My Class Activities Instrument as Used in Saturday Enrichment Program Evaluation

Abstract

My Class Activities (MCA) is an instrument that has been used for evaluation of university-based Saturday enrichment programs, but was originally normed using students in regular schools. A sample of MCA scores from 826 students in grades 3-8 from a Saturday enrichment program was used. Four different MCA models were evaluated: (a) the original MCA model containing interest, challenge, choice, and enjoyment; (b) a model including a second-order term connecting enjoyment and interest; (c) a three-factor model containing a combination of interest and enjoyment, challenge, and choice; and (d) the original MCA model after two items were removed. Results indicated that the original MCA four-factor structure provided a better fit when used with the Saturday enrichment sample than did the second-order and the three first-order factor models. However, the best solution regarding model fit was found using the original model, but with the removal of two poorly functioning items. This study highlighted the importance of evaluating an instrument whenever used with a different population than that on which it was originally normed. With two items deleted from the challenge scale, MCA is a potential tool for use in enrichment program evaluation that provides measures of four motivational dimensions often emphasized in programs for high-ability students.

Sudanese Students’ Perceptions of Their Class Activities: Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance of My Class Activities–Arabic Language Version

“…The first step in examining the underlying factor structure was to examine the descriptive statistics, internal consistency estimates, and model fit estimates of the original model, which included translations of the items included in the original English version of MCA (Gentry & Gable, 2001b). Interfactor correlations for original and revised versions of MCA-Arabic were similar to those reported in previous studies on the English version of MCA (e.g., Gentry & Gable, 2001b;Pereira et al, 2010). Internal consistency estimates for the revised version of MCA-Arabic were similar to those reported by Gentry and Gable (2001b) for elementary education students, which ranged from .63 to .88.…”

“…The data were also checked for multivariate normality, and multivariate kurtosis was 106.07 (critical ratio = 79.46), so robust maximum likelihood estimation (i.e., MLR option in Mplus) was used for CFAs. Interfactor correlations ranged from .32 to .53 and the strongest correlation was found between Interest and Enjoyment (p = .53), findings similar to the results of previous studies on MCA (e.g., Gentry & Gable, 2001b;Pereira et al, 2010).…”

“…Previous studies on MCA have shown that the instrument may need modifications when used in new contexts (e.g., Pereira et al, 2010) or translated to other languages Note. Items 14, 17, 19, and 24 deleted in revised model; correlations significant at the .01 level (twotailed).…”

“…Yang et al (2012) reported on the adaptation of MCA to Korean and also investigated differences between gifted and general education students' perceptions of regular classes and gifted students' perceptions of regular and pull-out classes. Yang et al suggested deleting Item 17 from the original MCA model to improve model fit, something previously suggested (Pereira et al, 2010), when it was used in enrichment programs. Yang et al found significant differences between gifted and nongifted students' perceptions of interest, choice, and enjoyment.…”

Effects of Enrichment Programs on the Academic Achievement of Gifted and Talented Students

“…They must Journal for the Education of the Young Scientist & Giftedness, 2014, 2/2 also include techniques and strategies (Clarck & Zimmerman, 2002).The enrichment programs contribute to boost students' motivation, and polish their talent. In addition, enrichment programs have positive effects on developing selfefficacy and self-regulation (Heinz & Heller, 2002;Pereira, Peters & Gentry, 2010).…”