Editor’s Note: This article about a new NSF grant, led by Ido Davidesco, originally appeared in UConn Today.
“Undergraduate students will not only participate in our studies but also be involved in developing new research questions and conducting EEG experiments in their classroom,” says Ido Davidesco, assistant professor of learning sciences and lead researcher on the NSF grant.
The science of distraction: Addressing the need to understand how students pay attention in virtual, as well as face-to-face, classrooms.
Picture a student as they watch a pre-recorded lecture in a college course. Their mind starts to wander to different thoughts – weekend plans, background noise, a social media feed. Before they realize it, they have no idea what the instructor is talking about.
It’s a familiar scenario for students and instructors alike. Maintaining attention for long periods of time is extremely challenging because attention, by nature, is dynamic and often shifts between external and internal states.
But could a little break from paying attention to the instructor be beneficial to the learning process? Learning sciences Professor Ido Davidesco thinks that might be the case, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding his research with $1.3 million to find out.
Davidesco, an assistant professor in the Neag School of Education, is the recipient of an NSF Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award. This prestigious grant supports the research of early-career faculty who demonstrate remarkable potential to become leaders in their field. Additionally, the award seeks to support projects that actively engage students and the community.
“I hope to advance our basic understanding of attention but also have an impact on how we teach students in classrooms,” Davidesco says. “CAREER awards are designed to promote the integration of research and education, which is the main goal of this project.”
“I hope to advance our basic understanding of attention but also have an impact on how we teach students in classrooms.”
— Assistant Professor Ido Davidesco
This award marks a milestone for the University and the Neag School of Education. While UConn early career faculty have been very successful in winning NSF funding, Davidesco is the first Neag School professor to earn a CAREER Award.
“It is through the cutting-edge work of our faculty scholars — of which learning sciences expert Dr. Davidesco is a shining example— that the Neag School continues to stand at the forefront of education research,” says Jason G. Irizarry, dean of the Neag School. “Understanding how to foster effective student learning, particularly in STEM disciplines, remains as essential as ever, and this fascinating, interdisciplinary CAREER project holds such promise in providing practitioners and educators with a new level of real-world, foundational insight in this area.”
Attention in the classroom can be classified along two axes: external/internal attention and on-topic/off-topic attention. Examples of potential classroom scenarios falling into each of the four quadrants are provided. (Graphic courtesy of Ido Davidesco)
The project will focus on the role of internal attention as it applies to learning science. Davidesco says that it is currently unknown whether internal attention (e.g., pausing a lecture to allow students to quietly think about a problem) is beneficial or detrimental to learning.
“The hypothesis here is that internal attention can actually be beneficial to learning,” Davidesco says. “But it depends on how ‘thinking periods’ are used. For that reason, we plan to experimentally manipulate the frequency and duration of these ‘thinking periods’ as well as the guidance given to students.”
Davidesco’s team will use electroencephalography (EEG) to identify neural correlates of attention fluctuations that occur during lectures. They will also develop course-based undergraduate research experiences allowing undergraduate students to investigate their own attention states and associated brain activity.
“Undergraduate students will not only participate in our studies but also be involved in developing new research questions and conducting EEG experiments in their classroom,” Davidesco says.
“There is a need to understand better how undergraduate students pay attention in virtual and face-to-face classrooms, where most instruction still heavily relies on lectures,” Davidesco says. “I hope that this research will help instructors teach science more effectively.”
An academically challenging curriculum and extracurricular activities can position high school students on the autism spectrum for success in college, according to new research (Adobe Stock).
Editor’s Note: A following piece on research by the Neag School’s Sally Reis, Joseph Madaus, and Nicholas Gelbar originally appeared in UConn Today.
Students who are both academically talented and also on the autism spectrum can enjoy greater success in college based on their correct high school experience.
Students who are both academically talented and also on the autism spectrum can enjoy greater success in college based on the correct high school experience. That’s the finding of research performed by a UConn team in the Neag School of Education and published in a recent issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
“High school should not be just about deficit reduction, but should be about talent development,” says Sally Reis, the Letitia Neag Morgan Chair in Educational Psychology. “We would love to see more teachers and parents using the interests and strengths of these student to be able to address their deficits. You can do that in a remedial class, but that is completely inappropriate for this group. What we want people to do is find something these kids love to do, based on their interests.”
The study used the largest sample of academically advanced students, who also have autism, in any research study ever conducted. The authors were interested in researching a group where the focus is typically on disabilities, not talent and abilities.
