Assessing Student Engagement in Math and Science in Middle School: Classroom, Family, and Peer Effects on Engagement

评估中学学生对数学和科学的参与度：课堂、家庭和同伴对参与度的影响

• 批准号: 1315943
• 负责人: Ming-Te Wang
• 金额: $ 40万
• 依托单位: University of Pittsburgh
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-01 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1315943&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Assessing; Student; Engagement; Math; Science

The proposed project uses a comprehensive mixed methods design to develop theoretically-grounded measures of student engagement in middle school math and science classes that reflect a multidimensional construct within an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of urban youth. The project conceptualizes student engagement as a multidimensional construct including behavioral, emotional, and cognitive components. This multidimensional perspective of student engagement provides a rich characterization of how students act, feel, and think. The project has three aims which are to 1) develop reliable and valid measures of student engagement in middle school math and science classes for the use of teachers and researchers; 2) field test and validate these measures of student engagement in math and science classes; and 3) test a) whether classroom, peer, and family characteristics predict student engagement in math and science classes, which in turn, predicts their course enrollment patterns, academic achievement, and educational and career aspirations in math and science and b) whether these associations differ by gender, race, and socioeconomic status. To meet these goals, the proposed project includes two studies. In study 1, twenty-five middle school students and 10 math and 10 science teachers participate in focus groups and individual interviews to inform the development of survey instruments in fulfillment of Aim 1. In study 2, 450 middle school students and their teachers and parents participate in a field study to test the psychometric quality of the newly developed instruments in fulfillment of Aims 2 and 3. The sample is recruited from four middle schools located in a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse community. Data to be collected includes information on math and science course enrollment, performance, educational and career aspirations, student engagement in math and science, and support from teachers, peers, and parents. This project develops easily-administered and psychometrically sound instruments for teachers and researchers to assess student engagement in math and science classes, so they can identify groups of students who are at risk for disengagement and potentially turning away from STEM careers as a first step towards designing appropriate school interventions. It is anticipated that the project findings provide research-based solutions to some of the specific behaviors that influence youth motivation in math and science. Specifically, the project identifies family, peer, and classroom predictors and educational outcomes of student engagement in math and science classes that are amenable to future interventions, as well as examines differences in the relations between context, engagement, and educational outcomes by gender, race, and socioeconomic status. The study also yields information that can directly and immediately support teachers in the partner school districts to enhance the quality of math and science education. As findings are disseminated to math and science teachers, they are able to develop effective strategies to promote student engagement in math and science. This multidimensional approach will advance current scholarship and practice concerning middle school students? pursuit of math and science related fields.

拟议的项目采用综合混合方法设计，以理论为基础制定学生参与中学数学和科学课程的措施，这些措施反映了种族和社会经济多样化的城市青年样本中的多维结构。该项目将学生参与概念化为包括行为、情感和认知成分的多维结构。这种学生参与的多维视角提供了学生行为、感受和思考方式的丰富特征。该项目有三个目标：1)为教师和研究人员提供可靠和有效的中学数学和科学课堂学生参与的衡量标准；2)实地测试和验证这些学生参与数学和科学课程的措施；3)测试a)课堂、同伴和家庭特征是否预测学生在数学和科学课程上的参与度，进而预测他们的课程注册模式、学术成就、数学和科学的教育和职业抱负；b)这些关联是否因性别、种族和社会经济地位而异。为了实现这些目标，拟议的项目包括两项研究。在研究1中，25名中学生和10名数学和10名科学教师参与焦点小组和个人访谈，以告知调查工具的开发，以实现目标1。在本研究中，2,450名中学生及其教师和家长参与了一项实地研究，以测试新开发的工具在实现目标2和3方面的心理测量质量。样本来自位于社会经济和种族多样化社区的四所中学。要收集的数据包括数学和科学课程的入学情况、成绩、教育和职业抱负、学生对数学和科学的参与以及教师、同龄人和家长的支持。该项目为教师和研究人员开发了易于管理且心理测量学可靠的工具，用于评估学生在数学和科学课堂上的参与度，以便他们能够识别有脱离STEM职业风险的学生群体，并将其作为设计适当学校干预措施的第一步。预计项目结果将为影响青少年学习数学和科学动机的一些具体行为提供基于研究的解决方案。具体而言，该项目确定了家庭、同伴和课堂预测因素以及学生参与数学和科学课程的教育成果，这些预测因素和教育成果适合未来的干预措施，并研究了不同性别、种族和社会经济地位的背景、参与和教育成果之间的关系差异。该研究还提供了可以直接和立即支持合作学区的教师提高数学和科学教育质量的信息。当研究结果传播给数学和科学教师时，他们能够制定有效的策略来促进学生对数学和科学的参与。这种多维度的方法将促进当前关于中学生的学术和实践。追求数学和科学相关领域。