A utility-value writing intervention increases STEM major persistence across the semester¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Among students who began with a STEM major, UV students were more likely to persist in that major (96.1% vs. 89.2%; Wald = 4.44, B = .51, p = .035). → Canning 2018

Evidence¶

Canning 2018¶

Canning, E. A., Harackiewicz, J. M., Priniski, S. J., Hecht, C. A., Tibbetts, Y., & Hyde, J. S. (2018). Improving Performance and Retention in Introductory Biology with a Utility-Value Intervention. Journal of educational psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000244

q3 · i? · causal · r3

Binary logistic regression on self-reported major at beginning and end of semester, conducted with the 534 students (93%) who initially reported a STEM major. The article reports "96.1% of students in the UV conditions remained in a STEM major" versus 89.2% of controls; no standardized effect size is printed.

"Among these students, we found that students in the UV conditions were more likely to persist in their STEM major, Wald = 4.44, B = .51, p = .035 (see Table 3). That is, 96.1% of students in the UV conditions remained in a STEM major from the beginning to the end of the semester, compared to 89.2% of students in the control condition."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Biology course grade partially mediates the UV intervention's effects on course continuation and STEM major persistence — related
• The overall intervention contrast comparing all UV conditions to control was not significant, and no individual UV condition significantly outperformed control in the dummy-coded model — reports the opposite
• A utility-value writing intervention increases continuation to the second course of the biology sequence — related