Title: Developing Academic Accountability and Leadership Among StudentAthletes
1Developing Academic Accountability and Leadership
Among Student-Athletes
- Jennifer Sturm Mike McCall
- Learning Specialist
Learning Specialist - Tutor Coordinator
School Psychologist - University of South Carolina
- Academic Enrichment Center
2Session Outline
- Foundations
- Description
- Results
- Considerations
- Discussion
3Foundations
- Study Skill Development
- Cooperative Learning
- Peer Mentoring
4Study Skill Development
- More practical and experiential than
research-based - Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI)
- Pauk, W. Owens, R. J. (2005). How to Study in
College (8th ed.). Boston, New York Houghton
Mifflin Company.
5Cooperative Learning (CL)
- instructional use of small groups so that
students work together to maximize their own and
each others learning (Johnson, Johnson,
Smith, 1998, p. 114) - Elements
- Positive interdependence
- Individual and group accountability
- Use of interpersonal and small group skills
- Promotive interaction
6CL Promotive Interaction
- Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1998) characterized
PI as students - Assisting each other
- Sharing resources (info, materials)
- Providing constructive feedback
- Enhancing decision-making and insight
- Improving each others accountability
7CL Educational Principles
- Chickering Gamson (1987) outlined good practice
in undergraduate education - Encourages cooperation among students
- Encourages active learning
- Emphasizes time on task
- Respects diverse talents and ways of learning
8CL Education Principles cont.
- Hansen and Stephens (2000) on student centered
learning - Learning as socially interactive
- a social act that makes students accountable to
others (p. 47)
9Peer Mentoring (PM)What Is It?
- Terrion and Leonard (2007) define PM as a model
where a more experienced person serves to work on
career (academic) functions and/or psychosocial
functions - Mentors have relevant experience to pass on to
mentees (Sanchez et al.) - Peer tutoring can be seen as a form of peer
mentoring
10Elements of Peer Mentoring
- Small or large groups (11 to 201)
- Mentor should be similar to mentees
- Mentor should be older but share experience with
mentees - Mentors should regularly meet with mentees
- Mentors should undergo training
- Mentors should follow a plan
11Peer Mentor Communication Skills
- Mentors
- Need to be able to give constructive feedback
- Need to listen to mentees and show empathy
- Need to be able to teach a variety of skills
through multiple modalities - Need to instill trust in mentees
- Need to lead by example
- Nee to be enthusiastic
12Peer Mentoring and Academics
- It is cost effective
- Benefits both mentors and mentees
- Increase instructional opportunities since
professors mostly lecture - Offers opportunities to respond and check
knowledge - Mentees experience empathy, praise (feedback),
and attention
13A study on Peer Mentoring Freshmen
- Sanchez, R. J., Bauer, T. N., Paronto, M. E.
(2006). Peer-mentoring freshmen Implications
for satisfaction, commitment, and retention to
graduation. Academy of Management Learning and
Education, 5, 25-37. - Based on Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), which
states behavior is influenced by attitudes
towards engagement, influence from social
situations, and commitment to the organization
14A study on Peer Mentoring Freshmen
- This study evaluated mentoring of freshmen
business majors - Results indicated that brief peer mentoring can
be effective for improving student outcomes - Students who were mentored reported more
satisfaction with the university - Improved attitudes towards the university can
result in higher retention rates
15description
- Rationale
- Participants
- Measures
- Sessions
16Rationale
- Academic skills workshop for 1st year
student-athletes - Promote academic accountability and engagement in
a specific course - Student-athlete leader/mentor
17Participants
- Students (N7)
- 6 males, 1 female
- 5 freshmen, 2 sophomores
- 6 football, 1 track field
- GEOL 101
- Leader (N1)
- Female
- Senior
- Track Field
- Accounting, 3.6
18Measures
- LASSI pre and post
- BASC-2 pre and post
- Reading pre and post
- Session evaluations weekly
- Student questionnaire post
19Measures LASSI
- www.hhpublishing.com/_assessments/LASSI/scales.htm
l - 10 scales
- Attitude Information Processing
- Motivation Selecting Main Ideas
- Time Management Study Aids
- Anxiety Self-testing
- Concentration Test Strategies
- Factors that significantly contribute to success
in college - Can be modified through interventions
20Measures BASC-2
- Goal was to assess attention problems, test
anxiety, and school maladjustment - Measure Behavior Assessment Scale for Children
2nd edition, college self report - There are 16 scales derived from 185 items
- T-scores above 60 are at-risk, and T-scores above
70 are clinically significant - Measure is sensitive to changes in behavior
21Measures Reading
- To measure change, the assessment tool must be
sensitive - Nelson Denny Reading Test and Woodcock-Johnson
III reading measures lack sensitivity for a
short-term intervention - Reading Curriculum Based Measurement (R-CBM) is
quick and sensitive to improvements
22Measures Reading cont.
