Do they see it coming? Using expectancy violation to gauge the success of pedagogical reforms

Abstract

We present a measure, which we have named the Pedagogical Expectancy Violation Assessment (PEVA), for instructors to gauge one aspect of the success of their implementation of pedagogical reform by assessing the expectations and experiences of the students in the classroom. We implemented the PEVA in four physics classes at three institutions that used the Student Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) pedagogy in order to gain an understanding of students’ initial expectations, how those expectations are shifted during early classes, and what students report experiencing at the end of the semester. The results indicate appropriate shifts in student expectations during orientation, but some gaps between student expectations and experiences persisted. Students rated the communication aspects of SCALE-UP as desirable and indicated an overall positive affect toward the pedagogy, indicating that violations of their initial expectations were largely positive. By studying the patterns of the shifts in students’ expectations and gaps between those expectations and their experiences, we gain insight for improving both the orientation of the students and the implementation of the course

Student Experiences in a Structural Engineering Course: Responses of Violation and Grief When a Novice Instructor Implements Project-Based Learning

“…This resistance may be due to the violation of the educational norms students expect, such as a large, lecture-based classroom or minimal student participation 13 . Students may be asked to engage at a level that is foreign or unnerving for them; they may be surrounded by courses where a more Page 26.1417.4…”

“…If those presumptions are not met, their expectations are violated 13 . Students' expectations are formed by their previous experiences, by "cultural norms and contextual cues" 13 , as well as by what they have heard from others about individuals' behaviors in specific circumstances. Students in a third year engineering program will have defined expectations about how their institution's courses are taught, and will have learned from other students details and opinions about classes they are enrolled in and the instructors who will teach them.…”

“…traditional pedagogy is dominant 13,14 . SCI requires that students monitor and take more responsibility for their own thinking and learning, and they may not feel ready or willing to do so 3,15 .…”

“…EVT postulates that individuals have predetermined assumptions or expectations regarding situations that they are participants in, as well as presuppositions about how others in those situations will behave 13 . If those presumptions are not met, their expectations are violated 13 .…”

“…EVT postulates that individuals have predetermined assumptions or expectations regarding situations that they are participants in, as well as presuppositions about how others in those situations will behave 13 . If those presumptions are not met, their expectations are violated 13 . Students' expectations are formed by their previous experiences, by "cultural norms and contextual cues" 13 , as well as by what they have heard from others about individuals' behaviors in specific circumstances.…”