assessing student engagement following political programs and events assessing student engagement...

Assessing Student Engagement Following Political Programs and Events

Presented by: Marilyn E. Vito and Michael J. HozikRichard Stockton College of New Jersey

Early Analysis – Fall 2009• The 2 most reliable ways to insure student

attendance– Require attendance at a specific event– Make attendance at a specific event one way to

meet a course requirement• Just giving extra credit was less effective• Simply announcing an event, even with

encouragement to attend is not sufficient

© 2011 Marilyn Vito & Michael Hozik

Technical Setup

1. Student OneCard (Magnetic Stripe) ID2. Laptops at registration, peripheral swipe device3. Export .csv file of ID numbers (from ID cards)4. Import to Banner (Discoverer reporting)5. Extract demographic data• Residential• Credits/GPA/Major• Faculty


Fall 2010 Follow-Up Study

– Surveyed students attending selected events included in the Constitution Day Series 2010.

– Surveyed all Faculty for feedback on how they select and promote extra-curricular events to include in course syllabi as required or extra credit learning opportunities.


Selected Events Deborah T. Poritz, Former Chief Justice

of NJ Supreme Court

Ryan Clark, Esq. Constitutional Rights and Auto Stops

Freshman Convocation – Luma Mufla, Founder of Outcasts United

Film & Discussion: William Kunstler, Disturbing the Universe

Film & Discussion: The Oath


Student Survey ProcessScan student ID cards at the events and create

data lists of student information.

Create Zoomerang survey and email invitation to students from selected events.

Offer chance to win a gift card for $25 to those students agreeing to complete the survey.


Student Zoomerang SurveyWhy did you attend this event? *How did you learn about the event(s)? *Was the event promoted in your class(es)? (No/Yes)Which of the following statements best describes your assessment of the event?Indicate your likeliness to attend similar events in the future, if they are NOT required for a class?

Please indicate whether or not you are currently (or have been) involved in the following… *Having attended this event, please convey which of the following best describes your mindset about political engagement…Please share additional comments about the event.**

* Check all that apply**Open end question.


Totals for Events & Survey Responses

Total attendees, all events = 883

Total visits to the surveys by attendees = 194

Total completed surveys by attendees = 167

Total respondents /attendees = 19%


Student Survey Results

Deborah T. Poritz-Former Chief Justice of NJ

Supreme Court

Ryan Clark, Esq. Constitutional

Rights and Auto Stops

Frosh Convocation: Luma Mufla-Founder of

Outcasts United

William Kunstler--Disturbing the

UniverseThe Oath -- Film

& DiscussionAttendees 356 33 448 24 22

Survey Visits 70 16 92 9 7Survey Completed 65 12 74 9 7Per Cent Response 18% 36% 17% 38% 32%


Reason for AttendingDeborah T. Poritz-

Former Chief Justice of NJ

Supreme Court




Outcasts United


UniverseThe Oath -- Film

& Discussion TotalsPer Cent of All Respondents

Reason for Attending:Interested in topic 21 7 46 5 0 79 47%

Required 39 7 41 5 7 99 59%Extra Credit 19 5 16 3 0 43 26%

ULTRA Credit 13 3 19 2 1 38 23%


Reason for Attending

Freshman Convoca-tion

Deborah Poritz Ryan Clark Kunstler Film The Oath Film0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

Interest in Topic

Required

Extra Credit

ULTRA Credit

Other

Perc

ent o

f Res

pond

ers

(Mul

tiple

resp

onse

s wer

e po

ssib

le)


How Students Learned About EventsDeborah T. Poritz-

Former Chief Justice of NJ

Supreme Court




Outcasts United

William Kunstler--

Disturbing the Universe

The Oath -- Film &

Discussion TotalsPer Cent of

Respondents

Source of info:E-mail 9 1 23 0 1 34 20%Portal 7 0 16 0 0 23 14%Flyers 8 4 10 4 1 27 16%

Announced in Class 59 11 63 7 6 146 87%Other 4 0 11 0 0 15 9%

Not surprisingly, 84% also reported that the events were promoted in class.


