1. Global Awareness and Student Engagement Allison BrckaLorenz Jim Gieser Program presented at the 2011 ASHE Annual Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina

2. Agenda NSSE and NSSE 2.0 Purpose Literature Research Questions and Methods Results Implications What’s next?

3. NSSE A snapshot of student experiences inside and outside of the classroom at four-year colleges and universities – Focus on behaviors (and some perceptions) Survey items represent good practices related to desirable college outcomes Focuses on indirect, process measure of student learning and development

4. NSSE 2.0 Time for an update! – New content areas – Revised items – New reports First pilot administration complete Second pilot administration in spring of 2012 New version debuts in 2013

5. Purpose Explore global awareness content for NSSE 2.0 Large-scale investigation of global awareness participation Investigate relationships between global awareness and important outcomes such as engagement, deep approaches to learning, and self-reported gains

6. Literature What do students need in an era of globalization? – Global is now local – Intercultural knowledge and understanding – Cross-cultural communication competence – Competitive global marketplace Global awareness – Operationalized by various terms, definitions remain unclear – Nevertheless, agreement re. positive outcomes

7. Literature Elements conducive to encouraging global awareness – Culturally diverse campus events – Opportunities for informal interaction with diverse others – Curriculum and faculty – Study abroad

8. Research Questions (Methods) 1.What globally-focused activities are students participating in most frequently and least frequently? Does this frequency differ by various student populations? (Frequencies, t- tests/ANOVAs) 2.How does participation in globally-focused activities relate to student engagement, deep learning, and students’ reports of gains in college (Correlations, OLS regressions)

9. Variables Global Awareness Engagement Student Engagement Level of Academic Challenge Active and Collaborative Learning Student-Faculty Interaction Supportive Campus Environment Individual NSSE items Deep Learning Higher Order Learning Integrative Learning Reflective Learning Gains in College Practical Competence General Education Personal and Social Development

10. Sample 2011 administration of NSSE 53 institutions ~8000 first-years (45%); ~10,000 seniors (54%) Institution Characteristics% Control Public56 Carnegie Classification Doctoral24 Master’s36 Baccalaureate38

11. Sample Student CharacteristicsFY (%)SR (%) Female 6664 Transfer student 737 Full-time enrollment 9688 Living on campus 6524 Race or ethnicity African American/Black 106 Asian/Pacific Islander 55 Caucasian/White 6769 Hispanic/Latino 78 Other 65

12. Results: Frequent Participation Around half of students report: – Their coursework frequently encourages them to understand and respect other world cultures – They frequently have serious conversations about cultures other than their own Around 40% of student report: – They frequently have serious conversations about appropriate ways to communicate with people from other cultures

13. Results: Subpopulation Variation 10% of Social Science and Education first-years are never encouraged by their coursework to understand other cultures compared to 20% of Biological Science and 30% of Engineering majors Generally higher GAE for females, minority students, students living on campus, students with higher grades, and students in Social Science fields of study

14. Results: GAE and Engagement Level of Academic Challenge (FY/SR: r=.43) First-years: – Gains in developing a personal code of values and ethics (r =.470) – Gains in solving complex real-world problems (r =.46) Seniors: – Gains in understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds (r =.56) – Including diverse perspectives in class discussion or writing assignments (r =.50)

15. Results: GAE, Deep Learning, and Gains Integrative LearningHigher Order ThinkingReflective Learning +++ Gains in Practical Competence Gains in Personal and Social Development Gains in General Education +++++++ Models controlled for gender, transfer status, enrollment status, fraternity or sorority membership, athletic participation, living situation, race or ethnicity, primary major field, grades, institutional control, and Carnegie classification. All variables were standardized before entry into models. Key: p.3, ++ unstd B >.4, +++ unstd B >.5

16. Implications The campus environment matters Changes to the curriculum can lead to greater global awareness – Faculty involvement is crucial – Greater focus within STEM fields is needed Conversations about global and intercultural diversity – Campus events, classroom activities, diverse student body

17. What’s next? Future research – Campus events and activities – Campus subpopulations – Study abroad participation Suggestions from the audience

18. Questions and Comments Allison BrckaLorenz – abrckalo@indiana.edu Jim Gieser – jgieser@indiana.edu For a copy of this presentation, go to: http://nsse.iub.edu/html/pubs.cfm Allison BrckaLorenz – abrckalo@indiana.edu Jim Gieser – jgieser@indiana.edu For a copy of this presentation, go to: http://nsse.iub.edu/html/pubs.cfm