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Interventions to Promote STEM
Motivation: The Importance of Values
Judith M. Harackiewicz
Department of Psychology
University of Wisconsin - Madison
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Growing body of literature shows that social-psychological interventions can have potent effects on motivation and performance, especially for underrepresented students
Simple interventions based on motivational theory, first tested in controlled laboratory conditions
Brief Interventions Have Big Effects
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Social – Cognitive Approach to Motivation
Expectancy – Value framework (Eccles)
Consider expectancies, self-efficacy
and
Values – perceived values, task values
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The importance of values
Expectancy-value theory highlights the importance of
perceived task values – intrinsic value, attainment value,
and utility value
When students perceive value in academic tasks, they
become more highly motivated, interested and engaged
We have been developing interventions to help students
find value in their academic pursuits
These interventions focus on as the most
malleable of these task values
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Experimental Paradigm
Teach undergraduates
a new mental math
technique (multiply
left to right without
pencil and paper)
15-minute learning
session
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Should we tell students about utility value
and give them examples?
Many everyday tasks require direct or indirect use of math. Youmay have been using a calculator to do math all this time, but learning and mastering this mental math technique now can help you carry out these tasks more efficiently.
You may not yet know what field you will go into after college, but many careers require the use of math. Learning this mental math technique now can help you prepare for whatever career you choose in your future.
Go on to the next page.
Mental Math can be used in a variety Mental Math can be used in a variety
of real world applicationsof real world applications
ConsiderConsider thethe followingfollowing waysways inin
whichwhich mentalmental mathmath isis usefuluseful:InIn everydayeveryday situationssituations:
• You might use mental math when managing your bank transactions
• You might use mental math to compute the best deal when shopping online or in stores for books, electronics, or clothes
• You might use mental math to figure out tips at restaurants
InIn youryour futurefuture:
• As an adult, you might use mental math to plan budgets, make mortgage payments, or manage investments
• Most college graduates enter professions that require math, so mental math can be useful in your future career
Go on to the next page.
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Manipulating Utility Value
Telling students about utility value
promotes interest for students who are
already interested or performing well
Can we help students discover utility value on their
own, and might this be more effective for students
who lack interest or confidence?
Manipulate value through writing
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Writing Manipulations
Utility Value:
Type a short essay briefly
describing the potential relevance of this technique to your own life, or to the lives of
college students in general. . .
Please focus on how this technique could be useful to you or to other college students.
Control:
Type a short essay describing
the objects that you see in the
picture. Simply describe in
detail the objects that you see.
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If I were able to fully master this technique, I believe that I
would be able to teach it to my family who farms cash crops.
I think that for farmers who are able to use this accurately
they would be able to cut down on times of calculating
spray used per acre..
Someday I may even be helping my own kids with math, and
the use of this technique will be very useful in teaching them
how to do their problems.
I feel that mental math will be extremely helpful to me
in my life, especially in event planning. Having a position in
my sorority constantly has me multiplying numbers and
prices for over one hundred girls ordering various clothing…
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Lab study: The intervention works best for
students who lack confidence
Interaction β = .26, p = .01
Perceived Utility Value
Interaction β = .15, p < .15
Interest
Can we extend these experimental findings to high
school science classes?
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Utility Value Intervention
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High school science student
Topic: The 8 Characteristics of Life
“The reason I chose characteristics of life because when I grow up I want to be a doctor. Doctors need to know
about the characteristics of life in order to help their
patients. This information can help me when I have to
take advanced biology in college. My brothers are
always getting sick and knowing about homeostasis and
virus can help me find out why they’re always getting sick. And I want to be a laboratory technician. They
need to know about DNA and stuff.”
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Low Expectations High Expectations
Fin
al C
ou
rse
In
tere
stControl Relevance
High school science classes: Interest
Hulleman & Harackiewicz, Science, 2009
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nd Q
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Control Relevance
High school science classes: Grades
Utility value works in the science class; can we use utility value to get kids to take the science classes?
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STEM preparation (or lack thereof)
A proper foundation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is critical for the future of our nation
Only 56% of students take chemistry in high school, 29% take physics, and just 12% manage to take calculus (NSF, 2006)
This is a motivational problem….
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Parents: An untapped resource?
Can we convince parents of the utility value of
math and science for their teen?
