The Problem S. Hensch and M. Cleek collected responses to the "Academic Locus of Control" Scale from 386 students taking first-year seminar (FYS) courses at various campuses of the UW Colleges. Locus of control scores were predictive of academic success as measured by end-of-semester GPA, but the prediction was stronger for weaker students. That is, students in the top quartile of the high school graduating classes did relatively well regardless of their locus of control scores. However, not only was locus of control score predictive of academic success for students from the lower half of their high school graduating class, locus of control was the only variable which predicted the outcome for these weaker students. (That is, placement test scores, ACT scores, etc. were not helpful in this area.) The current project extends this work to Introduction to Psychology students, to a non-FYS sample, and attempts to test an intervention in addition to testing the predictability of locus of control to academic success. Further, this study employed two different measures of academic locus of control, to see which scale was a better predictor. IRB form for experimental section This is the consent form given to students in the experimental or "intervention" part of the study. These students were in one section of PSY 202. IRB form for control section This is the consent form given to students in the "control" section of PSY 202. Both sections were taught in the same semester by the principal investigator (myself).

Methodologies & Types of Evidence of Student Learning Gathered A pretest-posttest design was used in this study. That is, students' scores on academic-locus-of-control were measured both at the beginning and the end of the semester. One class section served as the experimental (intervention) group and the other as the control (non-intervention) group. The "intervention" group read a summary of the locus-of-control concept and analyzed a locus-of-control-at-work scale. The non-intervention (control) group did an alternate assignment related to multiple intelligences. The types of evidence gathered included a) changes in scores from pretest to posttest, b) grades in the course, c) semester GPA, d) ongoing GPA and e) other demographics. Summary of Locus of Control This is the summary of Locus of Control that the intervention group read before doing the rest of their assignment. Academic Locus of Control Scale This scale applies the concept of locus of control only to academic activities; that is, the questions are only about academic pursuits. This questionnaire is given to students at the beginning of the semester and again at the end. Locus of Control at Work assg This is the assignment done by students in the "intervention" group. Presumably, by actively working with the concept, they will be motivated to adopt a more "internal" locus of control. Perceived Academic Control Scale This questionnaire is a more recent attempt to measure locus of control as it applies to academics. Students also answer these questions both at the beginning and at the end of the semester. Multiple Intelligences Assignment Students in the "control" group did this assignment. While designed to be of equal difficulty, there is no reason to assume that this assignment will have any particular effect on locus of control.

Preliminary Findings, Results, Conclusions, & Implications The following questions have been addressed so far: Were the two groups, experimental and control, initially equivalent? Looking at initial (mid-September) scores on the two measures of locus of control, there were no significant differences between the groups. How (if at all) did the measures of locus of control change over the course of the semester? It was hypothesized that scores for the control group would remain constant from the beginning to the end (mid-November) of the semester. Further, it was expected that the intervention would assist students in the experimental group in moving more in the direction of an internal locus of control. However, the results showed a different -- though equally intriguing -- pattern of results. The control group did not show unchanging scores; rather, their scores changed in the direction of becoming significantly more EXTERNAL. That is, over the course of only two months, they expressed a loss of control regarding their grades and other academic matters. In contrast, the experimental group (while not becoming more "internal") succeeded in maintaining their initial scores.

Next Steps Further data analysis: The unanticipated "loss" of perceived control among the control group needs to be addressed. Demographic variables that may be explanatory will be examined. For instance, one possibility is that first-semester students - those experiencing the "shock" of transitioning from high school to college - may be largely responsible for this phenomenon. Or, it may be related to ACT score or other variables. These data will be explored next. Another possibility is that the phenomenon is course specific; that is, students enter the Introduction to Psychology course expecting something "easy" when, in fact, the course is rumored to have the highest D/F/W rate in the institution. In order to address this hypothesis, locus of control measures for this course would have to be compared to introductory courses in other disciplines. Long-term followup: My project also proposes to do longer-term follow-up. To that end, these data will be examined again in spring of 2009 to see the continuing effects of this intervention on cumulative GPA, credits earned, and degree status.

