Examining Situational Engagement With Multilevel Latent State-Trait Models and Experiential Sampling Data

• In Event: Innovative Strategies for Promoting Engagement

Abstract

Learning engagement is situational and context-dependent. Situational engagement has typically been studied by examining how engagement changes across learning settings. Reconceptualizing situational engagement as consisting of both “trait-level” and “state-level” elements can be theoretically and practically informative. The purpose of this study was to examine how much variance in college students’ situational engagement is at the trait- vs. state-levels and identify contextual factors of state-level engagement. We used multilevel Latent State-Trait (LST) modeling with Experiential Sampling Method (ESM) data. Results show that much of the variance in engagement was consistent across occasions and unique contextual considerations of state-level engagement were identified. These results have implications for how learning environments can be structured to enhance situational engagement.

Authors

• Vanessa Wanchanit Vongkulluksn, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Kui Xie, The Ohio State University