SERVICE LEARNING ASSIGNMENTS: THE INTERSECT BETWEEN ASSIGNMENT FRAMING, STUDENT MOTIVATION, AND PERCEIVED RELEVANCE A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science By Tori Kae Benders In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Major Department: Communication June 2018 Fargo, North Dakota North Dakota State University Graduate School Title SERVICE LEARNING ASSIGNMENTS: THE INTERSECT BETWEEN ASSIGNMENT FRAMING, STUDENT MOTIVATION, AND PERCEIVED RELEVANCE By Tori Kae Benders The Supervisory Committee certifies that this disquisition complies with North Dakota State University’s regulations and meets the accepted standards for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Dr. Carrie Anne Platt Chair Dr. Catherine Kingsley Westerman Dr. Melissa Vosen Callens Dr.
Erika Beseler Thompson Approved: July 27th, 2018 Dr. Stephenson Beck Date Department Chair ABSTRACT Although learning has traditionally happened within the four walls of a classroom, as service learning courses become more prevalent, instructors are challenging their students to take learning outside of the classroom and into the community. Service learning has the potential to transform students and their learning, it is not widely known how to ensure students are motivated to complete these assignments and see them as relevant to their futures. This study used social determination theory and a 2X2 experimental design to survey 271 students about their motivation to complete a service learning project presented to them in an assignment sheet and perceived relevance of the assignment and overall attitude toward service learning.
Findings indicate that overall students have positive attitudes toward service learning, are moderately motivated to complete service learning assignments, and see them as relevant. How the assignment sheet is framed largely does not have implications for these feelings. Keywords: service learning, social determination theory, assignment framing, motivation, relevance iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend gratitude and thanks to several people who have helped in the last few years as I have pursued an education in Communication. If it were not for the people listed below (any many others) I would not be where and who I am today and without their patience, love, and support I would not have achieved the things I have today both inside and outside the classroom: To my committee as a whole, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I cannot think of a stronger, more brilliant, or patient group of scholars, educators, and women than the four of you. Without each of your unique contributions this project would have never happened. Carrie Anne Platt, my research adviser. Thank you for the advice, encouragement, feedback, suggestions, and support.
I will never forget how nervous I was to ask if you would be my advisor and I am so glad that I got the courage to do so. Thank you for igniting in me a passion for teaching and for higher education. I work daily to emulate your passion for your students, kindness towards those around you, and ability to make people feel accepted and needed. A million thanks as I would not be where I am today without you.
Catherine Kingsley Westerman, my committee member and professor. I am so grateful for you and everything you have done for me in the last year. I will be forever indebted to you for the hours you spent giving feedback on my papers and assignments, afternoons spent helping me understand statistics, and ability to push me out of my comfort zone. Everything I know about statistics and SPSS is due to your patience and instruction.
Thank you for reminding me that sometimes learning is uncomfortable and that’s okay. Melissa Vosen Callens, my committee member. Thank you for the time and effort you have spent giving feedback and advice on this project. From the very first time we met, I iv have been incredibly grateful to have someone so dedicated to teaching and knowledgeable about pedagogy on my committee.
Erika Beseler Thompson, my committee member. Your knowledge of teaching practice and pedagogy and research experience was invaluable to this project. Thank you for your time, your effort, your feedback, and your advice. I learned so much from you even in our brief meetings.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my past professors at Concordia College and their contribution to my education, as they are the people who first ignited in me a passion for the field of Communication. Stephanie Ahlfeldt, Dr. Cindy Larson-Casselton, Dr. Kai Western, and Dr.
Aileen Buslig, you four started it all. Thank you for the foundation in communication research and theory and a passion for the field. This foundation is what everything else was built from. You each taught me so much about this field and perhaps more importantly taught me how to approach this world with grace, joy, and light.
If it were not for each of your advice and pushing I would have never ended up in graduate school. I am lucky to have crossed paths with each of you. Next, I would like to express profound gratitude to my family and friends. To my sisters Leah and Jennifer, and my “adopted” grandparents Chyrel and Bruce, thank you for providing unfailing love and support for the last 24 years of my life.
To my partner Brady and friends, thanks for listening to me vent about research, teaching, and thesis writing without batting an eye. The wine nights and venting sessions will never be forgotten. Without each of you this accomplishment would not be possible. Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues and NDSU friends.
v Thank you to my officemates Emily Haverkamp and Jacob Nelson for providing a fun and supportive, if not very productive, environment. I always looked forward to walking into Mindard 338- D24. Thank you each for your research advice, listening ears, and jokes. I will not soon be forgetting the stories from this last year.
Lastly, I would like to thank the graduate students in the Communication Department as a whole and especially my cohort for making the last two years at NDSU unforgettable. Each of you will change the world in your own unique ways and it was an honor to have crossed paths with you. While I can take a breath now that I am finished, I would be lying if I said I will not miss this and each of you. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.
iv LIST OF TABLES. 6 History of Service Learning. 7 Perceptions of Students. 7 Perceptions of Faculty.
