The old adage "Try, try again" suggesting persistence leads to success turns out to be true, according to recent research. In this April 16, 2013 session discussed ideas that will help your students become better learners and more successful in endeavors beyond the classroom.

1. Laura Bracken
Lewis-Clark State College
bracken@lcsc.edu

3. Four year college with
“community college
function”
Only 5 community
colleges in Idaho;
nearest 200 mi
60% of our students
place into
developmental math

5. Four Polls (background of participants)
Current emphasis on persistence, retention, and
degree completion
Classroom level strategies for improving student
persistence
Questions

6. Poll


7. Funding depended on enrollment, not retention
or degree completion
Students who were not making progress
towards a degree still could receive financial aid
Large pool of first-generation students
Administrators focused on recruitment

8. State funding partially linked to retention and
degree completion
Total state funding support decreasing; percent
that students must pay increasing
Changes in federal financial aid rules
Administrators focused on retention and degree
completion

9. What can be done at the classroom level to
increase student persistence?
Without new funding
Still teaching students mathematics
Managing work load

10. Lack of persistence has multiple causes
Today: locus of control

11. Dalloway, M. The Relationship Between Locus of Control and Brain Research-
Compatible Instructional Strategies: Helping First-Year Community College Students
Successfully Transition. Unpublished dissertation, 2011.

12. Often External Locus of Control
Responsibility for learning given to or taken by
parents, teachers, coaches
Academic results attributed to external factors
Luck
Having a bad day (mood)
Bad teaching
Disabilities (adapted curriculum required)
Life circumstances (change in expectations required)

13. Internal Locus of Control
Student responsible for academic performance,
time management, obtaining extra help
Students expected to adapt to teaching
Students expected to learn curriculum despite
disabilities (access accommodations only)
Student expected to manage life circumstances

14. Research has indicated that an internal locus of control is
correlated with academic success and retention in higher
education (Bruinsma, 2003; Cassidy & Eachus, 2000;
Dollinger, 2000; Gifford et al., 2006; Shell & Husman,
2008)
Dalloway, M. The Relationship Between Locus of Control and Brain Research-
Compatible Instructional Strategies: Helping First-Year Community College
Students Successfully Transition. Unpublished dissertation, 2011.

15. Shifting Locus of Control
Education about locus of control
Provide opportunities for success to build
confidence in shifting to internal locus
Detailed information about expectations
Instruction in academic skills required to be
successful in college level math courses
Teach students how to get help

16. Education about Locus of Control
Help students learn about the concept of locus
of control: readings, group activities, class
discussion, homework questions

17. A student has missed a lot of classes. At midterm, she is failing. When
her instructor asks her why she has been missing class, she says, “I
can’t help it. My roommate stays up late with her friends. I sleep
right through my alarm because I’m so tired.”
97. Who does the student believe is responsible for her success or
failure?
98. Describe the actions that this student might take to be successful in
this situation.

18. Shifting Locus of Control
Education about locus of control
Provide opportunities for success to build
confidence in shifting to internal locus

19. Provide Opportunities for Success
Incorporate in-class active learning
Opportunities to practice and feel successful
without the pressure of grading
Opportunities for individual positive feedback from
you
Paper/pencil or computer or board work; individual
or pairs or small group
Better to do fewer examples and give students time
to work
Do not have students do homework

20. Education about locus of control
Provide opportunities for success
Detailed information about expectations so
that students really understand what they
need to do to be successful

21. No syllabus
No work required outside of class
Short answer or multiple choice tests
Astonishing amounts of extra credit available
Students can pass even if test scores are below
50%; few students fail course
Cheating is ignored or minimal consequences
Social promotion expected by community

22. Accountable to syllabus
Work outside of class is essential
Showing work required on homework and tests
Tests more than 50% of final grade; many
students fail course
Limited or no extra credit
Cheating may have devastating consequences
No social promotion

23. …students enter postsecondary education with a
vague sense that college is different than high
school, but without awareness of the specific ways
in which it is different (Collier & Morgan, 2008; Cox,
2009).
Karp, M. and Bork, R. Community College Research
Center, July 2012