“High school should not be just about deficit reduction, but should be about talent development.”
— Sally Reis, Letitia Neag Morgan Chair in Educational Psychology
“We wanted to do a study that, in a certain sense, used reverse engineering,” says Reis. “So many students with autism who are intelligent don’t make it through college.”
As a result, the team narrowed their sample to students who had already completed a few years at various highly competitive universities and some who had recently graduated.
“One of the issues that these students face is that their autism may mask their talents, or their talents may mask their autism,” says Joseph Madaus, the director of the Collaborative on Postsecondary Education and Disability and a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology. “Another challenge is that because of their performance in high school, they might not receive some of the special education services they might need.
“We do want to challenge these students and put them in the most rigorous academic curriculum possible for them in high school, not only to tap into their strengths and passions, but to also prepare them for higher education.”
Extracurricular activities in high school also play an important role in academic success on the next level for these students.
“One of the issues that these students face is that their autism may mask their talents, or their talents may mask their autism.”
— Professor Joseph Madaus
“When they participate in work that they are interested in and passionate about, these students put themselves in situations when they can develop better social skills and strategies,” says Nicholas Gelbar, an associate research professor at UConn. “Many of the students that were in our sample were also involved in these types of activities in college and that connected them better to their campus community, so they were able to do better academically. These passions can help make up for some of the challenges they are going to face socially both in college and the work environment.”
The researchers hope their work will serve as a positive beacon for parents and students.
“Many of these students are lonely and have social challenges,” says Reis. “Meaningful work can provide an outlet and we have to consider how much wasted talent that occurs when these young people go to college and drop out because of isolating events.”
Reis offered specific advice for parents of talented students with autism for their high school years to help them prepare for college.
“They need to make sure that their student is in at least one or two extremely challenging classes in their area of interest and achievement,” says Reis. “Then, try to find an extracurricular activity that connects with their interests and gives them a chance to make friends and excel in something out of the academic realm. It can be something connected to their school or something they do on the weekend, like a class at a science center, for example.
“We also learned that many of these young people are successful in college because their parents were able to send them to a week-long or two week-long summer residential program. This overnight experience really helps them when they get to college. We understand that takes money and not everyone can do that, but there are scholarships available and lots of organizations that support young people with autism.”
Reis said it was also important that these student have some adult at their high school that can serve as a support system and understands them.
“Many of these young people have a limited social battery and they just need time to be able to recharge,” says Reis. “So, each of our students that were successful in college had a guidance counselor, teacher or someone from whom they received help and support.”
Educators should be open to revisiting their homework policies and practices, advises Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Sandra Chafouleas. (Shawn Kornegay/Neag School)
Editor’s Note: Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Sandra Chafouleas shares insights on supporting students’ homework during the pandemic in the following piece, which originally appeared in Psychology Today, where she publishes a blog.
COVID has brought many changes in education. What does it mean for homework?
School assignments that a student is expected to do outside of the regular school day—that’s homework. The general guideline is 10 minutes of nightly homework per grade level beginning after kindergarten. This amounts to just a few minutes for younger elementary students to up to 2 hours for high school students.
The guidance seems straightforward enough, so why is homework such a controversial topic? School disruptions, including extended periods of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, have magnified the controversies yet also have provided an opportunity to rethink the purpose and value of homework.
Debates about the value of homework center around two primary issues: amount and inequity.
First, the amount of assigned homework may be much more than the recommended guidelines. Families report their children are stressed out over the time spent doing homework. Too much homework can challenge well-being given the restricted time available for sleep, exercise, and social connection. In a 2015 study, for example, parents reported their early elementary children received almost three times the recommended guidelines. In high school, researchers found an average of three hours of homework per night for students living in economically privileged communities.
“Debates about the value of homework center around two primary issues: amount and inequity.”
Second, homework can perpetuate inequities. Students attending school in less economically privileged communities may receive little to no homework, or have difficulty completing it due to limited access to needed technology. This can translate into fewer opportunities to learn and may contribute to gaps in achievement.
There isn’t a ton of research on the effects of homework, and available studies certainly do not provide a simple answer. For example, a 2006 synthesis of studies suggested a positive influence between homework completion and academic achievement for middle and high school students. Supporters also point out that homework offers additional opportunities to engage in learning and that it can foster independent learning habits such as planning and a sense of responsibility. A more recent study involving 13-year-old students in Spain found higher test scores for those who were regularly assigned homework in math and science, with an optimal time around one hour—which is roughly aligned with recommendations. However, the researchers noted that ability to independently do the work, student effort, and prior achievement were more important contributors than time spent.
