Mosholder, R: Evaluating curricular engagement and effects

Post secondary institutions enroll large numbers of students without the learning and motivation strategies necessary for success. In response, many curricula have been developed. This study evaluated a course ed to teach the use of learning and motivation strategies and sub-strategies to meet the cognitive and motivational demands of post-secondary education. A structured interview consisting of learning contexts where the strategies and sub-strategies could be used was developed to test the direct effects of the course. The mean increases of the two outcome variables were found to be significantly greater for the test group than the control group. Qualitative analyses of student interview data also indicated a much greater increase in the repertoire of strategies and sub-strategies for the test group. In addition to measuring course effects, two methods were used to measure course engagement: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Student responses to the questionnaire were found to explain significant amounts of the variance in the outcome variables. The methodology should be of interest to educators seeking to establish the effectiveness of their curricula.