Peter McPartlan

What motivates faculty teaching gateway courses to consider adopting an evidence-based classroom intervention? In this nationally representative study of biology faculty members in the United States (N = 422), we used expectancy–value–cost theory to understand three convergent motivational processes the faculty members’ underlying intentions to adopt an exemplar evidence-based classroom intervention: the utility value intervention (UVI). Although the faculty members perceived the intervention as valuable, self-reported intentions to implement it were degraded by concerns about costs and lower expectancies for successful implementation. Structural equation modeling revealed that the faculty members reporting lower intentions to adopt it tended to be White and to identify as male and had many years of teaching or were from a more research-focused university. These personal, departmental, and institutional factors mapped onto value, expectancies, and cost perceptions uniquely, showing that each process was a necessary but insufficient way to inspire intentions to adopt the UVI. Our findings suggest multifaceted, context-responsive appeals to support faculty member motivation to scale up adoption of evidence-based classroom interventions.

The saying-is-believing effect is an important step for changing students’ attitudes and beliefs in a wise intervention. However, most studies have not closely examined the process of the saying-is-believing effect when individuals are engaged in the activity. Using a qualitative approach, the present study uses an engagement framework to investigate (a) components of engagement in the saying-is-believing effect; and (b) how differently students may engage in a saying-is-believing exercise. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 undergraduates in a scholarship program for low-income transfer students from community college. Analysis using inductive and deductive approaches found that students varied on the extent to which they experienced the effectiveness of the saying-is-believing effect through affective, cognitive, and behavioral experiences. The study offers examples of how people can indeed differ in the extent to which they experience the saying-is-believing effect, and the implications for designing more effective interventions. Specifically, students’ positive affective experiences from seeing the larger goal of creating videos may be important components for the saying-is-believing effect to work. Behavioral experiences, such as learning soft skills, academic skills learned indirectly from the intervention, and academic skills learned directly from the intervention were accompanied by both positive affective and cognitive experiences. Findings show the importance of students’ differential engagement in saying-is-believing exercises both for building more effective wise interventions and interpreting heterogeneity in intervention effectiveness.

Academia is grappling with how to address persistent underrepresentation and reduce inequities. With so many diversity-enhancing initiatives underway, some within the academic community might experience "diversity fatigue," a construct we use to understand majority groups' feelings of weariness toward diversity efforts. For our testing purposes, we focused on ethnic and minority underrepresentation, and collected data in four studies from 473 White American students and faculty. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and latent profile analysis, we develop and confirm the single factor structure of the final 6-item Diversity Fatigue scale. We measured associations with other established measures and examined the strength of the association between diversity fatigue and faculty's support for a diversity-enhancing intervention. Results demonstrated scale reliability, convergent validity with system-justifying beliefs, and offer suggestive evidence of discriminant validity with inclusion concerns and implicit race-based associations. Although mean levels of diversity fatigue were low overall, diversity fatigue scores were related to concerns about the effort involved with diversity work and were significantly associated with faculty's motivation to adopt a diversity-enhancing classroom activity. Diversity fatigue in academia is a dampening in people's response to or enthusiasm for efforts that improve the experience of underrepresented people. This state experience is connected to system-justifying beliefs and is related to concerns about the effort required to do diversity interventions. Understanding and measuring this construct has implications for the psychology of intergroup relations, as well as practical implications for campus communities committed to diversity programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

In this case study, we investigated the effectiveness of growth mindset and social belonging interventions in a college setting with large numbers of traditionally underrepresented groups (n = 1,091). In doing so, we highlight the characteristics of the students in our study that are important for determining whether we should expect such interventions to be effective for diverse higher education populations. Correlational analyses revealed no evidence that growth mindset or social belonging were barriers to academic success among targeted subgroups in our sample. Additionally, we found no evidence that underrepresented minority, first-generation, or low-income students substantially endorsed fixed mindset or belonging uncertainty measures at baseline. We discuss benefits of testing basic assumptions for interpreting null results, including choosing the most appropriate interventions, accurately identifying subgroups who face psychological barriers to academic success, and establishing “redundancy thresholds” at which messages do not need to be reinforced by interventions.

We illustrate how early adolescents use different patterns of ability feedback to promote a positive self-concept of ability (SCA) in mathematics. Students can simultaneously use ability appraisals from parents and teachers, while also drawing information from peer, dimensional, and temporal comparisons. Although we find these five sources are equally important for promoting students’ positive SCA, on average, we use a pattern-centered approach to show that students who believe they are good at math often select certain feedback sources as more important to develop this belief. We find that students’ patterns of ability feedback are unstable, with evidence suggesting different patterns may emerge depending on the availability of ability feedback. Findings suggest early adolescents attempting to promote their own positive SCA in mathematics may know to seek different feedback sources depending on their individual circumstances. Implications are discussed through the lens of social comparison theory.

Extensive theoretical literature and qualitative evidence nominate learning communities as a promising strategy to improve persistence and success among at-risk populations, such as students who are academically underprepared for college-level coursework. Yet rigorous quantitative evidence on the impacts of these programs is limited. This paper estimates the causal effects of a first-year STEM learning communities program on both cognitive and noncognitive outcomes at a large public 4-year institution. We use a regression discontinuity design based on the fact that students are assigned to the program if their math SAT score is below a threshold. Our results indicate that program participation increased the academic performance and sense of belonging for students around the cutoff. These results provide compelling evidence that learning communities can support at-risk populations when implemented with a high level of fidelity.