Skip to main content

Improving Learning Through Stealth Assessment of Conscientiousness

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook on Digital Learning for K-12 Schools

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe the importance of assessing and developing conscientiousness in students and how we are approaching this challenge. After discussing the benefits conscientiousness has for learning, we describe the process we are using to create a valid stealth assessment of conscientiousness. We then discuss the current state of this work and suggest next steps and areas of future research around conscientiousness. Finally, we broaden our scope to discuss the strengths and limitations of using stealth assessment to measure noncognitive competencies, as well as give some recommendations to help others use this approach. Our hope is that this chapter will demonstrate both (a) the importance and complexity of conscientiousness measurement in educational settings, and (b) a general process for thinking about and designing assessments for noncognitive competencies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abe, J. A. (2005). The predictive validity of the Five Factor Model of personality with preschool age children: A nine year follow-up study. Journal of Research in Personality, 39, 423–442. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2004.05.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almond, R. G., Mislevy, R. J., Steinberg, L. S., Yan, D., & Williamson, D. M. (2015). Bayesian networks in educational assessment. New York, NY: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bajor, J. K., & Baltes, B. B. (2003). The relationship between selection optimization with compensation, conscientiousness, motivation, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 347–367. doi:10.1016/S0001-8791(02)00035-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & ten Brummelhuis, L. L. (2012). Work engagement, performance, and active learning: The role of conscientiousness. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 555–564. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2011.08.008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Furnham, A., & Lewis, M. (2007). Personality and approaches to learning predict preference for different teaching methods. Learning and Individual Differences, 17, 241–250. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2006.12.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheramie, R. A., & Simmering, M. J. (2010). Improving individual learning for trainees with low conscientiousness. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25(1), 44–57. doi:10.1108/02683941011013867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colquitt, J. A., & Simmering, M. J. (1998). Conscientiousness, goal orientation, and motivation to learn during the learning process: A longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(4), 654–665.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drake, K., & Belsky, J. (2014). From early attachment to engagement with learning in school: The role of self-regulation and persistence. Developmental Psychology, 50(5), 1350–1361. doi:10.1037/a0032779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087–1101. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dudley, N. M., Orvis, K. A., Lebiecki, J. E., & Cortina, J. M. (2006). A meta-analytic investigation of conscientiousness in the prediction of job performance: Examining the intercorrelations and the incremental validity of narrow traits. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(1), 40–57. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.91.1.40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberger, R. (1992). Learned industriousness. Psychological Review, 99(2), 248–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberger, R., & Leonard, J. M. (1980). Effects of conceptual task difficulty on generalized persistence. American Journal of Psychology, 93(2), 285–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N. T. (1961). The relationship of persistence at a task to expectation of success and achievement related motives. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63(3), 552–561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gee, J. P. (2007). What video games have to teach use about learning and literacy (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Palgrave/Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, L. R. (1999). A broad-bandwidth, public domain, personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models. In I. Mervielde, I. Deary, F. De Fruyt, & F. Ostendorf (Eds.), Personality psychology in Europe (Vol. 7, pp. 7–28). Tilburg: Tilburg University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamachek, D. E. (1978). Psychodynamics of normal and neurotic perfectionism. Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, 15(1), 27–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenhart, A., Kahne, J., Middaugh, E., Macgill, A. R., Evans, C., & Vitak, J. (2008). Teens’ gaming experiences are diverse and include significant social interaction and civic engagement. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Teens-Video-Games-and-Civics.aspx

  • MacCann, C., Duckworth, A. L., & Roberts, R. D. (2009). Empirical identification of the major facets of Conscientiousness. Learning and Individual Differences, 19, 451–458. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2009.03.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1987). Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 81–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mislevy, R. J., Steinberg, L. S., & Almond, R. G. (2003). On the structure of educational assessments. Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspective, 1(1), 3–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noftle, E. E., & Robins, R. W. (2007). Personality predictors of academic outcomes: Big Five correlates of GPA and SAT scores. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(1), 116–130. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.93.1.116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, M. C., & Paunonen, S. V. (2007). Big Five personality predictors of post-secondary academic performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 971–990. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.03.017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, W. D. (1997). An empirical typology of perfectionism in academically talented children. American Educational Research Journal, 34(3), 545–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Partnership for 21st Century Learning. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.p21.org

  • Paulhus, D. L. (1991). Measurement and control of response bias. In J. P. Robinson, P. R. Shaver, & L. S. Wrightsman (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes (pp. 17–59). San Diego, CA: Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, S. J., Hunter, E. M., Witt, L. A., & Harris, K. J. (2010). P = f (Conscientiousness x Ability): Examining the facets of conscientiousness. Human Performance, 23, 343–360. doi:10.1080/08959285.2010.501045.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poropat, A. E. (2009). A meta-analysis of the five-factor model of personality and academic performance. Psychological Bulletin, 135(2), 322–338. doi:10.1037/a0014996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, B. W., Kuncel, N. R., Shiner, R., Caspi, A., & Goldberg, L. R. (2007). The power of personality: The comparative validity of personality traits, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability for predicting important life outcomes. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2(4), 313–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shute, V. J. (2011). Stealth assessment in computer-based games to support learning. In S. Tobias & J. D. Fletcher (Eds.), Computer games and instruction (pp. 503–524). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shute, V. J., & Ventura, M. (2013). Measuring and supporting learning in games: Stealth assessment. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shute, V. J., Ventura, M., & Ke, F. (2015). The power of play: The effects of Portal 2 and Lumosity on cognitive and noncognitive skills. Computers & Education, 80, 58–67. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2014.08.013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shute, V. J., Ventura, M., & Kim, Y. J. (2013). Assessment and learning of qualitative physics in Newton’s Playground. The Journal of Educational Research, 106, 423–430. doi:10.1080/00220671.2013.832970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shute, V. J., & Zapata-Rivera, D. (2012). Adaptive educational systems. In P. Durlach (Ed.), Adaptive technologies for training and education (pp. 7–27). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Stoeber, J., & Otto, K. (2006). Positive conceptions of perfectionism: Approaches, evidence, challenges. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(4), 295–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terry-Short, L. A., Owens, R. G., Slade, P. D., & Dewey, M. E. (1995). Positive and negative perfectionism. Personality and Individual Differences, 18(5), 663–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trapmann, S., Hell, B., Hirn, J. W., & Schuler, H. (2007). Meta-analysis of the relationship between the Big Five and academic success at university. Journal of Psychology, 215(2), 132–151. doi:10.1027/0044-3409.215.2.132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ventura, M., & Shute, V. (2013). The validity of a game-based assessment of persistence. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 2568–2572. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.033.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L., Shute, V. J., & Moore, G. (2015). Lessons learned and best practices of stealth assessments. International Journal of Gaming and Computer Mediated Simulations, 74(4), 66–87. doi:10.4018/IJGCMS.2015100104.

  • Wilson, K. A., Bedwell, W. L., Lazzara, E. H., Salas, E., Burke, C. S., Estock, J. L., … Conkey, C. (2009). Relationships between game attributes and learning outcomes. Simulation & Gaming, 40(2), 217–266. doi: 10.1177/1046878108321866

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Valerie J. Shute .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Moore, G.R., Shute, V.J. (2017). Improving Learning Through Stealth Assessment of Conscientiousness. In: Marcus-Quinn, A., Hourigan, T. (eds) Handbook on Digital Learning for K-12 Schools. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33808-8_21

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33808-8_21

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33806-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33808-8

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics