Utility Value Interventions

Utility Value Interventions, or UVI’s are brief writing exercises, usually 10-15 minutes, that ask students to reflect upon their goals or values and how they relate to the work of the class. Countless studies have shown that these types of interventions increase retention, not just in the course in which they’re administered, but throughout the full 2 or 4 years of college. (Hulleman&Harackiewicz,2019; Yeager&Walton, 2011). 

We strongly suggest you do between 1-3 UVI’s throughout your semester . As mentioned above, they only take 10-15 minutes in class and they have the potential for huge impact. We’ve listed five prompts written for City Tech Students below. Be sure to also read the guidelines for administration of UVI’s, as these are important!  

  • Beginning-of-Term VALUES UVI–writing specific.  (asks students to reflect on their values and how they relate to writing) 
  • Beginning-of-Term GOALS AND OBSTACLES UVI (asks students to reflect on their future goals and how they relate to the course. Also asks students to reflect on obstacles they may face in completing the course. Choose between this and the “values” UVI. Don’t ask students to do both)
  • Mid-Semester Check-In (This asks students to reflect on their study habits– what is working for them, what isn’t, and how to change. It finishes with a brief, in-class UVI.) 
  • End-of-Term UVI (this asks students to reflect on what they’ve learned this semester.)

Guidelines for Administering UVI’s:

  • Do not give students any grade besides pass (for completion) or fail (for non-completion). Don’t give check-plus or check minus, even if the student falls short of the word count. They may have thought about it very deeply!
  • Try to give the assignment as an in-class (or synchronous) writing exercise. These should be administered quickly and on-the-spot, if at all possible. 
  • Don’t mention that this is a “utility value intervention” meant to help their retention and engagement. This tends to lessen the UVI’s efficacy.
  • If you use this writing as a starting point for in-class discussion, let students have total control over how much personal information goes into the class discussion. That is, general questions are great: “Who would like to share?” or “What are some of the skills we learned this semester?” but try to stray away from personal questions like, “John, what are your educational goals?” or “Jane, I see you wrote about learning to interview in question two.” Some students may not mind, but others may feel very reluctant to participate in the UVI’s in the future.
  • Feel free to make comments on these and return to students (keep in mind, we ARE collecting these, so you will need to make copies in the English Dept office if you do this). When writing comments, make sure they are overwhelmingly positive! Say things like “this is interesting! I’d like to hear more!” “I agree,” or “don’t get discouraged.” It is good for students to recognize they’re being heard.
  • Don’t overdo it. It’s good for students to consider and be reminded of their goals and values, but not to feel smothered by them. Two or three UVI’s in one semester is plenty. 

Resources for Faculty: 

For questions about the UVI, please contact Carrie Hall at: chall@citytech.cuny.edu