Browsing by Author "Thompson, RJ"
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Item Open Access Development and Assessment of the Effectiveness of an Undergraduate General Education Foreign Language Requirement(Foreign Language Annals, 2014-01-01) Thompson, RJ; Walther, I; Tufts, C; Lee, KC; Paredes, L; Fellin, L; Andrews, E; Serra, M; Hill, JL; Tate, EB; Schlosberg, L© 2014 by American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. This article describes a faculty-led, multiyear process of formulating learning objectives and assessing the effectiveness of a foreign language requirement for all College of Arts and Sciences undergraduates at a research university. Three interrelated research questions were addressed: (1) What were the levels and patterns of language courses completed under the language requirement compared to those under the previous curriculum? (2) To what extent was the oral proficiency learning objective being attained? and (3) How did oral proficiency vary by course level and the patterns of courses completed to satisfy the language requirement? The oral proficiency of 614 students was assessed with the Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview and categorized in terms of ACTFL ratings. Study findings indicated that 76% of students met or exceeded the objective of the Intermediate Mid level of oral proficiency and that oral proficiency differed by course level and the pattern of courses completed to satisfy the language requirement. In particular, the impact of completing an advanced-level course was clear, which in turn had implications for curricular policies and academic advising. It is argued that faculty-led evaluation of program effectiveness, in which assessment approaches are both summative and formative and findings are routinely used to improve educational practices as well as document student learning, is the necessary context for developing an evidence-based approach to undergraduate language education.Item Open Access Diversity of undergraduates in STEM courses: individual and demographic differences in changes in self-efficacy, epistemic beliefs, and intrapersonal attribute profiles(Studies in Higher Education, 2023-01-01) Thompson, RJ; Schmid, L; Mburi, M; Dowd, JE; Finkenstaedt-Quinn, SA; Shultz, GV; Gere, AR; Schiff, LA; Flash, P; Reynolds, JAAcross undergraduate STEM learning contexts in several countries, students’ intrapersonal attributes of epistemic beliefs, self-efficacy beliefs, intrinsic motivation, and sense of identity have been found to influence learning and to change in response to educational practices. However, research can mask individual and demographic differences in student's attributes that may moderate or mediate the relationship between educational practices and learning outcomes. We employed variable-centered and person-centered methods to examine individual and demographic differences in changes in students’ intrapersonal attributes and patterns of interrelationship among attributes with a study sample of students (N = 4,500) in 14 STEM undergraduate courses (8 biology, 4 chemistry, and 2 statistics) at three research universities in the United States. Variable-centered analyses revealed overall increases in students’ science self-efficacy beliefs and epistemic beliefs even though these outcomes were not intentionally targeted as learning objectives. However, person-centered analyses indicated that not all students experienced these gains. For example, self-identified Asian/Pacific Islander and Black students were more likely to be members of groups demonstrating a decrease in science self-efficacy, whereas Asian/Pacific Islander students and men were less likely to be members of the subgroup with consistently evaluativist epistemic beliefs and higher GPAs. Using latent profile analysis (LPA), we identified five distinct student profiles that reflected different patterns of interrelationship of epistemic beliefs, science and writing self-efficacy beliefs, and science identity. We discuss the implications of these findings for educational practices, particularly with regard to intentionally fostering diverse students’ self-efficacy, sense of identity, and adaptive epistemic beliefs.Item Open Access How faculty discipline and beliefs influence instructional uses of writing in STEM undergraduate courses at research-intensive universities(Journal of Writing Research, 2021-02-01) Thompson, RJ; Finkenstaedt-Quinnb, SA; Shultz, GV; Gere, AR; Schmid, L; Dowd, JE; Mburi, M; Schiff, LA; Flashg, P; Reynolds, JAEfforts to accelerate the pace of adoption of writing-to-learn (WTL) practices in undergraduate STEM courses have been limited by a lack of theoretical and conceptual frameworks to systematically guide research and empirical evidence about the extent to which intrapersonal attributes and contextual factors, particularly faculty beliefs and disciplinary