- Students read orally for 1 minute
- Assess accuracy (number of words read
correctly/total words attempted) - Assess fluency (Words read correctly per minute)
- Any text can be turned into a reading probe by
visiting http//www.interventioncentral.org/htmdoc
s/tools/okapi/okapi.php - Oral reading fluency for adults should be able to
read more than 150 words correctly per minute
with above 90 accuracy
23Measures Session Evaluations
- Student self-evaluation and leaders evaluation
of student - Likert Scale (1Poor, 5Excellent)
- Students preparation for todays session
- Students attention during todays session
- Students effort during todays session
- Report to advisor
- Present
- Book
- Notes
- This weeks goal
- Goals for next week
24Measures Student Questionnaire
- 6 Items
- 7-pt Likert Scale (1Not at all, 7Significantly)
- 8 Items
- Open-ended questions
- Specific questions in results section
25Sessions
- One evening per week, 1hr session
- During football study hall
- Private study room
- Conference table with chairs
- White boards
- Note taking, reading, discussion, goal setting,
test preparation
26Sessions General Agenda
- Check for book, notes, and last weeks
goal/assignment (5min) - Review last weeks assignment (10min)
- Brief discussion of new course material (5min)
- Activity (20-25min)
- Chapter quiz (10min)
- Set goal/assignment for next week (5min)
27Sessions Sample Activities
- Current event
- Read section, answer questions, and share
- Read, identify 5 facts, teach group
- Read, create quiz questions for group
- Read, choose 1 concept and relate to real life,
share - Teams given 2 topics to research and present
- Individual outlines, compare, discuss
differences, create master outline - Flashcards
- Chapter quizzes, ways to recall information
28results
29LASSI
- Increases of more than 6pts
- Self-Testing 47.9 54.5
- Selecting Main Idea 37.9 45.7
- Decreases of more than 6pts
- Study Aids 69 57.1
- Individual Improvements
- Participant 4 6/10 categories
- Participant 6 8/10 categories
- (Participant 3 1/10 categories)
30BASC-2 College Self Report
- One student remained at-risk for attention
problems on both pre and post tests, but the
student reported reduced school maladjustment - One student reported reduced test anxiety but an
increased school maladjustment - One student reported reduced attention problems
but increased test anxiety - One student had a reduced report of attention
problems due to treatment for ADHD - Three students reported no significant changes
31Conclusions About Changes in Behavior
- A few students reported reduced test anxiety,
which could indicate that students felt more
comfortable during test due to a better
understanding of how to take tests - The student who experienced increased test
anxiety may have increased awareness of testing
difficulties due to increased study efforts and
test taking strategies (i.e. more responsibility
for test performance) - The student with the increased school
maladjustment score generally had a poor attitude
towards participating in the group
32Reading Curriculum Based Measurement
- WRCM Range 91-150
- All of the readers need to improve their fluency
on the Geology material - Three students improved fluency (1, 4, and 13
words) - Accuracy range 97.2 to 99.3
- All students were sufficiently accurate readers
- Accuracy was similar or slightly lower for all
students (91-98.7) - Second reading probe was slightly more difficult
than the first probe
33Reading Results cont.
