Individual-Referent and Group-Referent Measures of Student Engagement: Linear and Nonlinear Evidence for Classroom Systems

• In Event: 18.072 - Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: 18.072-12 - Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership From a Complexity Perspective

Abstract

Classroom systems research has gained in popularity to capture the complexity of multi-level educational phenomena. One area where systems approaches are beginning to gain traction is within engagement research. Engagement is conceptualized as a multidimensional phenomenon that operates at both individual and collaborative levels of analysis. Little scholarship has been conducted using research methods that capture the complexity of classroom engagement. Here we examine a set of engagement measures that reflect multiple levels of analysis, using both typical item analysis/ correlational methods, as well as categorical recurrence threshold analysis - an extension of nonlinear dynamic analysis. Results can be used to inform both the engagement literature as well as provide new insights into item functioning for individual- versus group-referent items.

Authors

• Jonathan C. Hilpert, Georgia Southern University

• Gwen C. Marchand, University of Nevada - Las Vegas