The purpose of this study was to determine how cognitive, demographic,
and motivational factors can be used to understand help-seeking behavior in
college students. Specifically, the study examined engagement in Supplemental
Instruction (SI) of undergraduate students at Texas A&M University. An
additional purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of SI. The sample
for the study was 2,407 undergraduate students who were enrolled in eight
randomly selected courses at Texas A&M University in the spring 2004
semester. Students enrolled in multiple course sections were eliminated from
the study. The revised sample consisted of 2,297 students.
Data collected for all students in the sample included student
demographic information, SI attendance and participation, and final course
grades. Students were also requested to complete an on-line survey instrument
containing a modified version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning
Questionnaire (MSLQ) and questions related to parent education and household
income. Ultimately, 1,003 students from the revised sample submitted surveysfor a response rate of 43.7%. Based on attendance data and participation
ratings, students were classified into three engagement groups for subsequent
data analysis: high engagement, low engagement, and non-SI.
The following were among the major findings from the study:
?? Hispanic students were significantly more engaged in SI than their
White peers.
?? Engagement in SI was inversely related to grade level classification.
?? SI participants had significantly lower mean SAT math and verbal
scores than students who did not attend SI.
?? The motivational variables as a set had a statistically significant
relationship with SI engagement.
?? Extrinsic motivation, organization, academic self-efficacy, control
beliefs, help-seeking, and peer learning were the motivational scales
which best predicted SI engagement.
?? Students who were highly engaged in SI had significantly higher mean
final course grades than either non-participants or low engagement
students even controlling for differences in SAT scores, cumulative
grade point average, and motivation.
The study helps provide some insight into the dynamics of academic
help-seeking. It also contributes to the growing body of evidence which shows
that SI is an effective intervention for improving student success in traditionally
difficult courses.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/2325 |
| Date | 29 August 2005 |
| Creators | McGee, Joel Vick |
| Contributors | Stanley, Christine A. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | 1267220 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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