short video—an artifact of public scholarship that communicates these research findings. Scholars from multiple disciplinary perspectives (sociology, economics, political science, and educational theory) will discuss implications of this research. They also consider how public scholarship focused on schooling inequality; its relationship to larger social, political and economic inequalities; and the public’s understanding of what a commitment to equality requires can inform and be informed by insights from different intellectual perspectives.
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Chairs
When Education Policy Backfires and What Can We Learn
Chair: Gilberto Q. Conchas
Symposium Abstract
Over past decades, we have seen an influx of state and educational policies being implemented to reduce educational gaps and promote access and success. Yet, it has been the case that many of these schooling policies have backfired. That is, policies that were explicitly intended to reduce educational gaps through changes in schooling structures and practices have indeed caused the reverse effect – a widening of the gaps that they had indeed set out to close. This session represents a unique opportunity to present a multifaceted, multidisciplinary examination of instances when educational policymaking and practice do not converge. This session takes a critical look at these policies, why they backfired, and what we can learn.
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Discussants
Parental Effects on Adolescents' and Young Adults' Motivation and Career Plans in STEM
Discussant: Jacquelynne Eccles
Symposium Abstract
This session brings together international longitudinal findings from Australia, the U.S. and Europe regarding the effects of student-perceived and actual parents’ beliefs and behaviours on adolescents’ and young adults’ motivation and choices in STEM disciplines. Based on the Eccles et al. expectancy-value theoretical framework, the quantitative and mixed-methods studies investigate the psychological processes through which parents’ beliefs and behaviours influence their children’s motivation, educational and occupational plans and decisions, also considering the role of gender and socio-cultural context. All four studies analyse longitudinal data. Two studies include multi-informant data, one study applies a mixed-methods design. Taken together, complementary studies provide developmental insights into students’ motivational processes and choice behaviours in STEM.
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Print to Digital in the Language Arts: Small-Scale Studies of Digital Innovation
Discussant: Carol Connor
Session Abstract
Much of elementary school language arts teaching remains in a print world: paper-pencil, books, book reports, workbooks and book talk, not in a digital world: keyboards-screens. e-books, multimedia, apps and social media. How to innovate best practice in digital language arts curriculum and implement in real classrooms is a complex problem. Using an implementation research approach, symposium papers report small-scale studies on the transition from print-based to digital teaching on students’ online reading comprehension, teachers’ ed tech professional development, digital intervention program evaluation and district-level fiscal forecasting. Results describe the promise and pitfalls of tech in transforming to digital teaching while addressing the increasing demands for universal basic literacy, e-reading skills and high quality teaching.
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Video Analysis for Pedagogical Sense-Making Among Teacher Learners Across Disciplines
Discusssant: Elizabeth van Es
Symposium Abstract
This symposium’s objective is to discuss how teacher educators leverage video-based pedagogies to support teacher learning related to pedagogical moves, the teacher’s role, and student contributions. Consistent with efforts to encourage teacher learners to attend and respond to student learning, each paper highlights how teacher learners’ sense-making about effective instruction changes over video analysis projects. Presenters explicate how teacher learners benefit from video analyses and discuss the opportunities and challenges in facilitating this work (van Es et al., 2014). Bringing together researchers who work with in-service and pre-service teacher learners across elementary science, elementary and secondary literacy, and secondary social studies sheds light on commonalities and discipline-unique aspects of facilitating video analysis to help teacher learners prioritize student thinking.
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Members
AERA Council of Editors (closed meeting)
Greg Duncan, Jacquelynne Eccles, Mark Warschauer
AERA Journal Publications Committee and Journal Editors (closed meeting)
Greg Duncan, Jacquelynne Eccles, Mark Warschauer
AERA Open Editorial Board Meeting (closed meeting)
Carol Connor, Greg Duncan, Jacquelynne Eccles, George Farkas, Mark Warschauer (Chair)
Faculty, Students, and Alumni Present at 2016 Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Conference
Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA)
March 31-April 2, 2016
Baltimore, Maryland
Program
School of Education Presentations
Poster Session 3: School/Education Context
Presentation Title: Why Do College Freshmen Leave? Within Ethnic Group Investigation
Presenters: Janice Templeton, Jacquelynne Eccles
Poster Session 4: Neighborhoods, Community, and Out-of-School Time
Presentation Title: Person Characteristics and Participation in Out-of-School Contexts: Are Developmental Outcomes Driven by Selection Bias?