Opponents of homework maintain that the academic benefit does not outweigh the toll on well-being. Researchers have observed student stress, physical health problems, and lack of life balance, especially when the time spent goes over the recommended guidelines. In a survey of adolescents, over half reported the amount and type of homework they received to be a primary source of stress in their lives. In addition, vast differences exist in access and availability of supports, such as internet connection, adult assistance, or even a place to call home, as 1.5 million children experience homelessness in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic has re-energized discussion about homework practices, with the goal to advance recommendations about how, when, and with whom it can be best used. Here’s a summary of key strategies:
Strategies for Educators
Make sure the tasks are meaningful and matched.
First, the motto “quality over quantity” can guide decisions about homework. Homework is not busy-work, and instead should get students excited about learning. Emphasize activities that facilitate choice and interest to extend learning, like choose your own reading adventure or math games. Second, each student should be able to complete homework independently with success. Think about Goldilocks: To be effective, assignments should be just right for each learner. One example of how do this efficiently is through online learning platforms that can efficiently adjust to skill level and can be completed in a reasonable amount of time.
Ensure access to resources for task completion.
One step toward equity is to ensure access to necessary resources such as time, space, and materials. Teach students about preparing for homework success, allocating classroom time to model and practice good study habits such as setting up their physical environment, time management, and chunking tasks. Engage in conversations with students and families to problem-solve challenges When needed, connect students with homework supports available through after-school clubs, other community supports, or even within a dedicated block during the school day.
Be open to revisiting homework policies and practices.
The days of penalizing students for not completing homework should be long gone. Homework is a tool for practicing content and learning self-management. With that in mind, provide opportunities for students to communicate needs, and respond by revising assignments or allowing them to turn in on alternative dates. Engage in adult professional learning about high-quality homework, from value (Should I assign this task?) to evaluation (How should this be graded? Did that homework assignment result in expected outcomes?). Monitor how things are going by looking at completion rates and by asking students for their feedback. Be willing to adapt the homework schedule or expectations based on what is learned.
Strategies for Families
Understand how to be a good helper.
When designed appropriately, students should be able to complete homework with independence. Limit homework wars by working to be a good helper. Hovering, micromanaging, or doing homework for them may be easiest in the moment but does not help build their independence. Be a good helper by asking guiding questions, providing hints, or checking for understanding. Focus your assistance on setting up structures for homework success, like space and time.
Use homework as a tool for communication.
Use homework as a vehicle to foster family-school communication. Families can use homework as an opportunity to open conversations about specific assignments or classes, peer relationships, or even sleep quality that may be impacting student success. For younger students, using a daily or weekly home-school notebook or planner can be one way to share information. For older students, help them practice communicating their needs and provide support as needed.
Make sure to balance wellness.
Like adults, children need a healthy work-life balance. Positive social connection and engagement in pleasurable activities are important core principles to foster well-being. Monitor the load of homework and other structured activities to make sure there is time in the daily routine for play. Play can mean different things to different children: getting outside, reading for pleasure, and yes, even gaming. Just try to ensure that activities include a mix of health-focused activities such as physical movement or mindfulness downtime.
During his earliest days of professionally coaching, Professor Emeritus William Servedio was responsible for everything from lining the fields to washing the athletes’ uniforms at the local laundromat — without support from assistant coaches or graduate assistants so common today in college athletics. (Marcy Jarzabek/Neag School)
William “Bill” Servedio, associate professor emeritus and a former department head at the Neag School, passed away on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021.
The following story, which was originally published in January 2021, is reshared here in his honor.
Having always practiced what he preached as a professor, advisor, and coach, William “Bill” Servedio is someone who walks the walk. Perhaps more accurately, the Neag School Professor Emeritus runs the run; he appears to have spent most every day of his 78 years moving at full tilt. And in recently establishing a scholarship fund for Neag School sport management students in addition to taking part in virtual discussions with alumni from the program, he clearly has no intention of slowing down.
As a teenager, Servedio excelled in four different sports — track, baseball, basketball, and football. His longtime goal: to be a college coach.
