Contextualized Relations Among Perceived Provision of Choice and Cognitive Engagement in Middle School Science Classes

• In Event: Complexity in Motivation and Engagement Research: Evidence for Contextual Dynamic Patterns

Abstract

Objectives/Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate contextualized relations amongst perceptions of autonomy support and cognitive engagement during the course of an intensive professional learning (PL) program designed to help middle school science teachers use more motivationally supportive instructional strategies (Authors, 2016).

Perspectives/Theoretical Framework

Autonomy supportive teaching refers to a class of motivationally supportive instructional practices that have origins in self-determination theory (Reeve & Cheon, 2021). The relationship among provision of choice as a form of autonomy supportive instruction and engagement has been established by multiple studies, but patterns of findings have been inconsistent (Patall et al., 2018; Ruzek & Schenke, 2019). In-depth investigations of dynamic relations amongst various aspects of the complex classroom system are needed to understand how teacher instructional practices are perceived by students and support or inhibit student engagement (Patall et al., 2018).

The present study utilized a multilevel mixed methods design (McCrudden & Marchand, 2020) to address the following research questions: (1) Do relations amongst perceived provision of choice and perceived cognitive engagement vary over time depending on the level of analyses (site, classroom, lesson)? (2) How do classroom activities and teacher use of autonomy supportive practices in middle school science classrooms relate to student perceptions of the context and engagement?

Methods

Following a PL about supporting student motivation through use of five motivation design principles (Authors, 2016), 8 seventh grade science teachers adjusted their instruction during one unit. Video observations and end-of-class (ECR) reports were conducted in a random subset of classes during that unit, with most classes participating in 6 data collection periods. 159 students participated (mean =20/class), with students completing an average of 5.25 ECRs.

Data Sources

The ECR survey measured perceived cognitive engagement (Fredericks et al., 2016) and perceived provision of choice (Patell et al., 2018). Descriptions of class activities and teacher use of motivational strategies were gathered from video observations.

Results

The quantitative data indicated that students varied from one another in their perceptions of perceived choice as well as cognitive engagement over time (Figure 1). Data aggregated at the sample level indicated fairly stable patterns over time, but within student there was greater daily divergence (Figure 1 for example). The correlation between perceived control and cognitive engagement for the entire sample was weak (r = .15). However, when disaggregated by teacher and by lesson within teacher, different patterns of relations emerged (Table 1; Figure 2).

To explore how classroom activities and teacher use of motivational supports related to how choice was presented and perceived by students, two classes were selected as cases for qualitative analyses. One case was selected for its variability in correlations at the lesson level and the second was selected for the relatively consistent relations amongst the constructs. The full paper describes different features of the instructional context to help interpret the quantitative relationships.

Significance

This work highlights the importance of applying an approach to complex classroom systems to yield findings that would otherwise be obscured by analyses using aggregate indicators.

Authors

• David McKinney, WestEd
  Presenting Author

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

• Jennifer A. Schmidt, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author

• Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author