- Overall, students did not make significant
improvements to their reading rate - Overall, students accuracy was sufficient on the
pre and post test - Although improving reading was a goal, we didnt
specifically target fluency as much as
comprehension - The number of skills we attempted to include may
have limited the impact of each skill due to lack
of time to practice - Difference in probe difficulty may have limited
findings though passages graded out similar
according to reading difficulty calculations
34Session Evaluations
- Leader rated better green
- Within 0.3 blue
- Student rated at least 1pt higher salmon
35Student Questionnaires
36Student Questionnaires cont.
- What skills did you work on during this semester?
- Highlighting (6)
- Notetaking (4)
- Flashcards (4)
- Outlining (3)
- Identifying important information (2)
- Reading (2)
- Time management (1)
- Test taking (1)
37Student Questionnaires cont.
- What parts of the GEOL Study Group helped your
performance? - Read section and teach important parts (4)
- Read and do quiz questions (3)
- Going over the material (2)
- Visual learning (1)
- Highlighting (1)
- Flashcards (1)
- Knowing more information for each exam (1)
38Student Questionnaires cont.
- What would have helped you do better in Study
Group? - Nothing (2)
- More closed-off area (1)
- Being more prepared (1)
- Focusing better (1)
- Regular people (1)
- More visual aids (1)
- More homework (1)
- Less distracting group members (1)
- More meaningful activities (1)
39Student Questionnaires cont.
- What would have helped you do better in GEOL
class? - Pay better attention (3)
- Take notes (2)
- Start study group earlier (2)
- Take advantage of i-clicker questions (1)
- See notes before class (1)
40Student Questionnaires cont.
- What study skills do you want to improve?
- Studying (2)
- Reading comprehension (2)
- Notetaking (2)
- Identifying/highlighting important information
(2) - Focusing (1)
- Organization (1)
- Writing (1)
- Reading (1)
- Flashcards (1)
41Student Questionnaires cont.
- What did the Study Group leader do that was
helpful? - Show different ways of studying (3)
- Break down information (2)
- Relate to us (2)
- Printing off online quizzes (2)
- Hints on how to remember information (1)
- Kept control (1)
- Very encouraging (1)
42Student Questionnaires cont.
- What could the Study Group leader do differently?
- Nothing (2)
- Give notes (1)
- Organize the first few sessions (1)
- Write on board (1)
- Stricter on football boys (1)
- Be a GEOL major (1)
43Student Questionnaires cont.
- Any final comments?
- Thanks for helping me pass this class (1)
- Glad I did it (1)
- Made me go over the information (1)
- Keep doing it for first year students (1)
44Leader Results
- Weekly Journals
- Researcher Observations
45Weekly Journals
- Journals contained
- Session activities successful or not
- Student behavior
- Goal/assignment for next week
- Additional comments
- Introduction/bio provided her with an in
- Study tips well-received
- Sessions went smoother as weeks advanced
46Researcher Observations
- At first, unsure of what she could contribute to
the sessions - As sessions progressed, she developed more and
more into role of leader - During sessions, she maintained a good demeanor
- Connected with students immediately because of
her similarity to them, and earned their respect
because of her academic success - Students listened to her study suggestions
47considerations
48Considerations Before
- Initiating group with students who are beyond 1st
semester - Scheduling
- Finding a leader
- Choosing a course
- Number and diversity of students
- Skills to target
49Considerations During
- Students responses to activities
- Cannot follow a strict schedule
- Professors presentation of material
- Students did not want to complete work outside of
sessions - Misinterpretation by staff of the purpose of the
group - Rescheduling session time
50Considerations After
- Start with 1st semester freshmen
- Late start in the semester
- Number of skills less may be more
- Number of students
- More diverse group
51Questions/comments??THANK YOU!!
- Jennifer Sturm sturmj_at_mailbox.sc.edu
- Mike McCall mccallmw_at_mailbox.sc.edu