race to the top: examining predictors of competition among first-year science students sylvia...
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Race to the Top: Examining Predictors of Competition among First-Year Science Students
Sylvia HurtadoKevin Eagan
Josephine GasiewskiMinh Tran
Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA2010 International Conference on the First Year Experience
Maui, HIJune 10, 2010
Significance
Competitive culture of science Focus on grades “Survival of the fittest” mentality (Epstein, 2006)
Background
Effects of competition on: Academic achievement Retention Knowledge gains
Contexts of competition Selective institutions Introductory courses
Grading on a curve Large classes Lack of engaging pedagogy
Out-of-class experiences
Research Questions
What individual experiences and institutional characteristics predict science students’ sense of competition for high grades among their peers?
What contexts and experiences contribute to students’ sense of competition?
What are students’ and faculty members’ perceptions about the culture of competition in science across institutions?
Theoretical Framework
Academic Tribes and Culture (Becher, 1989)
Culture of Science as a source of “disruption”
Folklore, myths, and legends Socialization Normalization – “This is how science is done!”
Science Identification (Carlone and Johnson, 2007)
CompetencePerformanceRecognition
Qualitative Data Sources
5 campuses: 1 HBCU, 2 HSIs, and 2 PWIs Selective research programs Various funding sources
Faculty and staff interviews (n=16)
Student focus group interviews (n=71) 60% female/40% male 56% Latina/o, 18% Black, 13% Asian American,
8% multiracial, 2.5% American Indian, and 2.5% White
70% biology, biochemistry, or chemistry majors
Methods: Qualitative
Interpretive/descriptive qualitative study
Semi-structured interview protocol
Coded transcripts using NVivo® software to identify emergent themes
Reached inter-coder reliability of 85%
Methods: Quantitative
Data and sample 2004 CIRP Freshman Survey and 2005 Your
First College Year Survey 3,112 biomedical and behavioral science aspirants 150 colleges and universities
2004 CIRP Freshman Survey and 2008 College Senior Survey
3,550 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) aspirants
216 colleges and universities
Methods: Quantitative
Variables Dependent variable: Extent to which students
sensed competition among their peers for high grades
Independent variables Background characteristics Pre-college experiences First-year college experiences (TFS-YFCY dataset) Fourth-year college experiences (TFS-CSS dataset) Institutional characteristics
Analyses Descriptive statistics Multilevel modeling
Findings: Predictors of Competition at the End of the First Year of College
Background characteristics and pre-college experiences Participated in pre-college research program (+) Chose college b/c had good academic rep (+) Social self-confidence (+) Sense of science identity (+) Academic self-confidence (-)
Disciplinary differences (all compared to psychology) Life science (+) Physical science (+) Health science (+)
Findings: Predictors of Competition at the End of the First Year of College
Classroom intimidation Felt intimidated by professors (+) Feel like most students are treated like numbers
in a book (+) Out-of-class experiences
Studying with other students (+) Received tutoring (+) Feel that faculty are interested in students’
academic problems (+) Contextual differences
Institutional selectivity (+)
Findings: Predictors of Competition Four Years after College Entry
Background characteristics Asian American (+) Choosing a college based on prestigious
reputation (+) Science identity (+)
Classroom intimidation Feeling intimidated by professors (+) Feeling overwhelmed by academic work (+)
Findings: Predictors of Competition Four Years after College Entry
Out-of-class experiences Joining major-related club (+) Discussing course content with students outside class (+) Studying with other students (+) Talking with faculty outside of class (+) Sensing a hostile racial climate (+) Sensing that faculty are interested in students’ academic
problems (+)
Contextual differences Institutional size (+) Selectivity (+) Percentage of undergraduates majoring in STEM (+)
Classroom Intimidation
o Fear of asking questionso Reveals lack of
understandingo Reveals lack of intelligenceo To both peers and
professors
o Hierarchy of questionso clarification vs. deep &
profound
o Fostered by professors
“People in organic chemistry don’t sit there and ask, ‘How did that work?’ You wait until office hours, in the quiet, and make sure nobody thinks that you’re dumb.”
(Female student, PWI)
“I feel like there’s a lot of pressure to…it seems like there’s a lot of pressure or I put a lot of pressure on myself to…I feel bad if I ask a question that’s just for clarification and not something that’s deep and profound.”
(Female student, PWI)
Out of Class Competition
Students are hesitant to: Share information and
resourcesWork together
“It also depends if you can open up yourself to people and not just think like, ‘Oh, what if you join a group and you get the same grades?’ It’s all about competition, you know. A lot of the things that happen…are all about competition, getting the better A.”
(Female student, PWI)
“There are [people] that are really competitive and I remember there was…we had to get a journal article and it was in the microfilm area and even though you don’t get to take it away from there, someone threw it away, so you couldn’t get it and you had to order it and have it sent down from another university.”
(Male student, PWI)
Contextual Differences
Importance of getting noticed
Not just being a # Personal attention
Ethic of care Students Faculty
“It seems like here, the people have a mentality…like the sharing mentality, so if you’re not…if you don’t share or if you’re not…if you’re thinking about number one, they kind of shun to the side. I mean, because everyone else is in the group and you’re…you think you can work better on your own, we’ll let you work on your own. That’s how it is here.”
(Female student, HBCU)
Grades vs. Learning
Pre-meds as intensely competitive
Gate-keeper courses
Rote memorization vs. learning
Faculty emphasis on grades
“It’s really hard when you’re studying with competitive people. It puts too much pressure on your when you’re not trying to understand the material because you like it, you’re trying just to ace the class, so it’s not that desire to learn, but the desire to get a better grade, and sometimes you kind of just have to step back from it and try to see why you’re doing what you’re doing, not just to get the grade, but to really understand the material so you can later apply it.”
(Female student, PWI)
“I know my mentor’s always like…I don’t know, like trying to motivate us and I think one way he seeks to motivate us is to kind of be like, ‘Don’t you want to be better than so-and-so,’ and you kind of do get that feeling.
(Female student, HSI)
Mitigating Power of Undergraduate Research Programs
Provided: Smaller scale faculty interactions Peer networks Sense of community
Implications
Intimidation in class fosters a greater sense of competition
Academic competition extends out of class to students’ studying behaviors and strategies
Institutional context shapes how students perceive and experience competition
Future research needed to further examine grading practices, pedagogy and environment of introductory science
Group Activity
Given the themes and challenges we just presented… please discuss in small groups how these issues affect your individual campuses and develop a list of recommendations for your respective institutions. A spokesperson from each group will share you list with the rest of the participants.
Contact Information
Acknowledgments: This study was made possible by the support of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH Grant Numbers 1 R01 GMO71968-01 and R01
GMO71968-05 as well as the National Science Foundation, NSF Grant Number 0757076. This independent research and the views expressed here do not indicate endorsement by
the sponsors.
Papers and reports are available for download at:
http://heri.ucla.edu/nihProject e-mail: [email protected]
Faculty and Co-PIs:Sylvia HurtadoMitchell Chang
Monica LinGina GarciaFelisha Herrera
Postdoctoral Scholars:Kevin EaganJosephine Gasiewski
Administrative Staff:Aaron Pearl
Graduate Research Assistants:Christopher NewmanMinh TranJessica Sharkness
Cindy MosquedaJuan Garibay