Webinar:
What Is Student Engagement and
How Do We Measure It?
March 27, 2014
WebEx Instructions
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WebEx instructions
Attendees can
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to presenters
utilizing the
Feedback tool.
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WebEx instructions
Feedback
options:
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WebEx instructions
Responses to poll
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WebEx instructions
Attendees should utilize the “Q&A”
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speaker, panelists, and/or host.
The host will hold all questions
directed toward the speaker or
panelists, and they will be answered
during a Q&A session at the end of
each discussion.
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Welcome and Overview
Lydotta M. Taylor, Ed.D.
Research Alliance Lead, REL Appalachia
The EdVenture Group
Agenda
1.
Welcome and Overview
•
What is a REL?
•
REL Appalachia’s Mission
•
Introductions and Webinar Goals
2.
What Is Student Engagement?
3.
Measuring Student Engagement
4.
Using Student Engagement Data
5.
Q&A
6.
Wrap-up
7.
Stakeholder Feedback Survey
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What is a REL?
• A REL is a Regional Educational Laboratory.
• There are 10 RELs across the country.
• The REL program is administered by the U.S. Department of Education,
Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
• A REL serves the education needs of a designated region.
• The REL works in partnership with the region’s school districts, state
departments of education, and others to use data and research to
improve academic outcomes for students.
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What is a REL?
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REL Appalachia’s mission
• Meet the applied research and technical assistance needs of Kentucky,
Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
• Conduct empirical research and analysis.
• Bring evidence-based information to policy makers and practitioners:
– Inform policy and practice – for states, districts, schools, and other
stakeholders.
– Focus on high-priority, discrete issues and build a body of knowledge over
time.
http://www.RELAppalachia.org
Follow us! @REL_Appalachia
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Introductions and Webinar Goals
Lydotta M. Taylor, Ed.D.
Research Alliance Lead, REL Appalachia
The EdVenture Group
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Speaker
Jerry Johnson, Ed.D.
Associate Professor
College of Education and Human Services
University of North Florida
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Webinar goals
• Introduce participants to the construct of student engagement.
• Increase participants’ understanding of the research around student
engagement, and how it can be measured.
• Provide participants with best practices and tools that can increase
student engagement in their schools and classrooms.
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What Is Student Engagement and
How Do We Measure It?
Jerry Johnson, Ed.D.
Associate Professor, University of North Florida
What is student engagement?
• Student engagement has been defined variously by different researchers
and theorists, but there is consistency around key ideas.
• A broad conceptual definition that reflects those varied perspectives:
Student engagement is a measure of the extent to which a student
willingly participates in schooling activities.
• There is consensus among researchers and theorists that student
engagement is a multidimensional construct with four elements:
– Academic engagement.
– Affective engagement.
– Behavioral engagement.
– Cognitive engagement.
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What does existing research say about student engagement?
• Student engagement is closely associated with desirable schooling
outcomes (higher attendance, higher academic achievement, fewer
disciplinary incidents, lower dropout and retention rates, higher graduation
rates).
(Appleton, Christenson, & Furlong, 2008; Finn, 1989, 1993; Fredricks, Blumenfeld, &
Paris, 2004; Jimerson, Campos, & Grief, 2003; Jimerson, Renshaw, Stewart, Hart, &
O’Malley, 2009; Shernoff & Schmidt, 2008)
• Student engagement is closely associated with general measures of wellbeing (lower rates of health problems, lower rates of high-risk behaviors).
(Carter, McGee, Taylor, & Williams, 2007; McNeely, Nonnemaker, & Blum, 2002;
Patton et al., 2006)
• Student engagement levels can be effectively influenced through schoolbased interventions.
(Appleton, Christenson, Kim, & Reschly, 2006; Christenson et al., 2008;
Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004)
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Poll: Familiarity with measures of student engagement
Please take a moment to answer this poll question. Check your response and
then click on “Submit.”
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Report on 21 instruments to measure student
engagement
Measuring student engagement in upper elementary through high
school: a description of 21 instruments
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Overview of the report
• Stated purpose of the report
• Content and structure
• Definitions, instrument types, psychometric properties
• Instrument abstracts
• Tables for comparing instrument attributes (e.g., developer/availability,
engagement dimensions assessed, intended purposes/uses)
• Potential uses for stakeholders
• Accessing the report
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/southeast/pdf/REL_2011098.pdf
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How is student engagement measured?
