Teaching-learning Issue Addressed in this project: Teaching students about reasearch design and employ strategies to foster autonomous learning. Overview: In our Criminal Justice research methods course, we had our students conduct survey research for the purpose of learning how research is conducted, the process of developing and submitting a survey, and to learn something about a topic they pick. Last semester, the students chose BINGE DRINKING (something some of our students know a little about!) Project Goal: Engage students in autonomous learning by conducting their own survey on a topic they choose. Students will develop, administer, and analyze their survey as a class project. Autonomous Learning Defined: * "the ability to take charge of one's own learning" and it is associated with students taking a more active role in the learning process (Holec, 1981). * The autonomous learner is viewed as an "independent, self-directed life-long learner" (Betts, 2004, p. 190). * These students, therefore, do not confine themselves to the material being taught, but rather take active roles in seeking and processing information and developing transfer skills to apply information in a broader context for their own needs or interests (Chan, 2003; Raya and Fernandez, 2002). * Suggested modes of promoting learning autonomy include tiered assignments (with one assignment building on the foundation of the previous), and flexible groupings (which allows for students to pick and choose within assignments) (Betts, 2004). * The education process should be viewed as a long-term aptitude development effort that seeks to foster personal preparedness for later stages of life (Raya, 2002). Therefore, it is important to identify methodological/pedagogical frameworks that foster the development of learner autonomy.

Overview of Students Research Project: The project begins the first day of class and ends on the last day. 1. Students suggest topics and then vote on their topic as a class. 2. Students spend a class with the social science librarian to find articles specific to that topic. Students write a 5-page review of those articles. 3. After learning the do's and don'ts of survey construction, students each submit 5 closed-ended questions. Teaching asst. will choose at least 1 of those questions to appear on master survey. Students spend a class period editing the survey. 4. Survey is administered to 5 to 10 students. 5. Students code the surveys and enter into SPSS. (The results are emailed to teaching asst. and combined into one dataset). 6. Students analyze five questions they find interesting using basic stats, charts, and graphs. 7. Students write up the results and add it to their literature review and turn in.

Dr. Jeff Walsh in Schroeder Hall Computer Lab

Did you know: Research has shown that students retain about only 10 percent of what they read, 20 percent of what they hear, 90 percent of what they say and do (McMillan & Forsyth, 1991). Teaching at the college level, usually involves just that--lecturing.

Sample Description: 473 ISU students Convenience sample 20% live on-campus 48% involved in extracurricular activities 62% work full or part-time 18% freshman/sophomore 82% junior/senior 18% frat/sorority member 56% male/44% female 86% Caucasian 30% Criminal Justice Majors

What constitutes "binge drinking?" For males: drinking 5 or more drinks in one sitting. For females: drinking 5 or more drinks in one sitting. One drink = 1 glass of wine, 1 beer, 1 shot of alcohol, 1 mixed drink with 1 shot of alcohol. (Weschler et al., 2002)

What our students found out about binge drinking: Almost all students reported they: currently drink alcohol (92%) Threw up from drinking (81%) Approximately 2/3 reported they: drink on a weekly basis (66%) typically binge drink (5/4-rule) (66%) drink to get drunk (60%) Approximately half reported they: Injured themselves (54%) blacked out/lost consciousness (41%) threw up, continued drinking (44%) Approximately one-third reported they:had sex w/ someone they just met (34%) woken up and not known where they were (30%) physical altercation (30%) Fewer than one-third reported they: drink alone (23%) wet the bed/pants (13%) received a DUI (4%)

Group Comparisons Males compared to Females: * Males were significnatly more likely to report "drinking to get drunk) (72% compared to 55%). * Males were significantly more likely to wet the bed/pants after drinking too much (18% compared to 8%). * Males and females were EQUALLY as likely to throw up after drinking (approximately 80%). * Males were significnatly more likely to throw up and continue drinking (58% compared to 31%) * Males were significantly more likely to get into a phyisical altercations after drinking alcohol (50% compared to 17%). Criminal Justice Majors compared to Other Majors: * CJ majors were no more likely than "other majors" to: "drink to get drunk" wet the bed/pants after drinking too much throw up after drinking too much throw up and continue drinking * HOWEVER, CJ majorswere significantly more likely than other majors to get into a physical altercation after drinking too much (50% compared to 29%).

Resources we found helpful: Dr. Kathleen Mckinney at the Center for the Advancement of Teaching & Learning was very instrumental in encouraging us to formally assess our teaching method. She pointed us in the right direction by referring us to a body of literature that exists regarding this. She also set up a time to meet with others who were doing similar research across campus; it provided us a time to bounce some ideas off of others and get new ideas. Our librarian, Angela Bonnell, came over and met with our classes--all four--to show our students how to find research on the topic they chose. Recently, Schroeder Hall was renovated, which included classroom size teaching computer labs. Our students seemed to appreciate the break in lectures to use the computers. The students entered data, recorded variables, and analyzed their data during 3 to 5 class sessions in the lab.

Conclusions/Summary Students completed a survey research project through the use of tiered assignments. Students were able to develop their own questions about a topic they wanted to know about. Students were encouraged to collaborate with others and work independently throughout different aspects of the projects. Possible changes in the Future: Picking more than one topic per class. Talking more about how to review other people's research (provide an outline of needed info; make separate assg.) Spending more time in lab analyzing data.