How Students Learned About Events



10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

email

Portal

Flyers

Announcement

Other

Perc

ent o

f Res

pond

ers

(Mul

tiple

Res

pons

es w

ere

poss

ible

)


How Students Assessed Events


Supreme Court




Outcasts United


Universe

The Oath -- Film &


Respondents

Assessment of event:Learned something 44 9 55 9 5 122 73%Interesting/not new 12 2 16 0 2 32 19%Boring 9 0 1 0 0 10 6%Other 0 1 2 0 0 3 2%


How Students Assessed the Events



20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

Valuable

Interesting

Boring

Other

Perc

ent o

f Res

pond

ers

(Onl

y 1

poss

ible

resp

onse

)


Impact on Future Attendance


Supreme Court




Outcasts United


Universe

The Oath -- Film &


Respondents

Likely to attend future:Very Likely 12 2 24 3 0 41 25%

Likely 23 5 28 3 3 62 37%Somewhat Likely 26 5 22 3 3 59 35%Not at all Likely 4 0 0 0 1 5 3%


Impact on Future Attendance



5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

V. Likely

Likely

Somewhat

Not Likely

Perc

ent o

f Res

pond

ers

(Onl

y 1

poss

ible

resp

onse

)


Impact on Political Attitudes


Supreme Court




Outcasts United


Universe

The Oath -- Film &


Respondents

Mindset:Did not change 25 4 29 1 4 63 38%

Inclined toward action 28 5 28 5 2 68 41%

Limited to calls/emails 3 1 9 1 1 15 9%

Motivated 5 2 7 1 0 15 9%Other 1 0 0 0 0 1 1%


Impact on Political Attitudes

Freshman Con-vocation


10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

Unchanged

More inclined to take action

More motivated but limited to phone calls & emails

Motivated to look for ways

Other

Perc

ent o

f Res

pons

es(O

nly

1 re

spon

se p

ossib

le)


Faculty Surveys

For which of the Fall 2010 Political Engagement events did you require students in your class(es) to attend?

79% responded “None”For which of the Fall 2010 Political Engagement events did you offer extra credit to your students to attend?

71% responded “None“ Clear disconnect with political engagement


Faculty Surveys

How often do you offer extra credit to or require your students to attend extracurricular events?

19% responded “Never”

Clear disconnect with political engagement


Faculty Surveys

…what did you do to encourage reflection on the learning experience encountered?* Class discussion about the event = 48% Written papers summarizing and reflecting on

the event(s) = 58% Online blogs discussing the event(s) = 8% No reflection encouraged = 18% Other = 5%

* Check all that apply


Faculty Surveys

What is your policy on choosing campus events to endorse for your students to attend? 54% said the events must be directly related to

the course material 36% said they had no specific policy Just 3% said the events must have some civic or

political engagement element.


Faculty Surveys

Information sources* on events to endorse: 73% E-mails from programs or academic sponsors 48% E-mails from Political Engagement Project 40% E-mails from Women’s Studies 35% E-mails from Hughes Public Policy Center 34% E-mails from student organizations 32% from College-wide Calendar 18% from Constitution Day Flyers

•Check all that apply


What it all means: for students…

Students attend events most often because they are required.Students will often attend when they are interested in the speaker or the topic, but this often requires special circumstances.The best way to raise student awareness is by promoting or announcing events in classes.Students listen to the speakers and learn new ideas when they attend these events.Once captivated by a political event, students are more likely to attend similar events in the future. This is particularly relevant for freshmen.


What it all means: for faculty…

Faculty must understand their role as educator in a broader sense than merely the classroom instructor.Faculty need to embrace the importance of a political context for the work in their disciplines.Faculty must become aware of their ability to influence students to attend events that are important to a student’s pursuit of a liberal arts education.Faculty must be educated on simple and effective ways of engaging students in reflection about events they attend.E-mails from respected sources are the best means of communicating with faculty about events they should consider endorsing or sponsoring for their students.


Questions, comments & suggestions welcomed!

Michael J. Hozik [email protected] E. Vito [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

assessing student engagement following political programs and events assessing student engagement...

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