Presenter: Sabrina Kataoka
Poster Session 4: Technology and Media
Title: Audiences and Allies: Adolescents' Self-Presentation Norms and Practices on Facebook and Instagram
Presenters: Joanna Yau, Stephanie Reich, Jeremy Rhoan
Poster Session 6: Personality and Identity Development
Presentation Title: How the Fish Pond Feeds the STEM Pool: Middle School Class Composition Associates with Self-Concept and Choice of STEM Major
Presenters: Osman Umarji, Peter McPartlan, Teya Rutherford
Poster Session 8: School/Education Context
Presentation Title: School Attainment among Mayan Adolescents in Rural Guatemala
Presenters: Yangyang Liu, Gina Ahn, Carey Cooper, Aprile Benner, Priscilla Goble
Poster Session 11: Cultural Processes
Presentation Title: General Parenting Practices Vary Across Racial-Ethnic Socialization Profiles in African American Youth Over Time
Presenters: Meeta Banerjee, Stephen Peck, Oksana Malanchuk, Jacquelynne Eccles
Poster Session 13: School/Educational Context
Presentation Title: Math Growth Mindset in Adolescents: Is the Key to Success Effort or Talent?
Presenters: Tarana Khan, Jacquelynne Eccles
Poster Session 14: Empathy, Prosocial Behavior, and Moral Development
Presentation Title: Responsibility Development Transfers Across Contexts: Dynamic Relations Between Home and Out of School Programs
Presenters: Marcela Raffaelli, Sandi Simpkins, Steve P. Tran, Reed Larson
Poster Session 14: Prevention, Intervention, and Policy
Presentation Title: Unexpected Pathways from Poor to Good Early Adulthood Health are Predicted by Adolescent Self-Esteem: A Pattern-Centered Approach
Presenters: Stephen Peck, Oksana Malanchuk, Jacquelynne Eccles
Paper Discussion Symposium: School/Educational Context - Disaggregating Classroom Interactions in the Middle Grades: Linking Specific Classroom Interactions to Student Outcomes
Presentation Title: Heterogeneity of Student Perceptions of the Classroom Climate
Presenters: Katarina Schenke, Arena Chang Lam, Erik Ruzek, Jacquelynne Eccles
Session: Prevention, Intervention, and Policy
Title: Beyond Between-Group Differences: Considering Race and Ethnicity in Research on Positive Youth Development Programs
Presenter: Sandi Simpkins
Session: Individual and Contextual Influences on Adolescents’ STEM Motivation and Engagement
Presentation Title: Does the Expectancy-Value Model Hold for Latino Parents of High School Science Student?
Presenters: Sandi Simpkins, Erin Gaskin, Erin Kloerdanz
Session: Schools Out! Now What, Who, Where, and How? Extra-Scholastic Communities and Youth Development
Presentation Title: Activity Participation Across Childhood Predicts’ Girls’ Psychosocial Maturity at Age 15
Presenter: Sabrina Kataoka
Discussant: Jacquelynne Eccles
Session: Neighborhood, Community, and Out-of-School Time
Symposium Title: Revisiting the Link Between Organized Activities and Academic Outcomes
Discussant: Sandi Simpkins
Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA)
March 31-April 2, 2016
Baltimore, Maryland
Program
School of Education Presentations
Poster Session 3: School/Education Context
Presentation Title: Why Do College Freshmen Leave? Within Ethnic Group Investigation
Presenters: Janice Templeton, Jacquelynne Eccles
Poster Session 4: Neighborhoods, Community, and Out-of-School Time
Presentation Title: Person Characteristics and Participation in Out-of-School Contexts: Are Developmental Outcomes Driven by Selection Bias?
Presenter: Sabrina Kataoka
Poster Session 4: Technology and Media
Title: Audiences and Allies: Adolescents' Self-Presentation Norms and Practices on Facebook and Instagram
Presenters: Joanna Yau, Stephanie Reich, Jeremy Rhoan
Poster Session 6: Personality and Identity Development
Presentation Title: How the Fish Pond Feeds the STEM Pool: Middle School Class Composition Associates with Self-Concept and Choice of STEM Major
Presenters: Osman Umarji, Peter McPartlan, Teya Rutherford
Poster Session 8: School/Education Context
Presentation Title: School Attainment among Mayan Adolescents in Rural Guatemala
Presenters: Yangyang Liu, Gina Ahn, Carey Cooper, Aprile Benner, Priscilla Goble
Poster Session 11: Cultural Processes
Presentation Title: General Parenting Practices Vary Across Racial-Ethnic Socialization Profiles in African American Youth Over Time
Presenters: Meeta Banerjee, Stephen Peck, Oksana Malanchuk, Jacquelynne Eccles
Poster Session 13: School/Educational Context
Presentation Title: Math Growth Mindset in Adolescents: Is the Key to Success Effort or Talent?