Can parents help their children discover and
appreciate the utility value of these courses?
Can we convince parents to talk to their teens,
and will this influence their teens’ course-taking behavior?
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The Intervention
Families were part of a longitudinal study (Wisconsin
Study of Families and Work (Hyde)
81 families randomly assigned to receive our
; 100 families did not (control group)
Brochures sent to parents in fall of 10th grade, and a
different brochure was mailed in January of 11th grade.
In 11th grade, parents were also given access to a
password-protected website.
Intervention was exclusively targeted at parents;
families were followed through teen’s graduation
This research was supported by NSF DRL 0814750
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Do you ever wonder what you can do to help your
child succeed in school?
When students make connections between school
and the real world they are more successful in
school….
Encouraging your child to make these connections
may be easier for some school subjects and harder
for others...
The enclosed brochure provides examples of how
topics in math and science are relevant to students’
daily lives and future occupations.
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The Website
Accessible only to families in experimental group
http://choiceahead.wceruw.org
Website contains:
Interviews with current college students
Clickable links for websites about STEM topics, career planning, college planning, etc
Emailing option for parents to send links to teen
http://choiceahead.wceruw.org
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Did the intervention affect parents?
In 86% families, parents reported sharing these
resources with their teen
In 82% families, at least one parent logged into website
In 75% families, teen confirmed exposure to the
brochures and/or website
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Significant intervention effects
Mothers perceived greater value of math and
science for teen
Teens reported more conversations with parents
about course taking and STEM subjects
Some success influencing parents’ attitudes and
behavior, but what about teen behavior?
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High School/Some
College
College Graduate School
Parents' Education Level
Sem
este
rs o
f M
ath
em
ati
cs a
nd
Scie
nce C
ou
rses
Control Group
Intervention Group
Semesters of math and science in years 11-12
Two significant effects:
parents’ education level, β=.17, and the intervention effect, β=.16
Harackiewicz, Rozek, Hulleman, & Hyde, 2012, Psychological Science
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Modest intervention with parents yielded a
significant change in teens’ behavior
Results contribute to a growing body of literature
showing that brief social-psychological
interventions can have potent effects
What about achievement gaps?
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Undergraduate Biology Classes at
UW-Madison
Gateway course: Biology sequence taken by Bio majors,
pre-meds, pre-vets, nursing students, pre-health, etc
Prerequisite for 34 biomedical majors
Large lecture course with lab and discussion sections
Multiple lecturers, TAs, course coordinators
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- No gender differences
- Underrepresented Ethnic Minority (URM) students
(African American, Latino, Native American) perform
more poorly in this course (racial achievement gap)
- First Generation students perform more poorly in this
course (social class achievement gap)
Achievement Gaps In This Course
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The Intersection of URM and
Generational Status
• Underrepresented minority students -- 6-10%
• First-generation students -- 20%
• Some URM students are also first-generation; important
to disentangle effects of URM and social class
• Data collection over 2 years to survey enough students to
separate these effects and test a utility-value intervention in
a college science class….
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Our sample
Majority (Caucasian/Asian)
Continuing generation 423
First generation 427
Minority (URM)
Continuing generation 126
First generation 64
This research supported by
NIGMS- RO1 GM 102703
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CG-Majority FG-Majority CG-URM FG-URMH
igh
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(%
)
A B
Incoming GPA Percent Free/Reduced Lunch
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Unique Pattern
• First-generation minority students face many challenges:
• Lowest incoming GPA
• Highest level of high school poverty
• Weakest background in biology
BUT…
• Highly motivated to do well and make a contribution to society
• Strong desire to give back to family and community
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Utility Value Intervention
Select a concept that was covered in lecture and formulate a question:
Write an essay addressing this question and discuss the
relevance of the concept or issue to your own life
OR
Write a letter to a family member or close friend, addressing
this question and discuss the relevance of this specific
concept or issue to this other person
Control:
Write a response to your question - summarize the material
in your own words
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Utility Value Intervention
Three assignments (UV or Control) administered over the
course of 13-wek semester – one in each unit of course
-- Assignments delivered via email 2-3 weeks into unit
-- Cursory feedback provided
--Curricular intervention
--Easy to implement with online learning program
-- All assignments have pedagogical value
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“I never realized how much a biology class could apply directly into
my life. I often take subjects for granted by just trying to memorize
the material and concepts while never truly putting my full attention
into learning the entirety of the subject matter. The discussion on
diabetes made me realize how important all the functions of the body
are to our every day lives. This has given more incentive to gain full
understanding of the material presented in class.”
