2. Students as Learners

Navigating Affect and Competing Obligations

Indigenous communities have long recognized the necessity for an education that addresses not just the intellectual sphere, but the emotional, as well as the physical and spiritual dimensions of learning. Research tasks, in particular, can elicit a variety of responses from students as they progress through the research process.

In a study of 180 students at a technical community college, Mabee & Fancher (2020) connected affective states experienced during research activities to cognitive functioning. Their study confirmed previous studies where research projects elicited a variety of affective states, such as frustration, overwhelm, anxiety, guilt/shame, passion/excitement, connection/solidarity, awe/amazement, anger/sadness, pragmatism, and empowerment. They conclude that “it is clear that our students have complex lives with competing responsibilities and demands on their time and that research, especially research for academic purposes, tends to produce an array of positive and negative emotions that can, at times, interfere with cognitive functioning” (p. 497).

In other words, adopting a pedagogy of care by addressing the affective experiences and recognizing the competing social obligations students navigate as they complete large academic assignments is an important component of teaching students how to research effectively.

Case Study: Monisha

Monisha initially begins her research with enthusiasm. However, as she continues searching, she quickly becomes discouraged, realizing that finding helpful articles will be more difficult than she anticipated. In addition, as the weeks progress, pressure begins to mount as tests and assignment due dates pile up. To top it off, she learns that her father was laid off work, and although she knows her parents don’t want her to worry, she can tell they are concerned about their finances while he looks for another job. It weighs heavily on Monisha since her parents have already sacrificed so much to help her afford her education. She starts looking at job ads and wonders if she should be applying for part-time work.
Q: How could the instructor help alleviate or manage some of the pressure Monisha is experiencing?

Case Study: Aydin

Although Aydin is initially reluctant to begin the research process, he finally decides to ask a librarian for help getting started a few days before the due date. It isn’t long before the librarian has found a few really interesting articles. He was surprised by how quickly she found them and she also had some great tips for him if he needed more information. He starts feeling more confident about the project. But now he’s in a bit of a crunch. He only has a few days to write the paper and the articles are long and challenging to read. He isn’t sure where to start writing, or how to draw connections between what he’s read and the course content. With the due date approaching quickly, a sense of overwhelm immobilizes him and in frustration he looks for a shortcut.
Q: How could the instructor encourage Aydin to better plan out his project?

Strategies for Success

  • Ensure your expectations for the assignment are clearly communicated to students.
  • Monitor student stress levels and frustration. If excessive, consider whether your assignment is unclear, too complex, or at an inappropriate level of difficulty. Connect with your librarian to assess whether students require additional instruction or if the assignment itself can be modified to better focus on the specific skills and knowledge practices required.
  • Normalize affective responses by providing opportunities for students to express the emotions they are feeling throughout the process, what’s causing those emotions, as well as how to nurture positive responses and problem solve when negative responses arise.
  • Offer multiple, low stakes “mini” assignments to reduce stress levels.
  • Avoid assigning penalties to due dates. Instead, consider due dates as a flexible guide to help students plan and manage their time.

 

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Designing Research Assignments that Enhance Student Research Skills Copyright © 2024 by Kathleen Oakey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.