24. ProvideDetailedInformation aboutExpectations
Direct Instruction on Idea/Content of Syllabus
Shifts locus of control by insisting that students are
responsible for knowing class requirements
E-mail and brief group activity
Emphasize most misunderstood expectations
No late work
Make-up tests
Attendance
Document student “acceptance of terms” to
emphasize importance

25. Poll
 In your developmental classes, do you require
paper/pencil homework and grade at least
some of the problems?
A. Yes
B. No

26. ProvideDetailedInformation aboutExpectations
Teach students about academic dishonesty
Shifts locus of control by teaching students what is
expected
Provide examples of academic dishonesty
Discuss consequences of academic dishonesty

27. Problem of the Day Name____________________
Math 25
1. Where is my office? When are my office hours?
2. What is the purpose of office hours?
3. When is the Math Lab open?
4. Identify the percent that each of these is worth in your semester grade.
Tests _____ Homework _____ Participation ____ Final ____ SQ ____
5. Is copying someone else’s homework cheating?
6. Is copying an answer from the back of the book cheating?
7. What are the consequences for cheating?
8. What should you do if an extraordinary circumstance prevents you from taking a
test?

28. Shifting Locus of Control
Education about locus of control
Provide opportunities for success to build
confidence in shifting to internal locus
Detailed information about expectations
Instruction in academic skills required to be
successful in college level math courses

29. Instruction in Academic Skills
Teach students how to use objectives to
organize content
Shifts locus of control by providing way for students
to feel that content is manageable
Helps students prioritize studying for tests
Check list of objectives
Complete or create practice tests based on lists of
objectives

30. Class
Snapshot

31. Instruction in Academic Skills
Teach students how to find their own mistakes
Shifts locus of control from erasing and starting
over (no control) or from asking instructor or tutor
to find mistake (external control)
Reduces frustration; improves attention to detail
Homework or in-class

33. Poll
 Do your students bring their textbook to class
most of the time?
A. Yes
B. No

34. Instruction in Academic Skills
Teach students how to use a textbook
Shifts locus of control by giving student confidence
in self-help
Show organization
Answers
Link objectives, examples, practice problems, exercises
Bolding and color
Use book during instruction
Advantage of using textbook examples (smart pens)
Color matching

38. Instruction in Academic Skills
Teach students to learn from graded tests
Shifts locus of control by insisting that students use
tests as formative assessments
Correlate errors and objectives
Correlate errors and prerequisite skills
Reflect on test-taking strategies
Reflect on math anxiety

40. Shifting Locus of Control
Education about locus of control
Provide opportunities for success to build
confidence in shifting to internal locus
Detailed information about expectations
Direct instruction in academic skills required to
be successful in college level math courses
Teach students how to get help

41. Teach Students How to Get Help
Identify resources for extra help
Identify campus resources; student favorites
Bookmarks
Discuss issues with help from friends, web sites,
and significant others
Discuss how to learn from tutors
Make appointments to meet students in the
tutoring center

42. Poll
 Does your tutoring center provide effective
tutoring that is consistent with your teaching?
 Yes
 No

44. Teach Students How to Get Help
Help from You
Office hours
Build supportive relationship
Pre-first day e-mails
First day activities
Persona of patience (without forbearance); no scolding
or comments that students perceived as shaming

45. Problem of the Day Name ____________________
Math 25 Wed Jan 23
1. Tell me one thing about yourself.
2. Tell me something that you do well.
3. Tell me something that you do not do well.
4. Briefly describe your experiences in learning math.

46. Why not depend on student success courses?
Not specific to mathematics and not taught by
mathematics instructors
Curriculum is often broad; no opportunity for
practice or feedback
May not address locus of control

47. Shifting Locus of Control
Education about locus of control
Provide opportunities for success to build
confidence in shifting to internal locus
Detailed information about expectations
Direct instruction in academic skills required to
be successful in college level math courses
Teach students how to get help

48. Questions?