Principal Investigator: Jennifer Schmidt
CoPrincipal Investigator(s): Lee Shumow
Organization: Northern Illinois University
Abstract:
Intellectual Merit: Northern Illinois University proposes a diffusion-dissemination project to share findings and implications regarding boys’ and girls’ motivational processes with high school science teachers, pre-service science teachers, and science teacher educators across the United States. The primary research findings to be diffused come from the Science-in-the-Moment Project (SciMo, HRD-0827526). The SciMo project documented the daily experience and activities of male and female students in high school science courses by gathering data through classroom observation, video, surveys, interviews, and Experience Sampling–a data collection method in which students provided multiple reports of their subjective experience in science in response to vibrating pagers which signaled them during class. Data illuminated systematic gender differences in the lived experience of students in science class, both in terms of students’ internal reactions to specific learning situations and in the quality of their daily interactions with their science teachers. Several cognitive and affective factors presumed to be critical motivational processes (e.g., challenge, relevance, goal orientation, ability beliefs) operated differently for male compared to female students, and suggest a motivational disadvantage for girls. Analysis of classroom video data reveals continued bias against girls. The proposed project will disseminate critical information learned from SciMo and related projects about students’ motivational processes in science in a way that is accessible, practical, usable by a variety of stakeholders, and empowering to educators at multiple levels in the education system.
Products to be created include: 1) a book (containing foundational knowledge, practical applications, and self study materials) on how to enhance motivation for science among boys and girls in high school; 2) ancillary presentation materials (power point slides and handouts) to be used in professional development workshops and to share with parents; and 3) video demonstrations of the teaching practices and activities discussed in the book. Materials will be distributed at no cost to broad audiences using multiple dissemination strategies targeting professional science teacher organizations. Materials will be distributed in hard copy, electronic format on CD and through an interactive, multimedia web portal.
Broader Impacts: The project will provide large numbers of science teachers and teacher-educators with the resources they need to understand and influence motivation for science among their students. The materials to be disseminated could have substantial effects on instructional practice, course design and curriculum in high school science education. The benefit to society of equipping a broad range of science teachers with research-based knowledge and practices about motivation is that each teacher that applies this knowledge could have a positive impact on the science motivation of hundreds of students over the course of her/his career. Because proposed materials will focus on issues related to gender and motivational processes in science, the project could result in broader interest and participation of women in STEM education and careers.
