INCREASING STUDENTS’
PSYCHOLOGICAL ENGAGEMENT
Adobe Connect Meeting
May 2012
Psychological Engagement- “I want to”
Self-Awareness
• College and Career Planning
• Self-efficacy
Self Management
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Impulse control
Stress management
Self-discipline
Organization
Decision Making
• Planning and problem solving skills
• Goal Setting
• Progress monitoring
Self-Awareness
• Career and college planning
On-going exploration and guidance
Integrated into academic work
Connects school-work to occupational goals
Ensures understanding of career and college
entrance requirements
– Incorporates community mentoring and advisement
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• More frequent and intensive advisement for atrisk students
– Advisory program that goes beyond counselors
alone
– Tiered guidance support
Resources
Resources
• Curriculum materials available through Project
10
– Postsecondary Education and Training (Sitlington,
Patton, & Clark, 2008)
– Employment and Career Planning ( Synatschk,
Clark, Patton, & Copeland, 2007)
– Independent Living and Community Participation
(Synatschk, Clark, & Patton, 2008)
• Project 10 Website http://www.project10.info/
– Contains a multitude of resources for college and
career planning which are appropriate for all
students
Self Efficacy
• Self-efficacy is the student’s view of his or her
own abilities specific to a particular academic
area (e.g., mathematics)
• Students who believe that they have the ability
to complete a particular academic task (selfefficacy) do better and have higher levels of
motivation (Jacobs et al., 2002).
• Students may sabotage their academic
performance by engaging in negative self-talk
about their abilities and by making faulty
attributions to explain poor academic
performance (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002).
Self Efficacy
Students’ self efficacy can be examined by asking students to:
• Talk about their perceived strengths and weaknesses as
learners in particular subject areas
• Give examples (with details) about specific successes and
failures that they have experienced on academic
assignments
• Discuss how they complete a range of common academic
tasks (e.g., undertaking a term paper, completing a
chemistry lab exercise, doing homework)
• Disclose their routine for preparing for quizzes and tests
Student responses should be examined to determine if his/her
attributions/explanations are unrealistically negative or do not
adequately acknowledge the role of effort or other controllable
factors in improving that academic skills or performance
Self Efficacy
Mastery Experiences
• The most effective way of developing a strong sense
of efficacy is through the successful performance of
tasks over time.
• Designing curricula which is appropriately
challenging and providing instruction through a
gradual release of responsibility will support
students and help develop their self-efficacy
regarding academic work.
• Pre-teaching and previewing academic content
within intervention courses will help students feel
more confident and be more engaged during core
courses
Self Efficacy
Social Modeling and Encouragement
• Witnessing or learning about others’ successful
completion of a task through sustained effort raises
observers' beliefs that they too possess the
capabilities master comparable activities to succeed
• Providing ongoing encouragement and support and
teaching positive self-talk increases self efficacy
• Implement mentoring programs which emphasize
the connection between sustained effort and
success, provide encouragement and teaches
positive self-talk
Self Efficacy
Managing Psychological Responses
• Moods, emotional states, physical reactions, and
stress levels can all impact how a person feels
about their personal abilities in a particular
situation.
• Teaching students how to manage stress and
elevate mood when facing difficult or challenging
tasks can improve their sense of self-efficacy
Self Efficacy
Engage in data chats which:
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Focus on students’ career and personal goals
Address students’ faulty attributions
Help students set short-term, attainable goals
Tie students’ effort to outcomes
Recognize and celebrate improvements
Jacobs, J. E., Lanza, S., Osgood, D. W., Eccles, J. S., &
Wigfield, A., 2002; Linnenbrink, E. A., & Pintrich, P. R.,
2002
– Video
Organization
• Teach students organization skills which are useful
outside of the school setting and which can be
generalized to career and college
Use of an agenda/planner
Strategies for managing materials
Strategies for managing time
Strategies for prioritizing, planning, and managing
projects
– Effective note-taking strategies
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• Use and reinforce the strategies across all content
areas and within all classes
Organization and Study Skills
Resources
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Dartmouth: Academic Skills. Center offers no-nonsense tutorials in the basics of
good study practices, including 'Managing Your Time', 'Reading Your Textbooks'
and 'Where to Study/How to Study‘
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/
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List of Calculators, Assessments, and Useful Tools. Although written for college
students, this helpful page features links to math and science reference tables
and calculators that middle and high school students will find useful!