By age 16, he was on his own, working construction, painting houses, and serving as a mail carrier in order to afford college — starting at Orange County Community College, where he played basketball and was named a Junior College All-American in soccer, and then at Springfield College, where he earned his undergraduate degree. Heading next to University of Bridgeport for graduate school, Servedio completed his master’s in one year while serving as a graduate assistant, teaching physical education classes, and coaching soccer as well as tennis.
“I didn’t want to say five years down the road, ‘What if I didn’t try?’”
— Professor Emeritus William Servedio
Servedio’s unstoppable energy has served him particularly well in his chosen field. During his earliest days of professionally coaching soccer, cross-country, and track and field at colleges in Vermont and Illinois, he was responsible for everything from lining the fields to washing the athletes’ uniforms at the local laundromat — without support from assistant coaches or graduate assistants so common today in college athletics.
William Servedio, left, celebrates Commencement at Gampel Pavilion in 1991 with graduate Jay Moran, recently appointed vice president of athletics at the University of Bridgeport. (Courtesy of Bill Servedio)
Eventually recruited as head soccer coach for The Ohio State University, Servedio was offered the opportunity to pursue his doctorate there, with one catch: If he failed to complete his Ph.D. within seven years, the university would ask him to leave. Servedio relished the challenge. Coaching full time, he carried out his doctoral studies part time while at one point also managing a 76-apartment complex. Although he still loved coaching, his end goal shifted — from coaching, to coaching and teaching.
“I really needed to try to combine them, so that when I was ready to get out of coaching at any school, I could always stay on academically,” he says. “And I didn’t want to say five years down the road, ‘What if I didn’t try?’”
That attitude of determination is reflective not only of all that Servedio has accomplished in his career, but also the kind of supportive, go-getter advice he has imparted over the course of his career as a coach, professor, advisor, mentor, and colleague.
‘He Gave Me a Shot’
“Dr. Servedio is the reason I was able to find my true passion of what I wanted to do professionally,” attests one of his many former students, Lisa (Senofonte) Zerio ’88 MA, director of the Glastonbury (Conn.) Parks and Recreation Department. “His faith in me to succeed, his continual support and guidance, while always holding me accountable … lit that fire in my belly that I had it in me to be the best I could be, no matter what I was setting out to accomplish.”
Sean Lester ’96 MA, today the deputy athletics director at the University of Kansas, similarly credits Servedio with shaping his career path. The first in his family to have earned a four-year undergraduate degree, Lester says he had not planned on graduate school. But after gaining experience working in UConn Athletics, Lester was offered a graduate assistantship.
“I didn’t have the best grades in the world,” he says. “But Doc Servedio gave me a shot as a provisional student. When somebody gives you a shot on the field, you make the best of it because you want to stay on the field, on the court, in the pool, wherever you’re competing. You want to make the most of it. And Doc Servedio gave me a shot. Without that shot, you know, I’m not the deputy athletics director at the University of Kansas — and that’s the truth.”
“Doc Servedio gave me a shot. Without that shot, you know, I’m not the deputy athletics director at the University of Kansas — and that’s the truth.”
—Sean Lester ’96 MA,
Deputy Athletics Director, University of Kansas
‘I Had to Hustle’
Servedio found his way to UConn’s faculty in 1976, initially assuming he would seek his next career move within five years. But as he puts it, “Then five years became 10, 10 became 20, 20 became 30.”
Over the nearly three decades he spent at what would become known as the Neag School of Education, Servedio taught courses in the realm of management, sport, and recreational services, and advised many dozens of students. When UConn was named host of the 1984 Special Olympics, Servedio also volunteered for several summers as the University’s Special Olympics chairman, overseeing everything from facilities to catering for an event that annually drew 10,000 people to Storrs. Tapped interim department head around that same time, Servedio officially became department head in 1987, a role he embraced for another 12 years.
Perhaps among his greatest triumphs is having launched UConn’s sport management program, which has attracted promising students from around the world. Initially establishing the bachelor’s degree roughly three decades ago, Servedio eventually oversaw the program’s development at the master’s and doctoral levels as well. At the time, UConn’s degree programs in this area stood out as the first of their kind in Connecticut and one of the first in New England. Servedio had single-handedly dedicated more than a year to securing the state’s approval, submitting preliminary curriculum, promoting the program, then heading up most of the courses while finding adjunct faculty to help pick up the teaching load. His expertise in the area also led to invitations to consult on legal cases involving college and recreational athletics in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Illinois.
“I had to hustle,” says Servedio — as if he hadn’t been doing so all along.