• Three primary data collection strategies are available for measuring student
engagement:
• Student self-reports.
• Teacher reports.
• Observational measures.
• Three dimensions of engagement are assessed via available instruments:
• Behavioral (i.e., the student’s involvement in academic, social, and
extracurricular activities).
• Affective/emotional (i.e., extent of the student’s positive [and negative]
reactions to teachers, classmates, academics, and school).
• Cognitive (i.e., the student’s level of investment in his/her learning).
Note: Academic engagement is measured using traditional outcome data, such as
student achievement results.
(Fredericks et al., 2011)
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What are the intended uses of these measures?
• Research purposes:
• Research on motivation and cognition.
• Research on dropping out.
• Evaluation of interventions.
• Diagnosis and monitoring:
• Teachers, school, or district level.
• Student level.
• Needs assessment.
(Fredericks et al., 2011)
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Highlighting three measures of student engagement
• The three measures of student engagement we are about to discuss were
selected for this session because they:
– Represent the three types of student self-report instruments available
(unidimensional, bidimensional, and multidimensional).
– Demonstrate strong psychometric properties.
– Are explicitly linked to the extant research on factors associated with student
success.
– Are designed for use in reporting school and/or district level results.
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Highlighting three measures of student engagement
1.
Identification with School Questionnaire (ISQ):
• Student self-report survey; developed using a sample from grade 8.
• Measures affective/emotional engagement (unidimensional).
• Designed for use with research on dropping out; evaluation of class size
interventions; and evaluation of magnet school interventions.
• 16 items; approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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Highlighting three measures of student engagement
2.
Student Engagement Instrument (SEI):
• Student self-report survey; designed for grades 6‒12.
• Measures affective/emotional and cognitive engagement (bidimensional).
• Designed for use with research on dropping out; evaluation of dropout
prevention interventions; monitoring engagement levels at the teacher,
school, or district level; and diagnosing/monitoring at the student level.
• 33 items; approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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Highlighting three measures of student engagement
3.
High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSE):
• Student self-report survey; designed for grades 9‒12.
• Measures behavioral, affective/emotional, and cognitive engagement
(multidimensional).
• Designed for use in monitoring engagement levels at the teacher, school, or
district level.
• 121 items; approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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How are these measures used by school districts?
• Background: Understanding engagement as a continuum:
• Dropping out of school is not an event but a process.
• Engagement can be understood as a marker for where a student is on the
continuum from dropping out to being fully engaged/successful (including
measures of college and career readiness).
(Appleton et al., 2008; Jimerson et al., 2009; Sinclair, Christenson, Evelo, & Hurley, 1998;
Sinclair, Christenson, & Thurlow, 2005)
• Applied use of student engagement measures by schools and school
districts:
• Needs assessment and targeting of interventions at the classroom, school, and
district levels.
• Needs assessment and targeting of interventions at the student level.
(Christenson et al., 2008)
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REL AP work with stakeholders on student engagement
• Proposed REL Appalachia technical assistance project: Using Student
Engagement Survey Data to Inform School-wide Programs and Strategies.
• Kentucky:
• Participating school districts will attend a one-day workshop to identify an
appropriate instrument (from those described in Measuring student
engagement in upper elementary through high school: a description of 21
instruments) and to build capacity with regard to survey administration.
• School district will collect data and submit to REL Appalachia.
• REL Appalachia staff will analyze the data and prepare school data memos.
• REL Appalachia will then host a debriefing workshop to share/discuss results,
help identify appropriate interventions, and assist in planning next steps.
• West Virginia:
• The state will be using its own survey instrument, with REL Appalachia staff
conducting analyses, preparing data memos, and facilitating the debriefing
workshop.
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Wrap-up and Closing Remarks
Stakeholder Feedback Survey
Lydotta M. Taylor, Ed.D.
Research Alliance Lead, REL Appalachia
The EdVenture Group
Stakeholder Feedback Survey access information
Please visit
https://checkbox.cna.org/StudentEngagement.aspx
to provide feedback on today’s webinar event.
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