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Math intensive STEM courses at university have very high dropout rates. In this video, DARIA BENDEN explores some of the factors that underlie this. Conducting a longitudinal study, Benden identifies a sharp motivational drop in the very early days (weeks 2-3) of students’ transition to post secondary education in math intensive STEM fields. She notes that motivation remains stable after this initial shock which tends to coincide with the first feedback received. Benden shows that these initial declines in motivation have a clear impact on exam performance and dropout rates and she encourages further work on how feedback is delivered in order to address the issue.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB101077
Tags:
University Dropout Rates

Researcher

Daria Benden has recently completed her doctoral research in educational psychology in the Center for Research on Education and School Development at TU Dortmund University. She has previously pursued her studies at the Bonn Centre for Teacher Education. Benden’s main research interests include motivational trajectories and educational and occupational choices in the STEM domain. Her most recent publications have appeared in Science Direct and the Journal of Educational Psychology.

Institution

Center for Research on Education and School Development (IFS)

Dortmund, Germany

The Center for Research on Education and School Development (IFS) at the TU Dortmund University is committed to all areas of education research – from the description, explanation, and improvement of the organization and management of schools and the school system, to the analysis of educational processes and educational outcomes of students of different age groups in different contexts. Not limited to students, the research takes into account parents, teachers, school administration, and institutional frameworks. A special focus is research into the reform and development processes of schools and the school system, as well as the necessary conditions for these processes and their outcomes.

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Original publication

Students’ motivational trajectories and academic success in math-intensive study programs: Why short-term motivational assessments matter.

Benden Daria K and Lauermann Fani
Published in 2022

Reading recommendations

Motivation in transition: Development and roles of expectancy, task values, and costs in early college engineering.

Robinson Kristy A, Lee You-kyung, Bovee Emily A, Perez Tony, Walton S Patrick, Briedis Daina and Linnenbrink-Garcia Lisa
Published in 2019

The role of identity development, values, and costs in college STEM retention.

Perez Tony, Cromley Jennifer G and Kaplan Avi
Published in 2014

From expectancy-value theory to situated expectancy-value theory: A developmental, social cognitive, and sociocultural perspective on motivation

Eccles Jacquelynne S and Wigfield Allan
Published in 2020

Beyond

A Ground-breaking Scientific Revolution
An Alarming Challenge for Society
If I Had a Second Life
A Personal Reading Recommendation

Citation

Daria Benden, Latest Thinking, Why Do Students Struggle With the Transition to Post-Secondary Education in Math Intensive STEM Fields?, https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB101077, 2022

Credits:

© Daria Benden and Latest Thinking
This work is licensed under CC-BY 4.0