Measuring Academic Success among Psychology Students Reflection

Reflection on Peer Mentoring
Introduction
Stoloff, Good, Smith and Brewster (2015) determined measures of success in a number of ways: 1) whether students attended graduate school within 5 years of graduating, 2) the departmental score on the Major Field Test for Psychology (MFT), and 3) completion of the program by students. Other factors had been tested before, including student-teacher interaction, and used as measures of success. The study by Stoloff et al. (2015) aimed to build on prior works and to show what the relation between student success and test scores, graduate school attendance, and program completion was overall. This paper will provide a summary of the article by Stoloff et al. (2015), discuss the characteristics of psychology programs that lead to success, identify other ways that success can be measured; address ways in which successful peer mentoring programs could bridge the gap, or actively support, department efforts to address the shortcomings of student success; and provide commentary on how my activities as a peer mentor translate into a successful undergraduate experience, both for me and for the students I serve.
Summary
Stoloff et al. (2015) recruited 278 chairs from 976 psychology departments throughout the US; 62 of them from schools granting doctoral degrees; 144 of them granting master’s degrees; and 72 of them from schools granting bachelor’s degrees. The researchers used the survey method of collecting data to gauge the perspective of these department chairs and one of their aims in doing so was to assess the “frequency with which students had experiences that we believed might be important to the success of psychology majors” (Stoloff et al., 2015, p. 100). The researchers wanted to see whether these experiences were seen with measures of success.
One of the experiences they looked at was the achievement of APA learning objectives. The researchers asked department chairs how many courses emphasizing these objectives were completed by 80% of students. The researchers also asked about class sizes, and other student experiences such as: student participation in research, practice with communication skills, use of technology, engagement in field placement, study abroad, participation in co-curricular activities, engagement in career preparation activities, and interaction with faculty. Development of research skills, communication skills, technology skills, and all the other experiences were measured and scored to obtain the averages. These measures of student experiences were then compared to measures of student success already described above.
The researchers found that students who had more favorable and active learning-based experiences in their courses had higher measures of success. For example, they noted that school programs in which students are active in student organizations related to their psychology major scored higher MFT/ACAT scores and these students also tended to go on to graduate school at a higher rate. In short, the more engaged learners are in their subject, in developing their skills, in preparing for a career and in getting to know teachers, the more likely they are to succeed.
Other Characteristics of Programs that Lead to Success
One of the areas in which schools fall short is in the area of classroom size. The smaller the classroom the more engaged the student is likely to be, which translates into a greater likelihood of academic success. If the school cannot afford small classes across the board, the best solution is to have introductory courses be large but higher courses be small. Another area where universities tend to fall short is in student-faculty interaction. Teachers tend to disregard the importance of this interaction because they do not have a way to quantify its actual effect—but the effect is almost certainly there in the student and serves as a significant motivator. Thus, departments should promote the idea of student-faculty interaction to help promote student success.
Additionally, schools should focus on helping students to realize that they need to develop skills that can be applied in a number of career paths. Skills that are not marketable are not going to help them find careers in their chosen field. If the purpose of schooling is to serve as a foundation for getting a career, educators should take time to help students prepare for this important step in their life.
Thus, overall, schools need to consider more than just the quality of their courses. They also need to consider the activities that they offer to students and how engaged their students are able to be. Students should be encouraged to participate in psychology-related activities, and teachers should be encouraged to maximize their relationships with students so as to promote a culture of success and provide motivation for students to succeed.
Other Ways to Measure Success
Success could be measured in other ways, such as by evaluating how many students go on to secure careers in the field, what their annual pay is, how satisfied they are with their careers, and whether any of them have left the field to pursue work in other disciplines. Stopping short of measuring success in terms of the job market, where the ultimate ambitions are likely to lie for most students suggests a limited measurement of success—i.e., one that is measured mainly by academic accomplishments. Of course, measures of career success might be impacted by market dynamics that are outside the control of students, but such measurements could at least provide a better understanding of what the ultimate outcomes are and whether students are satisfied.
