A variety of socio-economical variables may not be properly taken into consideration, or accounted for in intervention based studies. More specifically, these variables affect both the teacher, the target student population, and the surrounding/incidental student population. These variables may be:
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Location

Confounding Effects in Intervention Studies

Käser, T., Hallinen, N. R., &amp; Schwartz, D. L. (2017). Modeling exploration strategies to predict student performance within a learning environment and beyond. Proceedings of the Seventh International Learning Analytics &amp; Knowledge Conference. doi:10.1145/3027385.3027422

Modeling Exploration Strategies to Predict Student
Performance within a Learning Environment and Beyond

This study examined whether having African-American student (seventh to eighth grade), write essays affirming their personal values, improves their academic performance. These subtle interventions would lessen minority students' psychological threat related to being negatively sterotyped in school. 
Ending results show that over 2 years, the grade point average of African Americans was on average, raised by .24 grade points, and those who were low-achieving, benefited the most, improving their average .41 points. 

Recursive Processes in Self-Affirmation: Intervening to Close the Minority Achievement Gap 

This paper looks at the problematic trend of students that come from underrepresented minorities (URM) or are a first-generation college student (FG) who tend to give up on courses of science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). It then goes on to explain not only the factors that lead to a lack of motivation in succeeding in these classes but potential interventions that could mitigate these problems, leading to success. The research study discussed in this article looks at how these interventions are used in a biology course with students of various backgrounds (minority, majority, first-generation or not, and combinations of both racial and social backgrounds) to see what the results are (in the form of class grades) from using the interventions to address lack of motivation.

Closing Gaps with A Utility-Value Intervention: Disentangling Race and Social Class

- "Reducing the Racial Achievement Gap: A Social-Psychological Intervention" by Geoffrey L Cohen, Nancy Apfel, Julio Garcia, and Allison Master (2006)
- "Modeling Exploration Strategies to Predict Student Performance within a Learning Environment and Beyond" by Käser, T., Hallinen, N. R., & Schwartz, D. L. (2017)
- Matthew Effects in Education and Culture. The Matthew effect: How advantage begets further advantage. by Rigney, D. (2010). 
- "The Achievement Gap and the Discipline Gap: Two Sides of the Same Coin?" by Gregory, Anne & Skiba, Russell & Noguera, Pedro (2010)
- "Latino English Language Learners: Bridging Achievement and Cultural Gaps Between Schools and Families." by Good, M. E., Masewicz, S., & Vogel, L. (2010). 
- "Multicultural Education." Great School Partnership. (2013)
- A diversity ideology intervention: Multiculturalism reduces the racial achievement gap. by Birnbaum, H. J., Stephens, N. M., Townsend, S. S., & Hamedani, M. G. (2020). 
- "Reducing the Gender Achievement Gap in College Science: A Classroom Study of Values Affirmation" by Miyake, A., Kost-Smith, L.E., Finkelstein, N.D., Pollock, S.J., Cohen, G.L.,
- Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
- Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
-  Experiences and Outcomes of First-Generation Students in Community Colleges by Pascarella et. al 
-  Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap: A Difference-Education Intervention Improves First-Generation Students’ Academic Performance and All Students’ College Transition by Stephens et. al 
-  Speed and Studying: Gendered Pathways to Success by Iman YeckehZaare and Paul Resnick

Achievement Gap References

The goal of this study is to improve minority students' performance and to better understand how psychological threats can undermine self-integrity, leading to poor academic performance. Researchers tested whether psychological threats can be lessened by reaffirming self-integrity, thus improving academic performance amongst negatively stereotyped minority students. 

Reducing the Racial Achievement Gap: A Social-Psychological Intervention- Goals of Study

Doris B. Chin, Kristen P. Blair, Rachel C. Wolf, Luke D. Conlin, Maria Cutumisu, Jay Pfaffman & Daniel L. Schwartz (2019) Educating and Measuring Choice: A Test of the Transfer of Design Thinking in Problem Solving and Learning, Journal of the Learning Sciences, 28:3, 337-380, DOI: 10.1080/10508406.2019.1570933

Educating and Measuring Choice: A Test of the Transfer of Design Thinking in Problem Solving and Learning

- Race
- Gender
- Income
- Language
- Disability
- Parent Education Level
- Nationality
- Technology
- Traditional
- Cultural differences
- The Impact of Coronavirus

Types of Achievement Gaps in Education

The achievement gap is a persistent disparity in academic outcomes, such as grades, test scores, and graduation rates, observed among students from different demographic groups. These groups are often defined by ethnicity, race, and, in certain subjects, gender.

San Jose State University

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Georgia

Google

- Cognitive theory of drawing construction
- Learning by conceptual level
- Expectancy-valence theory
- Self-determination Theory (SDT)
- Modes of learning
- Efficacy of Traditional Teaching Methods
- Constructivism
- Engagement
- Learning Analytics (LA)
- Community of Inquiry Framework (CoI)
- Achievement Gap in Education
- Desirable difficulties

Focuses of Learning Science

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Humans can only learn one or at most two conceptual levels at a time. A person is able to learn the next level of concepts only after they have a stable understanding of the original. From then on, we are able to fine tune our understanding of the lower level concepts, while our learning focus is on the next level of abstraction.

Learning by Conceptual Levels

Readers may translate text into visual information by selecting, organizing and then integrating. Graphical representations such as concept maps, flow diagrams, and tree diagrams can be used to depict the structural and conceptual relationships found in text. By generating diagrams, readers are able to leverage spatial memory to develop a coherent understanding of the text.

Cognitive Theory of Drawing Construction

People behave based on the value that they perceive doing the behavior has to them. It takes into account expectancy (effort), instrumentality (performance) and valence (value/reward).

Expectancy-Valence Theories

Analyzes the effectiveness of passive teaching styles (i.e. lecturing or exams) on student learning. 

Efficacy of Traditional Teaching Methods

A theory of human motivation that posits that the reasons why an individual chooses to participate and exerts effort, are based on self-determined regulations (such as intrinsic motivation). It states there are 3 desires that promote optimal function and growth:
- 1) Autonomy
- 2) Competence
- 3) Relatedness

Self-determination theory (SDT)

The measure and study of sustained interaction with the medium. Engagement is different from Motivation in that it focuses on the user's willingness to continue interacting, rather than what inspires or spurs them into action.

Engagement

Learning analytics (LA) is the idea that datasets acquired through teaching or learning activities can be used to enhance student learning, academic progress, and teaching practices.

Learning Analytics

- MOOCs (massive open online courses)
- Blended Learning
- Online Learning
- Distance Learning
- E-learning

Mode of Education

The intersecting three-presence framework, consisting of Social, Teaching and Cognitive Presences, that represented all the important activities in an educational experience.  

Community of Inquiry Framework

A proposed hierarchy of understanding that can be used to evaluate a student's comprehension of a topic. From the highest level to the lowest level of understanding, they are:
- Creation / Create
- Evaluation / Evaluate
- Analysis / Analyze
- Application / Apply
- Comprehension / Understand
- Knowledge / Remember


Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning

A learning task that requires a considerable but desirable amount of effort, thereby improving long-term performance.

Examples:

- Interleaving Materials
- Spacing Studying
- Generation Effect
- Retrieval practice (testing)
- Varying Study Conditions

Desirable Difficulties

A theory that recognizes the learners' understanding and knowledge based on their own experiences prior to entering school. Rather than simply taking in knowledge, learners take the opportunity to reinforce and build their own understanding of the topic, derived from what they already know and what is being presented to them.

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Related

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