Future Directions Nicole Marcisz suggested suggested pairing students - one with internal and one with external locus of control - for a class exercise. While there are possible methodological issues here (for instance, will this result in pairing "A" students with "F" students? Will this be helpful for "externals" while frustrating for "internals"?), this is a suggestion to explore further. Nancy Chick suggested designing an assignment which would make student thinking about this project more visible (so their metacognitive processes could be examined and discussed). The writing assignment in the current project did ask them to think through the ways in which this concept might be applied to their academic work. However, these assignments were returned to students without retaining copies of their reasoning. Copies will be retained in future investigations. Jane Ewens asked if doing the intervention really affects locus of control, or if students are merely more motivated to give the "correct" answers in order to please the professor and get a higher grade. This question will be at least partly addressed through the longer-term followup. If the intervention has a long-term impact (in terms of GPA, credits earned, etc.), that would constitute evidence that their core beliefs were changed by the intervention.

Career Relevance & Impact If the locus of control intervention continues to be successful, even at avoiding an end-of-the-semester out-of-control feeling, it could have broad implications, not just for instructors, but for others in the institution as well. If a relatively-brief but effective (and replicable) intervention can be found, it could be used not only in psychology courses, but also in other disciplines, by Student Services, staff, etc. If it is markedly successful, it could go so far as to affect the institution's ability to fulfill its mission of more successfully educating the citizenry.

Annotated List of Helpful Resources & References Carpenter, D. (work in progress, UW-Richland). Attributional Retraining: Study of an Intervention to Increase Academic Control and Academic Success in Introductory Psychology within the UW Colleges. His preliminary analyses indicate that his particular intervention was not effective for our students, at least not with a limited sample size. I am testing a different intervention to see if it is more effective. Hensch, S. and Cleek, M.M. (unpublished manuscript, 2004, UW Colleges). The interaction between academic locus of control and high school rank: predicting academic success in first-year college courses. This paper sparked my interest in this area and in the particular study I designed for my WTS project. Perry. R.P., Hladkyz, S. Pekrun, R., and Pelletier, S. (2001). Academic control and action control in the achievement of college students: A longitudinal field study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 776-789. This paper describes a revision of the locus-of-control concept, restricting it to academic pursuits, i.e., they published the Perceived Academic Control Scale. Rotter, J.B. (1996). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80 (1), Whole No. 609. This monograph is the original locus-of-control paper. Rotter is the Granddaddy of this line of research. Trice, A.D. (1985) An academic locus of control scale for college students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 61, 1043-1046. This paper also revises the general concept of locus-of-control into a questionnaire (the Academic Locus of Control Scale) that applies this concept to academic pursuits. abstract of Rotter paper A PsychInfo abstract of the 1996 Rotter paper is located here, but the entire paper is not available online. ERIC abstract of Perry et al. study This is a link to the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) abstract of the article by Perry and colleagues.

Project Summary Two academic-locus-of-control questionnaires were administered to students taking Introduction to Psychology at the beginning of the semester. In one section of PSY 202 (the "intervention" group), students were given a locus-of-control assignment. They read a one-page summary of the concept, then analyzed a locus-of-control-at-work questionnaire, indicating which items they thought measured an external locus of control, and which items appeared to be measuring a more internal locus of control. Students in the other section of PSY 202 were given an assignment in which they did an analysis of a "multiple intelligences assessment," a project which is expected to have no "transfer" to the locus of control concept. Finally, the students re-took the two academic-locus-of-control questionnaires at the end of the semester. Statistical analyses addressed the question of changes in pretest-posttest locus-of-control scores with the "intervention" and without the "intervention." Whether or not the grades attained are higher in the intervention group will also be explored, as well as whether such gains, if they occur, endure into subsequent semesters.