Using Student Drawings to Understand the First-Year Experience

Abstract

This article reports on an exploratory study that investigated the use of student drawings as a visual research method to understand the first-year experience. A total of 31 undeclared students enrolled in a first-year seminar participated in the study. Data generated from pre- and postdrawings of students’ first semester paths were analyzed to identify emergent themes and understand experience at the group and individual levels. Findings provide novel insights about the first-year experience from the student’s perspective. These new understandings have important implications that may help institutions shape and strengthen retention efforts at the student, classroom, and program levels.

Keywords

visual research methods student drawings first-year experience retention

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bagnoli

(2009) Beyond the standard interview: The use of graphic elicitation and arts-based methods. Qualitative Research 9(5): 547–570. doi:10.1177/1468794109343625.

Banks

(2001) Visual methods in social research, London, England: Sage.

Barrett

M. S.

Everett

M. C.

Smigiel

H. M.

(2012) Meaning, value and engagement in the arts: Findings from a participatory investigation of young Australian children’s perceptions of the arts. International Journal of Early Childhood 44(2): 185–201.

Bishop

P. A.

(2006) The promise of drawing as visual method in middle grades research. Middle Grades Research Journal 1(2): 33–46.

Bowman

N. A.

(2010) The development of psychological well-being among first-year college students. Journal of College Student Development 51(2): 180–200.

Brackett, M. (2016, June 22). Today’s students may be emotionally unprepared. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/education/todays-students-may-be-emotionally-unprepared.html.

Cereola

S. J.

Snyder

C. S.

Cereola

R. J.

Horton

B. W.

(2014) Holistic wellness and its impact on first-semester grades. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition 26(2): 89–106.

Chemers

M. M.

Garcia

B. F.

(2001) Academic self-efficacy and first year college student performance and adjustment. Journal of Educational Psychology 93(1): 55–64. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.55.

Chickering

A. W.

Reisser

(1993) Education and identity, 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

10.

Creswell

J. W.

(2014) Research design qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

11.

Cuseo

J. B.

(2005) “Decided,” “undecided,” and “in transition”: Implications for academic advisement, career counseling & student retention. In: Feldman

R. S.

(ed.) Improving the first year of college: Research and practice, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 27–48.

12.

Cuseo

J. B.

(2008) Assessment of the first-year experience: Six significant questions. In: Swing

R. L.

(ed.) Proving and improving: Strategies for assessing the first college year. (Monograph No. 33, pp. 27–34). Columbia: University of South Carolina.

13.

Davenport

T. J.

Lane

A. M.

(2006) Relationship between self-efficacy, coping and student retention. Social Behavior and Personality 34(2): 127–138.

14.

Duckworth

(2016) Grit: The power of passion and perseverance, New York, NY: Scribner.

15.

Everett

M. C.

(2013) Journal writing and the first-year year experience. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 25(2): 213–222.

16.

Everett

M. C.

(2015) Fostering first-year students’ engagement and well-being through visual narratives. Studies in Higher Education. 42(4), 623–635.

17.

Haney

Russell

Bebell

(2004) Drawing on education: Using drawings to document schooling and support change. Harvard Educational Review 74(3): 241–272.

18.

Harper

(2002) Talking about pictures: A case for photo elicitation. Visual Studies 17(1): 13–26. doi:10.1080/14725860220137345.

19.

Kearney

K. S.

Hyle

A. E.

(2003) Drawing out emotions: Participant/researcher revelations. Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED478489).

20.

Köse

(2008) Diagnosing student misconceptions: Using drawings as a research method. World Applied Sciences Journal 3(2): 283–293.

21.

Kuh

G. D.

(2008) High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter, Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

22.

Lee

Zeppelin

(2014) Using drawings to bridge the transition from student to future Teacher of Mathematics. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education 6(2): 333–346.

23.

Literat

(2013) “A pencil for your thoughts”: Participatory drawing as a visual research method with children and youth. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 12(1): 84–98.

24.

McLean

Henson

Hiles

(2003) The possible contribution of student drawings to evaluation in a new problem-based learning medical programme: A pilot study. Medical Education 37: 895–906.

25.

Morrow

J. A.

Ackermann

M. E.

(2012) Intention to persist and retention of first-year students: The importance of motivation and sense of belonging. College Student Journal 46(3): 483–491.

26.

Moss

Pini

(2016) Visual research methods in educational research, London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.

27.

Özsoy

(2012) Is the earth flat or round? Primary school children’s understandings of the planet earth: The case of Turkish children. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education 4(2): 407–415.

28.

Patton

M. Q.

(2002) Qualitative research and evaluation methods, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

29.

Reinheimer

McKenzie

(2011) The impact of tutoring on the academic success of undeclared students. Journal of College Reading and Learning 41(2): 213–222.

30.

Ryan

R. M.

Deci

E. L.

(2000) Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist 55(1): 68–78.

31.

Tinto

(1975) Dropouts from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research 45: 89–125.

32.

Tinto, V. (2001). Rethinking the first year of college. (Higher Education Monograph Series). New York, NY: Syracuse University.

33.

Tinto

(2006) Research and practice of student retention: What next? Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory and Practice 8(1): 1–19. doi:10.2190/C0C4-EFT9-EG7W-PWP4.

34.

Tinto

(2012) Enhancing student success: Taking the classroom success seriously. The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education 3(1): 1–8. doi:10.5204/intjfyhe.v2i1.119.

35.

Tovar

Simon

M. A.

Lee

H. B.

(2009) Development and validation of the college mattering inventory with diverse urban college students. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development 42(3): 154–178.

36.

Williams

(2015, July 8) Freshmen students are the most likely to drop out of college. Good Call. Retrieved from https://www.goodcall.com/news/why-freshman-are-the-most-likely-to-drop-out-of-college-01421.

37.

Wyckoff

(1998) Retention theories in higher education: Implications for institutional practice. Recruitment and Retention in Higher Education 12(2): 2–7.

38.

Young, D. Y., & Redlinger, L. J. (2000). Modeling student flows through the university pipelines. Paper presented at the 41st Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, San Antonio, TX.