Presenters: Tarana Khan, Jacquelynne Eccles
Poster Session 14: Empathy, Prosocial Behavior, and Moral Development
Presentation Title: Responsibility Development Transfers Across Contexts: Dynamic Relations Between Home and Out of School Programs
Presenters: Marcela Raffaelli, Sandi Simpkins, Steve P. Tran, Reed Larson
Poster Session 14: Prevention, Intervention, and Policy
Presentation Title: Unexpected Pathways from Poor to Good Early Adulthood Health are Predicted by Adolescent Self-Esteem: A Pattern-Centered Approach
Presenters: Stephen Peck, Oksana Malanchuk, Jacquelynne Eccles
Paper Discussion Symposium: School/Educational Context - Disaggregating Classroom Interactions in the Middle Grades: Linking Specific Classroom Interactions to Student Outcomes
Presentation Title: Heterogeneity of Student Perceptions of the Classroom Climate
Presenters: Katarina Schenke, Arena Chang Lam, Erik Ruzek, Jacquelynne Eccles
Session: Prevention, Intervention, and Policy
Title: Beyond Between-Group Differences: Considering Race and Ethnicity in Research on Positive Youth Development Programs
Presenter: Sandi Simpkins
Session: Individual and Contextual Influences on Adolescents’ STEM Motivation and Engagement
Presentation Title: Does the Expectancy-Value Model Hold for Latino Parents of High School Science Student?
Presenters: Sandi Simpkins, Erin Gaskin, Erin Kloerdanz
Session: Schools Out! Now What, Who, Where, and How? Extra-Scholastic Communities and Youth Development
Presentation Title: Activity Participation Across Childhood Predicts’ Girls’ Psychosocial Maturity at Age 15
Presenter: Sabrina Kataoka
Discussant: Jacquelynne Eccles
Session: Neighborhood, Community, and Out-of-School Time
Symposium Title: Revisiting the Link Between Organized Activities and Academic Outcomes
Discussant: Sandi Simpkins
UCI School of Education National Ranking Advances to 25th in U.S.
UC Irvine's School of Education is continuing to receive national recognition for the quality and innovation of its programs and research. Since first ranked in 2007 at 88th among Graduate Schools of Education, the School has advanced each year, achieving this year's US News & World Report ranking of 25th. Paralleling the rise in national rankings is the School's growth in funded research, from $1.5 million in 2006 to $43 million today. Current research funding ranks UCI's School of Education in the top 1% nationally in grant funding per faculty.
UCI's School of Education also ranks in the top 1% in the U.S. in articles published per faculty member and in citations per faculty member.
Contributing to the School's growth in reputation since 2007 is the introduction of a series of innovative programs to train academics, researchers, and practitioners in addressing the pressing needs facing education. These include the 14-month Master of Arts in Teaching + Teacher Credential (MAT); the UCI CalTeach Science and Math initiative offering undergraduates a STEM degree + Teacher Credential, both in four years; the B.A. in Education Sciences, the first undergraduate program in the U.S. to address education as an academic discipline; the Certificate in Afterschool Education (CASE), designed to increase the quality of instruction and administration in afterschool programs; and the Afterschool Outcome Measures Online Toolbox, created to measure program quality and youth outcomes in afterschool and summer programs throughout the U.S.
UC Irvine's Ph.D. in Education continues to attract outstanding doctoral students drawn to the program's three specializations: Learning, Cognition, and Development; Educational Policy and Social Context; and Language, Literacy, and Technology. Graduates have been placed in tenure track and research positions throughout the world.
UCI's School of Education will continue to promote and disseminate educational research and practice devoted to "Expanding Minds, Transforming Lives."
UC Irvine's School of Education is continuing to receive national recognition for the quality and innovation of its programs and research. Since first ranked in 2007 at 88th among Graduate Schools of Education, the School has advanced each year, achieving this year's US News & World Report ranking of 25th. Paralleling the rise in national rankings is the School's growth in funded research, from $1.5 million in 2006 to $43 million today. Current research funding ranks UCI's School of Education in the top 1% nationally in grant funding per faculty.
UCI's School of Education also ranks in the top 1% in the U.S. in articles published per faculty member and in citations per faculty member.
