Collaborative Research: GARNET II: Self-regulated learning and the affective domain in physical geology

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This project is examining connections between the affective domain and the cognitive domain for thousands of students in introductory geoscience courses at 8-10 colleges and universities across the United States. These institutions include large research universities, comprehensive universities, small liberal arts colleges and two-year community colleges. GARNET - the Geoscience Affective Research NETwork - is promoting excellence in STEM teaching and learning by examining how students' learning is influenced by their "affective characteristics" (motivation, attitudes, values, beliefs, etc.) and by pedagogical strategies designed to help support student learning and interest in the content. GARNET is helping to fill a little studied, yet highly significant gap in our understanding of student learning of science, by asking "how do students' motivations and beliefs about their learning skills influence their understanding of course content?" This project is integrating research and education by providing fundamental data about the role of the affective domain in learning, while simultaneously helping students develop better learning skills. The project is building on the results of a previous collaborative GARNET project that tested two key hypotheses: (1) the affective domain has a major influence on student learning; and (2) different teaching methods significantly influence student affect and, consequently, learning. Results of that previous project revealed that learning beliefs, such as self-efficacy, were related to student performance but that the use of different instructional strategies had minimal impact on students' affective constructs. This project is moving the original GARNET focus away from what instructors do to improve learning, to study "what students do" to modify their own affect and improve their abilities to learn. The affective domain is linked to a four-stage self-regulated learning cycle that instructors are using to train students to monitor and regulate their affective constructs, and are measuring and evaluating the associated impact on student learning. On the basis of such findings, the project is developing affect-based pedagogical resources and strategies that will allow instructors to develop better introductory geoscience classes and improve student engagement, attitude, and ultimately, learning across a variety of STEM fields.