New journal article by Patall, Vasquez, and Steingut

Erika Patall and two MERG members, Ariana Vasquez and Rebecca Steingut, recently published an article, titled “Daily interest, engagement, and autonomy support in the high school science classroom,” in Contemporary Educational Psychology. Here are the article highlights:

• High school students in 43 science classes participated in a 6-week diary study.
• Student interest and behavioral engagement declined.
• Interest during class predicted engagement, particularly early in the unit.
• Interest predicted same and subsequent day perceived teacher provision of choice.
• Interest-perceived choice links were strongest early in the unit and for males.

Read the full article here.

Congratulations, Dr. Vasquez!

Ariana successfully defended her dissertation and earned her Ph.D. this month. Her dissertation is titled “Daily Health Habits: The Effects of Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness.” Congratulations, Dr. Vasquez!

2016 AERA Recap

In 2016 annual meeting of American Educational Research Association in Washington, D.C., MERG had several presentations and talks on motivation and education, including Dr. Patall’s Division C Early Career Award Lecture, The promise and peril of choice provision as a motivational strategy. The talk emphasized the importance of providing choices as an instructional practice with careful consideration of students’ individual differences and contextual background.

Also, here are some short words from MERG members about this year’s AERA:

• Seo: “During this AERA, I loved being extremely motivated by all the inspiring motivation scholars including Erika’s.“
• Ariana: “This year at AERA I really enjoyed catching up with the other graduate students I have met through the Motivation SIG – all of us have pretty amazing post-docs lined up around the country!”
• Jen: “I felt energized about research into the impact of teacher talk during classroom interaction, and I also enjoyed seeing the methods people are using to approach questions about emotions and motivation. It was also really fun to hang out with other grad students!”
• Danika: “At AERA this year I saw several presentations that explored theoretical and conceptual issues using novel quantitative analyses–I enjoyed seeing this approach and learning about some methodologies and statistical techniques that are new to me.”

Seo wins COE Graduate Student Award

EunJin Seo received a research grant from the College of Education this spring for her research titled “Be careful what you wish for: Characteristics of students’ academic goals and their daily effort.” This is the second time in a row that a member of the Motivation and Education Research Group has received the award, with Ariana Vasquez receiving the award last year. For more information about Seo’s research project, visit the UT College of Education website here. Congratulations!

Patall’s research in APA Monitor

Check out a recent article in the APA Monitor on Psychology, “Is homework a necessary evil?” The article cited Dr. Patall’s meta-analysis research on homework. Read the entire APA monitor article here and Dr. Patall’s original meta-analysis research here.

AERA 2016 – D.C. Edition

In AERA’s Centennial Year, the Annual Meeting will celebrate and reinvigorate the progressive aspirations that gave rise to our professional community in 1916: Hope and determination that research can strengthen public education, society’s most democratic institution.

MERG is excited to actively participate (see below) in the 2016 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Hopefully we will see you there in April 8 – 12!

Patall, E. A. (April, 2016). Division C Early Career Award Address: The promise and peril of choice provision as a motivational strategy. Symposium to be conducted at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Washington, D.C.

• Time: Fri, April 8 – 2:15 to 3:45 pm
• Location: Convention Center, Level Two, Room 207A

Steingut, R. R., Patall, E. A., & Vasquez, A. C. (April, 2016). Emotions in science class: Relations to expectancy and value and gender differences In M. Bleig (Chair), How do you feel about STEM? Spotting emotions within the expectancy-value framework. Symposium to be conducted at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Washington, D.C.

• Time: Sat, April 9 – 10:35 am to 12:05 pm
• Location: Convention Center, Level One, Room 152B

Steingut, R. R., Patall, E. A., & Trimble, S. S. (April, 2016). Effects of rationale on motivation and performance: A meta­-analysis. Poster to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Washington, DC.

• Time: Mon, April 11 – 8:15 to 9:45 am
• Location: Convention Center, Level Two, Exhibit Hall D

Maddocks, D. L. S. (April, 2016). Identifying gifted students with learning disabilities: Comparing controversial criteria. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Washington, D.C.

• Time: Mon, April 11 – 4:05 to 5:35 pm
• Location: Convention Center, Level One, Room 149A

Vasquez, A. C., Rohde, L. A., Fong, C. J., & Hatcher, M. (April, 2016) Enhancing teaching efficacy for graduate teaching assistants: Findings from a quasi-experimental evaluation. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Washington D. C.

• Time: Mon, April 11 – 4:05 to 5:35 pm
• Location: Convention Center, Level Two, Exhibit Hall D Section B

Seo, E., Patall, E. A., Svinicki, M. (April, 2016). The effects of parental control on adolescents’ motivational outcomes. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Washington, D.C.

• Time: Mon, April 11 – 4:05 to 6:05 pm
• Location: Convention Center, Level Two, Room 209A

Osman, D. J., Warner, J., Maddocks, D. L. S., Gaines, R. E., & Schallert, D. L. April, 2016). The emotional underbelly of professional development: Quantitative and qualitative perspectives on teachers’ experiences during PD. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Washington, D.C.

• Time: Tue, April 12 – 10:35 am to 12:05 pm
• Location: Convention Center, Level One, Room 159A

MERG Spotlight: Molly

Here’s a spotlight on Molly, one of undergraduate research assistants of MERG!

Name: Molly Marek

Hometown: Boerne, TX

Favorite Food: Chips and guacamole

Favorite Movie:  Yikes! There are too many to choose from!

Favorite Show: How to Get Away with Murder

Q. What do you like best about the Motivation and Education Research Group (MERG)?

A. I like that everyone in MERG is so supportive. I feel like I have an entire lab full of mentors because everyone is so willing to answer my questions or give me advice and encouragement.

Q. How did you decide to work as a MERG undergraduate research assistant?

A. I plan on studying Educational Psychology in graduate school and what better way is there to learn more about the field than to dive right in? I also had previously met Erika when I invited her to be a guest speaker for the FIG I mentor and was very interested in her work.

Q. How did you decide on your current research interests?

A. I have always intended to combine my love of teaching with my fascination with psychology to study Educational Psychology but my current research interests in literacy and motivation stem from a combination of my experience with MERG and within my Professional Development Sequence. In addition to exploring motivation with MERG, I am currently studying Elementary Education and specializing in Literacy. In the past I have also dabbled in some areas of arts education including theatre and music.

Q. What do you love about the city of Austin?

A. I love that Austin is such an active city. I am always looking for a fun way to exercise and in Austin I have found everything from beautiful running and hiking trails to rooftop yoga sessions.

Q. Do you have any interesting or unusual hobbies?

A. I love to dance and take dance classes. I’ve taken your typical Zumba classes but I also like learning new styles of dance like Waltz, Swing, Salsa and Merengue.

Q. What was your proudest moment or greatest accomplishment?

A.  This past week I was able to present my research on children’s home singing modalities at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio. I was one of only two undergraduates selected to present at the largest music educators conference in the nation.