Contributing to the School's growth in reputation since 2007 is the introduction of a series of innovative programs to train academics, researchers, and practitioners in addressing the pressing needs facing education. These include the 14-month Master of Arts in Teaching + Teacher Credential (MAT); the UCI CalTeach Science and Math initiative offering undergraduates a STEM degree + Teacher Credential, both in four years; the B.A. in Education Sciences, the first undergraduate program in the U.S. to address education as an academic discipline; the Certificate in Afterschool Education (CASE), designed to increase the quality of instruction and administration in afterschool programs; and the Afterschool Outcome Measures Online Toolbox, created to measure program quality and youth outcomes in afterschool and summer programs throughout the U.S.
UC Irvine's Ph.D. in Education continues to attract outstanding doctoral students drawn to the program's three specializations: Learning, Cognition, and Development; Educational Policy and Social Context; and Language, Literacy, and Technology. Graduates have been placed in tenure track and research positions throughout the world.
UCI's School of Education will continue to promote and disseminate educational research and practice devoted to "Expanding Minds, Transforming Lives."
|
"SoE Submission Selected for Class Gift from 2016 Graduates"
UCI seniors have a long tradition of giving back to UC Irvine through a senior class legacy project. UC Irvine landmarks such as the Student Center Bell Tower, the Peter the Anteater benches and statues found across campus, and class scholarships are the result of senior class spirit and financial support. Each year, all UC Irvine schools and departments are invited to submit proposals for that year’s project. The School of Education submission for the 2016 class project recommended purchasing telepresence robots for UCI students who encounter illness as a barrier to completing coursework. As proposed by Professor Mark Warschauer and Ph.D. candidate Veronica Newhart, "The telepresence robots will allow UCI students to continue attending classes when symptoms or treatments for illnesses (e.g., cancer, heart disease, immunodeficiency, etc.) do not allow them to be present for classes and activities as needed. Students can control these robots from home to move around classrooms, listen and talk to professors and classmates, and even participate in extra-curricular activities and meetings." The School of Education’s winning entry is now the focus of a fundraising campaign that will last into the fall and will culminate in presentation of the “Class Gift” to the university. |
"The Write Stuff"
Olson, C.B., Scarcella, R., & Matuchniak, T. (February 2016). The write stuff. Educational Leadership, 73(5), 38-44.
Summation: Three essential practices bolster English language learners' writing skills.
Abstract
The statistic is alarming. A mere one percent of 12th grade English language learners (ELLs) scored proficient or above in writing on the most recent administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2011 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012).
It's no wonder. The language demands associated with writing and the many constraints adolescent ELLs must juggle are formidable. These students face not only cognitive, communicative, and contextual challenges common to all writers, but also linguistic, cultural, and affective constraints unique to language learners.
In the current era of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS-ELA), students are expected to master high-level literacy skills, including reading closely to make logical inferences and writing to support claims using valid reasoning and appropriate evidence (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Placing such a premium on the ability to interpret texts and to write extensively about those texts using academic discourse sets a high bar for all students, and especially for ELLs.
What does it take to help ELLs undertake such challenging writing tasks? To answer this question, we offer three research-based instructional practices that promote ELLs' development of academic literacy, as well as two activities to support each practice. First and more important, we consider culturally responsive curriculum and the significance of motivation. Second, we look at teaching students strategies, one of the most effective practices for literacy development for all students, including ELLs. And finally, because researchers generally reject the notion that academic language spontaneously develops, we explore explicit instruction that models appropriate language use.
Olson, C.B., Scarcella, R., & Matuchniak, T. (February 2016). The write stuff. Educational Leadership, 73(5), 38-44.
Summation: Three essential practices bolster English language learners' writing skills.
- Create a culturally relevant writing community.
- Provide solid strategy instruction.
- Explicitly teach academic language.
Abstract
The statistic is alarming. A mere one percent of 12th grade English language learners (ELLs) scored proficient or above in writing on the most recent administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2011 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012).
It's no wonder. The language demands associated with writing and the many constraints adolescent ELLs must juggle are formidable. These students face not only cognitive, communicative, and contextual challenges common to all writers, but also linguistic, cultural, and affective constraints unique to language learners.
In the current era of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS-ELA), students are expected to master high-level literacy skills, including reading closely to make logical inferences and writing to support claims using valid reasoning and appropriate evidence (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Placing such a premium on the ability to interpret texts and to write extensively about those texts using academic discourse sets a high bar for all students, and especially for ELLs.
What does it take to help ELLs undertake such challenging writing tasks? To answer this question, we offer three research-based instructional practices that promote ELLs' development of academic literacy, as well as two activities to support each practice. First and more important, we consider culturally responsive curriculum and the significance of motivation. Second, we look at teaching students strategies, one of the most effective practices for literacy development for all students, including ELLs. And finally, because researchers generally reject the notion that academic language spontaneously develops, we explore explicit instruction that models appropriate language use.