10 Perceptions of Community Partners. 11 Student Motivation and Service Learning. 13 Content and Course Relevance and Student Motivation. 16 Self Determination Theory.
17 Self Determination Theory and Communication Style. 19 Hypothesis and Research Questions. 28 vii Motivation to Complete Assignment. 29 Perceived Knowledge Transfer Scale (PKTS).
29 Voluntary Functions Inventory (VFI). 33 Main Study Data. 34 Post-Hoc Analysis. 41 Limitations and Directions for Future Research.
MANIPULATED ASSIGNMENT SHEETS. MODIFIED VOLUNTARY FUNCTIONS INVENTORY (VFI). MANIPULATION CHECK AND PILOT STUDY. PERCIEVED KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER SCALE (PKTS).
75 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Correlation matrix with means and standard deviations…………………………………37 ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION All institutions of higher learning should aim to deliver high quality education to their students, and instructors should aim to assign and implement high impact assignments. Quality education insures the development of the whole person, including his or her growth in cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning (Alcartado, Camarse, Legaspi, Mostajo, & Buenaventura, 2017).
The ways in which instructors communicate assignments and course material to their students plays an important role in facilitating this growth. While learning and development has traditionally happened within the four walls of a classroom, as service learning courses become more prevalent, university instructors are challenging their students to take their learning outside of the classroom and into the community. Service learning is a high impact and potentially powerful pedagogical practice (Kuh, 2008) in which students participate in credit- bearing service requirements with partner community agencies (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996). The practice has the potential to transform students and their approach to learning, but while it is not necessarily a new social and educational concept, it does largely lack a well-defined and articulated theoretical and conceptual framework and in terms of pedagogical practices, is relatively new in its implementation (Giles & Eyler, 1994; Alcartado et al.
As service learning becomes more prevalent in higher education, it is of increasing importance that it is mutually beneficial for all parties involved including the students, instructors, community partners, and universities as a whole (Lewis, 2004). This paper aims to fill important gaps in educational, communication, motivational, and service learning literature by answering questions regarding how instructors use assignment sheets to communicate with their students and the implications that goal framing and communication style can have on a student’s perceived relevancy of and motivation to complete a service learning assignment. 1 Research such as this study has the potential to answer important practical questions regarding how to communicate about assignments in ways that will better prepare students to be motivated, committed, and engaged individuals ready and well prepared to serve their communities. Despite the fact that service learning has a rich history in and traces its roots to John Dewey’s (1938) theory of experiential learning, it is a relatively new in its implementation as a pedagogical practice in higher learning (Alcartado et al., 2017; Billig, 2000; Quezada & Christopherson, 2005).
Research is not scarce, however, in the benefits and challenges of service learning for students, instructors, and community partners (Anderson, 2003; Astin, Vogelgesang, Ikeda, & Yee, 2000; Dreuth & Dreuth-Fewell, 2005; Greenberg, 2000; Joiner, 2000; Jones & Abes, 2004; Kraft & Kielsmeier, 1995; Quezada & Christopherson, 2005; Turner, 2002; Ward & Wolf-Wendel, 2000). A major selling point of service learning is its potential to enhance student learning while also benefitting the wider community. Community agencies that utilize service learners are also quick to point out the benefits of partnering with service learning courses which range from the valuable resources they provide to the energy of college students (Blouin & Perry, 2009; Edwards, Mooney, & Heald, 2001; Ferrari & Worrall, 2000; Schmidt & Robby, 2002; Vernon & Foster, 2002). Despite its multitude of benefits for both students and community agencies, service learning as an educational tool is not without its own set of inherent challenges for students, instructors, and community agencies.
At the faculty level, instructors report feeling skepticism about the educational value of service learning in relation to its costs (Schelbe, Petracchi, & Weaver, 2014). Students commonly cite a lack of time as the biggest perceived challenge to participating in a service learning course (Tande & Wang, 2013), followed closely by concerns about the experience that include inadequate work space, insufficient organizational structure, 2 lack of clarity about staff roles, and a need for additional training (Poulin, Kauffman, & Silver, 2006). Finally, while community agencies are grateful for the added resources and energy that student service learners add to their organization (Blouin & Perry, 2009; Edwards et al., 2001; Ferrari & Worrall, 2000; Vernon & Foster, 2002) they are just as quick to point out that they often struggle to manage student service learners (Blouin & Perry, 2009; Vernon & Ward, 1999; Vernon & Foster, 2002). The biggest challenge reported by agencies is unreliability and lack of motivation and commitment (Blouin & Perry, 2009; Vernon & Foster, 2002).
In any facet of education, high levels of motivation are the primary drivers towards deep and lasting learning and are often the driving force to sustain students through the long and tedious learning process (Skinner & Belmont, 1993). Motivation is especially important for students participating in the often difficult and time consuming service learning activities assigned to them.