“Before being enlightened this semester, I never knew that plants
affect virtually every aspect of my life. I've always seen that they're
everywhere, but I never realized that they affect everything from my
health to my environment. It's safe to say that I've been converted to
a tree-hugging plant enthusiast”
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Utility Value helps all students
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Bio
logy
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urs
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rad
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Majority URM
Co
urs
e G
rad
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sc
ale
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Control Utility Value
Performance in the course
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CG-Majority FG-Majority CG-URM FG-URM
Co
urs
e G
rad
e (
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scale
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Control Utility Value
Performance in the course
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Motivation in STEM courses
Our research suggests that simple social psychological
interventions can close gaps in STEM achievement
by helping students appreciate the relevance and
utility value of course material
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Thank you
Elizabeth Canning, Yoi Tibbetts, Stacy Priniski, Janet
Hyde (biology project)
Chris Rozek, Chris Hulleman, and Janet Hyde (parent
project)
Kerstin Krautbauer, Cindee Giffen, Kerry Martin
Our Biology colleagues, Doug Rouse, Seth Blair
NSF (DRL 0814750)
NIH (Award #R01GM102703 )
And special thanks to the students and families who
have shared their lives with us to improve the education
of others
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Why are you pursuing your current career
goals?
I am pursuing my career goals because of the
increasing health disparity in minority
communities. I want to work at a clinic in
which disadvantaged communities are getting
optimal health care from pediatrics to
geriatrics. I want to help people elongate
their lives and advocate for their own health.
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How and why did your career plans / change?
It was difficult to be in a major with people that only
wanted to make money and not care about social
justice issues.
Why are you pursuing your current / career goals?
fight ignorance and to empower underrepresented
individuals/communities
3 specific reasons for career goals:
help people feel like they belong, reduce the
achievement gap
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Sta
nd
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ati
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its
Biology Background Belonging Uncertainty Competence Valuation Desire to Contribute to Society Helping Motives
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Cell Biology Essay Assignment
This assignment is designed to help in your comprehension and understanding of some
major concepts covered in this unit, and to help improve your writing skills. It is also
intended to help you discover the personal relevance of one particular topic in this unit.
Assignment: Select a concept or issue that was covered in lecture and formulate a
question. This question should be stated explicitly in your assignment, either as the title
or in the first paragraph. Select the relevant information from class notes and the
textbook, and write a 1-2 page essay (double-spaced):
Write an essay addressing this question and discuss the relevance of the concept or
issue to your own life. Be sure to include some concrete information that was covered
in this unit, explaining why this specific information is relevant to your life oruseful for you. Be sure to explain how the information applies to you personally and
give examples.
Since you will be writing about science from a personal perspective, you should give
personal examples and can use personal pronouns (I, we, you, etc.). You do not need to
provide citations.
With some scaffolding, especially on first assignment
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Here are some examples of questions you could address:
How are the chemistry of water and the chemistry of life related?
What would happen if cell membranes had no transmembrane proteins?
3) In lecture, we’ve been learning about carbohydrates as energy storage
macromolecules. If Bucky Badger was writing this essay, he might choose this
topic, and then relate it to his life in the following way: At the Badger home
football games, Bucky does one push-up for each point the team scores during the
game. Because carbohydrates store energy and push-ups require a lot of energy,
Bucky might want to think about eating extra carbohydrates the night before or
the morning of what he thinks might be a high-scoring football game. If he has to
do a lot of push-ups because the Badgers score a lot of points, he will have ample
stores of glycogen with which to power his biceps during the game. This is an
example of an approach you might take and questions you might formulate. This
assignment requires that you formulate your own question and approach, so do
not use these specific examples for your paper.
If you have questions: Questions about this assignment should be addressed to
BP, course coordinator, not to your TA.
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Biology Background
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Study Biology to Contribute to Society
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Reasons for Completing a College Degree
- Help my family out after I’m done with college
- Give back to my community
- Provide a better life for my own children
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Helping Motives