Judith M. Harackiewicz, Ph.D. - US grants

This project would use a sample of Wisconsin families to study the role parents play in increasing students' perception of the utility of science as a means for increasing student participation in high school science courses. The researchers are collecting survey data on high school students and their parents in a sample of students ages 11, 13, and 15. These survey data will be used with prior information from the families in a longitudinal survey to examine some hypotheses about the use of parents? knowledge of the value of high school math and science courses on student choices.

Previous research by the investigators has demonstrated that programs that focus on the value of a course leads to increased interest and enhanced performance for students in high school and college. The research would to study parent?s knowledge of the utility value of high school M&S courses and their ability to convey it. It is a three-year longitudinal study and an experimental study on parent?s information. The study would be made of 166 families with a child who completed data collection at 9th grade. A random assignment will be made so that some parents receive professional training on how to discuss course taking with their students. Parents and students will be followed up in 9 months and in 2 years to assess the impact on course taking.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is critically important to promote interest and motivation for underrepresented ethnic minority (UEM) students in introductory biology courses, because these courses serve as a gateway to successive courses and careers in the biomedical sciences. We propose an experimental field test of two social psychological interventions: the values affirmation technique focuses on the student's personal values; the utility value intervention focuses on the value or usefulness of course content. To date, neither intervention has been tested in college biology courses, nor have these interventions been tested together in the same course. We believe that these interventions can be combined to promote motivation and performance for underrepresented students in biology. We propose a large-scale field experiment with 2200 students in introductory biology courses at UW, as well a set of complementary laboratory experiments to examine the mechanisms through which these interventions work. We will evaluate the separate and combined effects of Values Affirmation and Utility Value interventions in the year-long introductory biology sequence taken by biological science majors at UW- Madison. We will follow four cohorts (N=2200) of introductory biology students longitudinally from their enrollment in the introductory biology course through their graduation from college. Our goals are 1) to test the effectiveness of the values affirmation intervention in introductory biology classes for threatened groups (underrepresented ethnic minority students and first-generation students) for the following outcomes: retention in the course, course performance, and interest in biology 2) Examine the effectiveness of the utility value intervention in introductory biology classes for threatened groups for the following outcomes: retention in the course, course performance, and interest in biology, 3) Test the two interventions in combination to determine whether they work additively or synergistically to promote motivation and performance in biology courses for threatened groups. In addition, we plan to test the long-term effects of both interventions on students' subsequent course-taking, choice of major, and career plans at graduation, using a longitudinal design, testing our hypothesis that these interventions should be effective in promoting motivation for biomedical careers. Finally, we will examine the mechanisms through which these interventions work, by systematically varying the parameters of the interventions and measuring hypothesized mediators in the large-scale, longitudinal field experiment and by conducting experimental research in laboratory studies. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: It is critically important to promote interest and motivation for underrepresented ethnic minority (UEM) students in introductory biology courses, which act as a gateway to successive courses and careers. Increasing the pool of talent for doctorates in the biomedical sciences is crucial, for these are the persons who will pioneer essential advances to improve the health of the U.S. population. We propose a large-scale field experiment to test two social psychological interventions intended to promote motivation and performance for underrepresented students in biology classes.

Promoting Motivation for Underrepresented Groups in Undergraduate Biology and Chemistry Courses ABSTRACT Our goal is to broaden the participation of at risk-students in biomedical fields with interventions in gateway biology and chemistry classes. Using a theoretically-grounded utility-value intervention, we aim to close achievement gaps for first-generation (FG) students, those for whom neither parent obtained a 4-year college degree, and for underrepresented minority (URM) students. Lessons learned from our previously funded large-scale double-blind randomized field experiment in introductory biology courses at the University of Wisconsin- Madison (UW) demonstrated that the utility value intervention (UVI), in which students write about the personal relevance of course material, was successful in reducing the achievement gap for URM students by 40%, relative to a control condition in which students summarized course content. This effect was even larger for FG-URM students: the gap was reduced by 61%. We build upon these findings by proposing research to (1) determine whether the UVI effects documented at Wisconsin can be replicated in different types of institutions and courses, and whether the UVI can be adapted for a more diverse student sample and (2) systematically understand and refine the nature of the UVI by continuing to test the underlying motivational theory and mechanisms. To accomplish our goals, our research team at UW will first conduct a series of laboratory experiments designed to optimize materials and implementation features of the UVI to create new versions of the UVI that emphasize communal themes. We know from our previous work that the UVI was most effective for students who were motivated to help others, and for FG and URM students who wrote about communal themes in their essays. This raises new questions about whether communal writing is integral to the effectiveness of the UVI for FG-URM students and whether we might see even stronger UVI effects for FG and URM students if they are specifically encouraged to reflect on communal themes. We have developed an experimental design to address these critical questions using multi-institutional field experiments that provide tests of replication and scale-up potential in biology classes and extension to chemistry classes, and identify the optimal approach for the greatest impact of the UVI. We test the new communal-UVI against the original personal-UVI and control writing assignments with nearly 5,000 students across 6 academic semesters of biology and chemistry in two uniquely diverse institutions: San Diego State University and Montana State University, which serve a significant number of FG students and enroll large populations of Latino and Native American students, respectively.

Broadening Participation in the Biomedical Sciences with Utility Value Interventions ABSTRACT The goal of this program of research is to broaden the participation of first-generation (FG) and underrepresented ethnic minority (URM) students in biomedical fields with utility-value interventions in gateway biology and chemistry classes. Using a theoretically grounded utility- value intervention, PI aims to close achievement gaps for FG students, those for whom neither parent obtained a 4-year college degree, and for URM students. A previously funded large-scale double-blind randomized study in introductory biology courses at the University of Wisconsin- Madison (UW) demonstrated that the utility value intervention (UVI), in which students write about the personal relevance of course material, was successful in reducing the achievement gaps for FG and URM relative to a control condition in which students summarized course content. The proposed research will (1) test whether UVI effects documented at UW can be replicated in different gateway courses and different universities, (2) test whether the UVI can be adapted for a more diverse student sample, and (3) test the long-term effects of the UVI by following students over time through graduation. PI will analyze the results of a recently completed large-scale multi-site study conducted at three sites. Two versions of the UVI and control writing assignments were tested with more than 7,000 students across 10 academic semesters of biology and chemistry in 3 different institutions: UW, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and San Diego State University. By testing two versions of the UVI across three universities, and following students through graduation, PI can answer three critical questions. First, by testing a new prosocial version of the intervention and comparing it to the established ?personal? version, as well as a control group, PI can draw new inferences about the impact of having students reflect on ways that they can use their education in biomedical fields to help others, give back to their community, or make a contribution to society. Second, because PI has collected data from large groups of students from diverse racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds, the data provide the best opportunity to date to test intervention effects for different groups of students in gateway courses. Third, long-term follow-up of students in the multi-site project will help us understand how and why this intervention can be so powerful in broadening participation in the biomedical sciences.