http://www.onlinebachelordegreeprograms.com/resources/a-list-of-calculatorsassessments-useful-tools-for-college-students/
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Prentice Hall: Academic Skills. These tip-sheets cover the core areas of study
skills, including effective reading, note-taking, and preparing for tests. They are
well-written and to the point. This academic skills section is part of a larger
website created by Prentice Hall Publishers with tips to help college students to
achieve success. http://www.prenhall.com/success/StudySkl/
Intervention Central
Organization and Study Skills
• Study Guides and Strategies. The Study Guides and Strategies web
site is one of the most comprehensive of its kind on the web. The site
contains brief tutorials in bullet format for easy and quick reading. It
features a wide range of study- and learning-related topics such as
reading, classroom participation, learning with others, and project
management. http://www.studygs.net/
• Virginia Tech: Study Skills Self-Help Information. Find tutorials on
taking notes, managing the study environment, proofreading, writing
papers and more. The site also features several self-guided 'online
study skills workshops' on topics such as improving concentration
and time management. The site is sponsored by the Cook Counseling
Center at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html
Intervention Central
Note Taking
• Teach students effective note-taking skills to all
students
• Utilize common note-taking strategies within all
classrooms
• Provide more intensive note-taking supports for
students who need more support
– E.g., Guided Notes Development Tool
http://www.jimwrightonline.com/htmdocs/interventions
/study/gnotes.php
– Note Taking Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCrslHx7xA&featur
e=related
Self-Monitoring
Select or create resources and supports which
allow students to self monitor:
• Progress toward college and career
readiness
• Progress toward learning goals
• Progress toward behavior goals
• Performance on academic tasks and
assignments
Self-Monitoring
• State and post learning goals in student friendly
language
• Develop or select rubrics aligned with learning goals
• Teach students to self evaluate their learning utilizing
the learning rubrics
• Teach students to set goals and self monitor their
progress toward the learning goals
Students will be able to self monitor their learning only
when learning goals are clear and the use of rubrics
and other self monitoring tools are taught and
reinforced
Self-Monitoring
• All students utilize the general checklist for selfmonitoring
• Some students may require more scaffolded or
specific self-monitoring checklists
• Students should be reinforced for using selfmonitoring checklist
• Discuss the link between self-monitoring work
and more successful performance with
students
• Fade out the use of checklist when student
demonstrates mastery of the skill
Self-Monitoring Academic Example
• Analyze pattern of errors commonly made by
students when solving a math algorithm (on
either computation or word problems)
• Develop a brief error self-correction checklist
• Teach students to use the checklist to selfmonitor—and when necessary correct—his or
her performance on math assignments
before turning them in
(Dunlap & Dunlap, 1989; Uberti et al., 2004)
Self-Monitoring Example
Videos
Behavioral Self-Monitoring Resource
• Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muyQyZ
N8BpU&feature=related
Decision Making and Problem Solving
• Develop an appreciation for why structured problem
solving methods should be used when approaching
problems
• Teach students to utilize structured approaches to
solving problems
– What is my goal?
– What barrier(s) are or could prevent me from achieving
my goal?
– What could I do to address these barriers to achieve my
goal? What type of help or support do I need?
– How will I know that I am on the right track to achieving
my goal?
– Did I reach my goal?
Goal Setting and Progress Monitoring
• Support all students to set short and long term
goals for each class and for their education in
general
• Ensure that students have “effort” goals and
mastery goals
– I will complete 85% of my homework in my science
class during Fall semester
– I will earn at least a “B” (80-89%) in my science class
for Fall and Spring semesters
• Utilize student self assessments and assignment
rubrics to allow students to self monitor their
progress toward learning goals
Goal Setting and Progress Monitoring
Teach students how to ensure that goals are
SMART
– Specific
– Measurable
– Actionable
– Realistic
– Time bound
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uThBb3k
Gf4k&feature=related
Multi-Tiered Intervention Example
Tier 1 (All Students)
• Teach students how to collect data to
monitor their progress toward their goals
(provide necessary resources)
• Support all students to regularly review goals
and monitor their progress toward them
(include in data chats)
• Teach students how to problem solve when
unanticipated barriers arise
Multi-Tiered Intervention Example
Some students may require supplemental or
targeted support to set and monitor SMART goals
Tier 2 and Tier 3
• Provide support within intervention courses for
students to formulate or refine short and long
term goals for core courses
• Engage in frequent data chats (weekly to biweekly) with students focusing on:
– Progress and attainment of short-term goals, and
– The relationship of attaining short-term goals to
making progress toward long-term goals
Videos
Teaching Goal Setting
• http://video.about.com/712educators/Howto-Set-Goals-With-High-School-Students.htm
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ftg_hTI
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Goal Setting and Progress
Monitoring Resources
• Intervention Resource Guide disk and
dropbox cite include:
– Journal articles reviewing techniques for
teaching goal setting and progress monitoring
– Tools and lesson plans for teaching goal setting
and progress monitoring
Instructional Implications
Teaching goal setting, problem solving, organization, and
self management and monitoring skills requires:
1. Explaining the purpose of the skill (e.g., explaining
what mastery of the skill will do for a student),
2. Presenting the steps involved in the skill,
3. Giving students ample opportunities to practice the
skill,
4. Creating and using multiple opportunities for
reinforcing the skill,
5. Periodically assessing the degree of mastery of the
skill, and
6. Following up with skill maintenance activities.
Issa, 2009
Instructional Implications
Skill instruction should not occur in isolation but rather as
a means to achieving college and career readiness goals
Consistent use and reinforcement of skills across
classrooms will result in greater student adoption and
utilization
Some students may require tiered intervention supports
such as additional instruction, scaffolded resources,
individualization, as well as more frequent monitoring and
feedback to adopt and utilize specific skills
Intervention courses/programs should teach and reinforce
the same skills expected and taught within core courses
and vice versa