Walking the Walk
As a professor, Servedio always told his students to be punctual. He himself lives by the adage, “If you’re on time, you’re late.” Urging students to “put the hours in,” he, in turn, was often the last administrator to leave the building each evening. He advised his students to look professional, making it a point to wear a suit whenever he taught class.
“I always felt like he had my best interests in mind,” UConn baseball coach Jim Penders ’94 (CLAS), ’98 MA says of William Servedio. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
“He treated you like an adult; he didn’t talk down to you,” says Jim Penders ’94 (CLAS), ’98 MA, UConn baseball head coach and alumnus of the sport management master’s program under Servedio. “I always felt like he had my best interests in mind.”
“The lesson I learned from him was about respect,” says Lester of University of Kansas. “Respect everybody you encounter, always. You never know who they are and when you may encounter them again in your life.”
Above all, Servedio emphasized for his students the need to make connections in the industry. Thanks to the relationships he himself had fostered across campus, Servedio was able to set up sport management students with meaningful internship experiences from the start. He saw the internship — which evolved from a short summertime stint into a semester-long, six-credit placement — as critical to each student’s future, and held high expectations not only of the interns, but also their supervisors. During summers, he even made trips to each in- and out-of-state placement site to meet with supervisors, see facilities, and understand what interns would be taking on during their time there.
‘My Life’s Work’
“You can’t mention UConn sport management without Dr. Servedio,” says Jamelle Elliott ’96 (BUS), ’98 MA, another sport management master’s graduate and now assistant coach of the UConn women’s basketball team. “Dr. Servedio was someone who cared passionately about his students. The requirements expected of you, the internships being one of them, that was clear from the very beginning – he didn’t play around with that.”
“You can’t mention UConn sport management without Dr. Servedio.”
Today, 17 years after Servedio officially retired from UConn, the sport management internship remains a program cornerstone and enduring example of his vision and innovation. In addition to placements across UConn and other university-level athletics offices, sport management students take placements in fundraising, event management, and operations at such high-profile organizations and venues as the NFL, the Connecticut Sun, Madison Square Garden, EPSN, the United States Tennis Association, and the NCAA National Office.
“It’s like a residency for an MD. It’s like student teaching,” Servedio says of the internship component. “You need to get a taste of what it’s going to be like. It’s like taking your first job as a teacher and then finding out you don’t like kids. This gives you that opportunity to make a decision, where you get some hands-on experience.”
“I always talked about value added,” he adds. “You’ve always got to give a little bit more than is expected.”
While stressing to students the importance of going above and beyond in their role, he also strove to assign them relevant placements.
Coach Penders’ graduate assistantship, for instance, centered on UConn Athletics fundraising. “I still do that every day,” Penders says. “In my job, you have to be fundraising or recruiting every day, or you’re not going to be coaching very long. It was really good background in what I would need to do. I can’t even imagine where I’d be without [Servedio’s] wise counsel. He set me on a course for what’s become my life’s work.”
While in the sport management graduate program at the Neag School, Jamelle Elliott ’96 (BUS), ’97 MA served as a graduate assistant in the UConn Athletics Business Office. “[It] really gave me, for the first time, real-life professional experience,” she says. (Nathan Oldham/UConn Photo)As a graduate assistant in the UConn Athletics Business Office, Coach Elliott says she was able to apply knowledge from her undergraduate accounting degree in addition to working with UConn women’s basketball and on-campus girls’ basketball summer camps.
“[It] really gave me, for the first time, real-life professional experience while also continuing my studies and achieving my master’s degree,” she says. “For him, it was about … allowing us to really get out there and learn something to prepare us for what was next after we graduated.”
Lester, too, recalls Servedio’s powerful advice: “There is no replacement for real-life experiences. That was the greatest, strongest piece of advice he instilled – not just for me. So many people have to thank Doc Servedio. We owe so much to him. Simple words aren’t enough. He should know the impact he’s had.”
With a dedicated scholarship fund in his name now in place to support sport management students into the future, Servedio continues to focus not on what he personally accomplished, but what those around him have done.
For one, he is quick to credit “the love and support” of Marjorie, his wife of 55 years, with the the success he has achieved. “Unfortunately, Majorie passed this October after a valiant fight against many debilitating illnesses,” he says. Both their children, Michael of Storrs, Connecticut, and Suzanne of Tolland, Connecticut, are UConn graduates.
He also points to the success of his past students. “It’s not what you’ve left behind,” he says of his career. “If there are students out there doing an outstanding job, that’s your legacy.”