The researchers also focused on chair perceptions, so another way to measure success would be to survey students and graduates along with students who drop out or change majors to obtain their perspectives. Surveying alumni is recommended by Stoloff et al. (2015). I agree with all these recommendations as it is important to get the students’ perspective, but I believe Stoloff et al. (2015) should also have recommended looking at career success as it is the end point of most students’ academic purpose.
How Successful Peer Mentoring Programs Can Bridge the Gap
Peer mentoring could be used to address the shortcomings by getting students more engaged outside the classroom in psychology studies. Hughes and Fahy (2009) showed that implementing an undergraduate psychology mentoring program can help students focus on their academic goals and get them the support they need to commit to the field and get over the challenging obstacles that crop up along the way. Mentoring programs help because they provide a support network for students that they otherwise would not have access to.
Likewise, Page and Hanna (2008) showed that peer mentoring can be used to help students connect with one another, increase their communication with peers, and develop a strong social network with a nexus around psychology studies. Their study focused on the relevance of digital communications, such as email and test messages or direct messages in making these connections and conducting peer mentoring. From a digital native perspective, using online communication tools is an effective way for students to engage and commit to their academic goals. As Prensky (2001) notes, today’s students are digital natives and their digital needs should not go unaddressed by schools. Having an online peer mentoring program can combine students’ desire for digital communications with their need for a social support system that allows them to be engaged with their psychology studies outside the classroom.
Hill and Reddy (2007) also showed that peer mentoring can help students who are transitioning to college to develop the values they need to succeed academically. Their study addressed the student perspective and showed that students need the right orientation when it comes to entering college because if they do not have the right values they are less likely to be committed long-term to their studies. That is one factor that Stoloff et al. (2015) did not address but recommended should be considered in future studies so as to better understand the student perspective.
Ashbaugh, Koegel and Koegel (2017) also showed that peer mentoring can get students to feel more engaged in the college experience and increase their commitment to the course and desire to reach their goals. Some students who fail to engage will ultimately drop out, but Ashbaugh et al. (2017) show that peer mentoring is a way to grab those students at the beginning of their academic tenure and to make sure they are engaged before they become discouraged.
My Own Activities as a Peer Mentor
My own activities as a peer mentor have translated into a successful undergraduate experience, both for me and the students I have served, by getting us to connect, relate, and understand one another. Peer mentoring is a great way to break down barriers as Ashbaugh et al. (2017) have noted, and I have found this to be true in my own experience. The more times I have been able to mentor, the more confident I have become in my own studies and the more I have seen others become confident in their studies. By interacting with others, we also become more sociably connected, which builds a level of engagement that would otherwise not be seen. That level of engagement makes coming to school and getting to class and staying focused more exciting, interesting and attractive. Because we all know that we are working towards a common goal, we are all supportive of one another and a strong support system is what students need to stay committed to their goals. It is the reason student-faculty relationships are so important: they feed that encouragement and motivation.
Conclusion
Stoloff et al. (2015) showed that engagement is a big factor in determining students’ success as far as chairs of psychology departments are concerned. However, the study also showed that measuring success in terms of graduation, course completion and graduate school enrollment may not be enough. The researchers also recommended getting the students’ perspective on the matter. From my own experience I have found that peer mentoring is a great way to get students engaged and committed to their studies, as it has helped me become focused and it has helped the peers I have mentored. Another way to measure success, however, might be to take a long view and look at how many students go on to have satisfying careers in their field of psychology. Since the career is typically the ultimate goal, that would be a good measure for determining success and it could be compared to student experiences in the past such as whether they had good relationships with teachers or received peer mentoring.
References
Ashbaugh, K., Koegel, R. L., & Koegel, L. K. (2017). Increasing social integration for college students with autism spectrum disorder. Behavioral development bulletin, 22(1), 183.
Hughes, A., & Fahy, B. (2009). Implementing an Undergraduate Psychology Mentoring Program. North American Journal of Psychology, 11(3).
Page, D., & Hanna, D. (2008). Peer mentoring: The students' perspective. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 7(2), 34-37.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
Stoloff, M. L., Good, M. R., Smith, K. L., & Brewster, J. (2015). Characteristics of programs that maximize psychology major success. Teaching of Psychology, 42(2), 99-108.