1. Engaging with Engagement Data Looking beyond the symptoms
Dr Sherria Hoskins
Head of Psychology
University of Portsmouth

3. Sub-Scale
Meaning
Meaning Orientation.
Deep approach.
Inter-relating ideas.
Use of evidence.
Intrinsic motivation.
Active questioning in learning.
Relating to other parts of the course.
Relating Evidence to conclusions.
Interest in learning for learning’s sake.
Reproducing Orientation.
Surface approach.
Syllabus-boundness.
Fear of failure.
Extrinsic motivation.
Pre-occupation with memorising.
Relying on staff to define learning tasks.
Pessimism and anxiety about academic outcomes.
Interest in course for the qualifications it offer.

4. Perceive no control/helpless
Deci and Ryan (1985)
Without goals
Perceive no control/helpless
Perceive self as incompetent
Don’t know why at university
Amotivated

5. Them or us? CPQ & ASI (Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983)
Deep Approach
Surface Approach
Spoon Feeding X
Heavy Workload
Good Teaching
Freedom/Autonomy
Openess
Social Climate

6. Them or us? Arnold and Fleighny (1995)
School experiences
(Wilson, 1981)
Students’ Baseline Learning Approach
Perceptions of Educational Context
Selection of Learning Approach
Performance
Surface approach
(Harper and Kember, 1986)

8. Psychological factors
Self-theories
Implicit theories

9. Self-theories Bandura (Self Efficacy)
More than self-esteem or confidence
Can I do this?
Early experience.
Watching others (social comparisons)
What will it get me?
Do I want it?

10. Students have highly personal responses to feedback.
Prof. Liz McDowell
Students have highly personal
responses to feedback.
Effected by and impinges on their
emotions, identity & sense of self-worth.

11. Gordon Surface approach with low efficacy
Starts work early.
Enjoys finding out/reading.
Hard time writing and presenting the assignment.
Worries that it won’t be good enough.
Not sure what lecturer looking for.
Feedback is threatening to him.
Tells him whether he’s got assignment right.
Whether he is capable of university.
Unwilling to look at it.

12. Carla Deep approach with high self-efficacy
Thinks about what she already knows and how she can link it.
Starts writing straight away.
Talk to her friends– making connections there too.
Proud of assignment, it’s says what she wants it to say.
She hopes that the lecturer will find it interesting.
Feedback is for learning, it’s a response to her own ideas.
Generic comments, no dialogue = can’t see the point.

13. Pia Surface approach with high self efficacy
Plans work carefully
Gets relevant resources, writes, re-writes, checks meeting assignment criteria
After done - satisfied with job well done, hopes for good mark.
Eager to see feedback – how can she improve the next time.
If she’s not sure about anything, she’ll see the lecturer.
Usually she does well, and feels confident.
When doesn’t get the marks that she expects, makes her more determined.

14. Martin Amotivation What do I have to do to get by?
Hopes there is set reading.
Feedback - check done enough
He might have to start putting more effort in, or he might have got away with it.

15. Who is disengaged? Who is engaged? Where might it go wrong?

16. Carla – gone wrong!
How can high efficacy and deep approach = amotivated?
Motivation = engaged, read extensively, attempt to develop their own opinions
encounter problems writing - selection, word limit, structure, style, often failed attempt an argument
detrimental effect on essay marks
without effective feedback student cannot overcome difficulties/dent to self-efficacy
lose understanding motivation & adopt reproducing orientation
if marking perceived as unfair/unclear = disenchantment

17. Resilience?

18. Helplessness orientation
Fixed Mindset
Growth Mindset
Ability fixed & can’t change much
Ability can be developed
Focus on performance
Focus on learning
Failure and/or effort perceived as being sign of low ability
Not threatened by hard work or failure
Choose activities to maximise performance (easy ones to feel clever)
Seek new challenges for a sense of achievement
Don’t recover well from setbacks
Repair self-esteem:
look at work of people who do worse
deny value of work
do only what we already do well
Mistakes are perceived as a good thing as they help the learning processes
Decrease efforts (passive or active), consider cheating (self-protection)
View effort and persistence as a necessary part of success
Helplessness orientation
Mastery orientation

19. Psychological Factors
Them or us?
Psychological Factors
Experience
Academic Context

20. HEFCE Learning Gain Project
Longitudinal (3 years, 3 time points) + cross sectional
Student Records (demographics)
KIS
New LG tools
Learner resilience scale
Self-efficacy
Existing measures
Implicit theories (Dweck 1980)
UKES (HEA)
ASSIST (Entwistle and Ramsden)

21. Thank you Twitter: @UoPLearningGain emily.mason-apps@port.ac.uk