Hope for the Future: Building Hope via Project-Based Learning and Advisory Groupings EdVisions Schools 2005

Issues in Today’s High Schools Student passage through high school is accompanied by gradual decreases in: –Student engagement –Intrinsic motivation –Attention and effort in school –Interest in learning –Achievement Drop-out rates remain basically the same despite the constant churn of reform initiatives –347, ,000 per year in the decade preceding the year 2000 –Drop-outs have reduced chance of success as adults

A Critical Transition Adolescence marks the emergence of psychological disturbances, such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders Increase in high-risk behaviors, such as substance abuse, delinquency These psychological and behavioral problems can inhibit intellectual growth and emotional maturation and impede the transition to adulthood Experiences in adolescence can impact a person’s life trajectory (educational attainment, employment opportunities, relationships) in significant ways

Stage-Environment Fit Theory Mismatch between emerging adolescent needs and the developmental context is causally related to negative outcomes like disengagement, drop-out and emotional problems (emphasis: educational context) What are the key developmental needs for adolescents? –Autonomy: personal causation; making choices according to your own personal interests and desires; being the “origin” of your own behavior –Belongingness: the depth and quality of the interpersonal relationships in an individual’s life (both peer-to-peer and student-teacher)

Implications of Stage-Environment Fit Theory A typical high-school environment (large and impersonal, rigid curriculum, competitive ethos) may not be supportive of adolescent needs A better match in terms of adolescent needs and the educational context should result in higher levels of motivation and engagement –Sizable research literature to support this claim Placing students in a more developmentally appropriate environment should have a positive effect on student psychological health –There is relatively little research that directly addresses this claim

Appropriate Environment: EdVisions Self-directed, project-based learning gives students high levels of choice in directing their own process of learning –Should lead to greater perceptions of autonomy –Evaluation done through live performance Long-term advisory groups pair each student with an adult and a group of peers for an extended period –Should support the formation of solid teacher and peer relationships, which should lead to greater perceptions of belongingness –Instead of seeing 7 or 8 teachers a day for 50 minutes, and a new group of teachers every semester, a student has a single adult advisor for their entire educational career

Research Questions 1. Are autonomy and belongingness associated with greater engagement and psychological health? –Cross-sectional sample with many demographics 2. Do project-based learning and advisory grouping support greater levels of autonomy and belongingness when compared to traditional school environments? And, if so: 3. Do students in these schools demonstrate greater engagement in learning and healthy psychological development? –Targeted comparison, controlling for differences

Measuring Psychological Health Hope: a generalized expectancy for achieving goals Correlated with dispositional optimism, positive outcome expectations, self-esteem, happiness –Lower rates of depression, anxiety In a longitudinal study of college students, hope scores predicted GPA even after controlling for entrance examination scores on the ACT –In the same study, 57% of the higher-hope individuals had graduated from college after six years, while only 40% of the lower-hope individuals had graduated Hope is a stable component of a person’s disposition that does not change over time without targeted therapy

Data Point 1 Measurements taken in Nov/Dec 2004 Measuring autonomy, belongingness, engagement in school, and hope Belongingness composed of: –Teacher academic and personal support –Peer academic and personal support 804 students surveyed at 8 EdVisions schools (urban, suburban, medium-sized town, rural) 140 students surveyed at two traditional schools (rural and suburban)

Data Point 2 Measurements taken in April/May 2005 Measuring autonomy, belongingness, engagement in school, and hope Data collected from 3 closely-matched schools –Two EdVisions schools (Schools A and B) and one traditional school (School C); 231 students in total –Located in rural area southwest of Minneapolis within 50 miles of each other –Similar demographics and school/teacher qualities –School A uses project-based learning full-time –School B uses project-based learning part-time –Schools A and B use advisory grouping

Q1: Are autonomy and belongingness associated with greater engagement and psychological health? Autonomy and belongingness are critical for engagement in school –Encourage positive change in engagement over time Peer academic support did not predict engagement –Academic support likely to be important when coming from friends rather than larger peer group Engagement in school mediates the effects of autonomy and belongingness on hope –Feeling of being liked/accepted by peers has direct impact on hope that is not mediated by engagement Both engagement and peer personal support encourage positive change in hope over time

Q2: Comparing Environments Estimated Marginal Means from ANCOVA Comparisons Between Schools Variable School NABC Autonomy a.62 b -.91 c Teacher Personal Support a 4.09 a 3.27 b Teacher Academic Support a 4.44 a 3.80 b Peer Personal Support a,b 3.58 a 3.19 b Engagement a 8.14 a,b 4.32 b Hope a a a Note. Means in the same row that do not share the same subscript differ at p <.05 in post- hoc comparison w/a Bonferroni adjustment. Student-level differences in age, gender, race, SES, previous educational experience & number of years in current school are controlled.

Q 2: Discussion Project-based learning encourages significantly higher levels of autonomy –School A > School B > School C Advisory grouping enables the creation of significantly better teacher/student relationships –Schools A and B > School C on teacher relationships –Effects on peer relations somewhat ambiguous Students in the project-based learning environment exhibit greater engagement in learning –Schools A and B* > School C No significant differences in hope

Q3: Change Over Time Change in Hope over Time School Time Point A (n = 54) B (n = 117) C (n = 54) Hope Hope Difference-1.82*1.98***-.24 Note. *p <.05. *** p <.001.

Change Over Time, ‘06 School Hope 05 Hope 06 Difference A B C Ave

Conclusions Project-based learning and advisory grouping are effective pedagogical techniques for meeting adolescent needs for autonomy and belongingness Together, these techniques can provide an environment in which adolescents can flourish This sort of positive growth can help to buffer students from the turbulences of adolescence and provide a stronger platform for future success These results also point out the necessity of continuous improvement through measurement

Continuous Improvement Through the Hope Study Creation of documents to support school improvement –School-wide Assessment Rubric Assessment Rubric establishes continuum of development of Design Essentials in: –A self-directed project-based program –A democratic school culture –A culture of constant assessment –A culture of teacher ownership

Strategic Planning By utilizing the assessment rubric, learning community teams develop plans for improvement via: –Data collection and analysis –Professional Development Plans –Long-range strategies to meet the mission of No Child Left Unknown

Hope for the Future Hope can be grown by creating a stage- environment fit for adolescents that: –Increases adolescent decision-making (autonomy) –Increases significant relationships and support between peers and teachers (belongingness) –Increases interest in learning (engagement) A project-based setting with full-time advisories is a proper stage-environment fit for adolescent psychological health!