Developing Academic Accountability and Leadership Among StudentAthletes

1
Developing Academic Accountability and Leadership
Among Student-Athletes

• Jennifer Sturm Mike McCall
• Learning Specialist
  Learning Specialist
• Tutor Coordinator
  School Psychologist
• University of South Carolina
• Academic Enrichment Center

2
Session Outline

• Foundations
• Description
• Results
• Considerations
• Discussion

3
Foundations

• Study Skill Development
• Cooperative Learning
• Peer Mentoring

4
Study Skill Development

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

5
Cooperative Learning (CL)

• instructional use of small groups so that
  students work together to maximize their own and
  each others learning (Johnson, Johnson,
  Smith, 1998, p. 114)
• Elements
• Positive interdependence
• Individual and group accountability
• Use of interpersonal and small group skills
• Promotive interaction

6
CL Promotive Interaction

• Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1998) characterized
  PI as students
• Assisting each other
• Sharing resources (info, materials)
• Providing constructive feedback
• Enhancing decision-making and insight
• Improving each others accountability

7
CL Educational Principles

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

8
CL Education Principles cont.

• Hansen and Stephens (2000) on student centered
  learning
• Learning as socially interactive
• a social act that makes students accountable to
  others (p. 47)

9
Peer Mentoring (PM)What Is It?

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

10
Elements of Peer Mentoring

• Small or large groups (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

11
Peer Mentor Communication Skills

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

12
Peer Mentoring and Academics

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

13
A study on Peer Mentoring Freshmen

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

14
A study on Peer Mentoring Freshmen

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

15
description

• Rationale
• Participants
• Measures
• Sessions

16
Rationale

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

17
Participants

• Students (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

18
Measures

• LASSI pre and post
• BASC-2 pre and post
• Reading pre and post
• Session evaluations weekly
• Student questionnaire post

19
Measures LASSI

• www.hhpublishing.com/_assessments/LASSI/scales.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

20
Measures BASC-2

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

21
Measures Reading

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

22
Measures Reading cont.

• Students read orally for 1 minute
• Assess accuracy (number of words read
  correctly/total words attempted)
• Assess fluency (Words read correctly per minute)
• Any text can be turned into a reading probe by
  visiting http//www.interventioncentral.org/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

23
Measures 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

24
Measures Student Questionnaire

• 6 Items
• 7-pt Likert Scale (1Not at all, 7Significantly)
• 8 Items
• Open-ended questions
• Specific questions in results section

25
Sessions

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

26
Sessions General Agenda

• Check for book, notes, and last 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)

27
Sessions Sample Activities

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

28
results

• Participants
• Leader

29
LASSI

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

30
BASC-2 College Self Report

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

31
Conclusions About Changes in Behavior

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

32
Reading Curriculum Based Measurement

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

33
Reading Results cont.

• Overall, students did not make significant
  improvements to their reading rate
• Overall, students accuracy was sufficient on the
  pre and post test
• Although improving reading was a goal, we 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

34
Session Evaluations

• Leader rated better green
• Within 0.3 blue
• Student rated at least 1pt higher salmon

35
Student Questionnaires
36
Student Questionnaires cont.

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

37
Student Questionnaires cont.

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

38
Student Questionnaires cont.

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

39
Student Questionnaires cont.

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

40
Student Questionnaires cont.

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

41
Student Questionnaires cont.

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

42
Student Questionnaires cont.

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

43
Student Questionnaires cont.

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

44
Leader Results

• Weekly Journals
• Researcher Observations

45
Weekly Journals

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

46
Researcher Observations

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

47
considerations

• Before
• During
• After

48
Considerations Before

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

49
Considerations During

• Students responses to activities
• Cannot follow a strict schedule
• 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

50
Considerations After

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

51
Questions/comments??THANK YOU!!

• Jennifer Sturm sturmj_at_mailbox.sc.edu
• Mike McCall mccallmw_at_mailbox.sc.edu