Supporting STEM Academic Advising for Undergraduate Student Achievement

This project aims to serve the national interest by identifying the motivational beliefs and practices among academic advisors that can enhance motivation and achievement in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) at the undergraduate level. Although academic advisors play a key role in student success, the role of the academic advisor has been consistently overlooked in STEM education research. As advisors take on ever-increasing advising loads, it is imperative that we better understand the factors underlying successful advising in STEM for promoting better learning outcomes for students. Consistent with the IUSE: EDU goals of increasing persistence of students in STEM disciplines and laying the groundwork for institutional improvement, it is hypothesized that academic advising experiences shape how students approach and experience classroom learning and career-building activities. This Level 1 Engaged Student Learning IUSE: EDU project will advance understanding of how academic advising shapes motivation, learning behaviors, and achievement outcomes in undergraduate students pursuing STEM fields. In addition to generating new knowledge to advance our scientific understanding of these important learning processes, the project will identify levers for intervention to increase STEM retention and achievement, especially for students from groups that have been underrepresented in these fields. The project will pursue the following specific research aims: 1) characterization of the advising styles, advising style preferences, and implicit beliefs about ability and interest possessed by academic advisors and undergraduate students in biology and psychology, 2) assessment of the content of advising meetings by coding on dimensions such as advising style, ability mindset beliefs, and interest mindset beliefs, and 3) examination of whether self-reported and observed advising styles and implicit beliefs about ability and interest are significantly associated with student outcomes such as motivation, course-taking behavior, classroom learning, progress towards degree completion, and grades. The study is rooted in an ecological systems perspective that emphasizes the importance of person-context interactions at multiple levels in shaping human development and will employ a longitudinal measurement design that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data elements. Data will inform theory building in motivation science and will illuminate connections between advising and classroom instruction/learning in STEM. The results of the project will be disseminated to the broader STEM education and advising communities to spark within- and cross-institutional improvements in STEM student motivation and retention. Ultimately, this work will inform expanded approaches for fostering the success of all students in undergraduate STEM majors, encouraging retention and degree progression. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.