cultures, influence faculty use of writing assignments in their teaching. To address these gaps, we adopted an ecological systems perspective and conducted a national survey of faculty in STEM departments across 63 research-intensive universities in the United States. Overall, the findings indicated that 70% of faculty assigned writing. However, the assignment of writing differed by faculty demographics, discipline, and beliefs. More specifically, faculty demographics accounted for 5% of the variance in assignment of writing. Faculty discipline accounted for an additional 6% increment in variance, and faculty epistemic beliefs and beliefs about effectiveness of WTL practices and contextual resources and constraints influencing the use of writing in their teaching together accounted for an additional 30% increment in variance. The findings point to faculty beliefs as salient intervention targets and highlight the importance of disciplinary specific approaches to the promotion of the adoption of WTL practicesItem Open Access Improved reasoning in undergraduate writing through structured workshops(Journal of Economic Education, 2015-01-01) Dowd, JE; Connolly, MP; Thompson, RJ; Reynolds, JA© 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. The Department of Economics at Duke University has endeavored to increase participation in undergraduate honors thesis research while ensuring a high-quality learning experience. Given the faculty-to-student ratio in the department (approximately 1:16), increasing research participation required the creation of a stable, replicable framework for mentoring students through research. The department aimed to make the research experience more consistent and interactive so that students also learned from each other in a group setting. Here, the authors assess the relationship between changes in mentoring support of honors research and students scientific reasoning and writing skills reflected in their undergraduate theses. They find that students who participated in structured courses designed to support and enhance their research exhibited the strongest learning outcomes, as measured by systematic writing assessment.Item Open Access NMR solution structure of the DNA binding domain of Competence protein AHobbs, CA; Bobay, BG; Thompson, RJ; Perego, M; Cavanagh, JItem Open Access "on course" for supporting expanded participation and improving scientific reasoning in undergraduate thesis writing(Journal of Chemical Education, 2015-01-01) Dowd, JE; Roy, CP; Thompson, RJ; Reynolds, JA© 2014 The American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc. The Department of Chemistry at Duke University has endeavored to expand participation in undergraduate honors thesis research while maintaining the quality of the learning experience. Accomplishing this goal has been constrained by limited departmental resources (including faculty time) and increased diversity in students' preparation to engage in the research and writing processes. Here we assessed the relationship between iterative changes in pedagogical and mentoring support of honors research that efficiently employed departmental resources (including the chemistry thesis assessment protocol, ChemTAP) and students' scientific reasoning and writing skills reflected in their undergraduate theses. We found that, although we cannot disentangle some gradual changes over time from specific interventions, students exhibited the strongest performance when they participated in a course with structured scaffolding and used assessment tools explicitly designed to enhance the scientific reasoning in writing. Furthermore, less prepared students exhibited more positive changes.Item Open Access The Effect of Informational Characteristics and Faculty Knowledge and Beliefs on the Use of Assessment(Innovative Higher Education, 2017-02-01) Jonson, JL; Thompson, RJ; Guetterman, TC; Mitchell, N© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Increasing the use of learning outcome assessments to inform educational decisions is a major challenge in higher education. For this study we used a sense-making theoretical perspective to guide an analysis of the relationship of information characteristics and faculty assessment knowledge and beliefs with the use of general education assessment information at three research institutions with similar organizational contexts. Study findings indicate that the likelihood of using assessment information increases when assessment evidence is action oriented and viewed as of high quality and when faculty members are knowledgeable, have positive dispositions toward assessment, and have a perception of institutional support for engagement in assessment activities.Item Open Access Thompson, R. J., Jr., & (2014). An integrated model of influence: Use of assessment data in higher education.(Research and Practice in Assessment) Thompson, RJ; Jonson, J.J.,