College-level Classes Research Articles

Culturally relevant approaches to fostering postsecondary readiness in the dual credit English classroom

PurposeThis study examines how English teachers use culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) to support postsecondary readiness for underrepresented students in the context of dual credit (DC) coursework in the USA. Postsecondary readiness, termed “college readiness” in the USA, refers to the skills and knowledge students need to succeed at a university. DC courses are university-level classes delivered to high school students through partnerships with postsecondary institutions, most often two-year community colleges. The purpose of this study is to highlight practices and institutional conditions that enable English instructors to foster postsecondary opportunity for all.Design/methodology/approachUsing an interpretive approach, this qualitative study analyzes data derived from in-depth interviews with five community college English instructors who teach DC to diverse high-school students and who apply CRP in their classroom practice.FindingsFindings reveal that instructors used culturally relevant approaches not only to help students access dominant college-ready skills, but also to reimagine what constitutes college readiness to begin with. Instructors also took advantage of their unique positioning as postsecondary instructors working with secondary students, leaning on academic freedom to push boundaries with their curriculum.Originality/valueThis study shows how English instructors are uniquely positioned to enhance university preparation and build a more inclusive vision of postsecondary readiness for all students. The study also highlights institutional conditions, such as teacher autonomy, pedagogical training and administrator support, that can promote culturally relevant postsecondary preparation in English classrooms.

Application of the flipped classroom model to stimulate university students’ learning with online education

This work sets out the results of a teaching innovation project applying the flipped classroom model in the Knowledge of Mathematics module on a bachelor’s degree in primary education over two consecutive years at a university that exclusively uses online teaching. This model is used with the aim of stimulating the students’ working methods and improve their intrinsic motivation. The research evaluates the impact of the flipped classroom on academic performance in the subject and collects information on student satisfaction with the development of the experiment. This is a pioneering study as it analyses learning outcomes with mathematical content in university-level classes delivered online synchronously on a permanent basis and not owing to exceptional circumstances such as the Covid-19 pandemic.To do this, specific videos were developed, which students had to watch, with various practical exercises embedded in them to be done before classes. The marks from these exercises along with the final grades for the course are considered to assess the learning outcomes throughout the semester. The results obtained were clearly positive both in performance and in terms of students’ motivation and awareness of their own learning process, as well as the contribution of this proposal to improving their teaching–learning process, essentially through greater student involvement in and commitment to the subject.

Dual Credit: An Initial Study Exploring the Transition from High School to Higher Education

Dual credit courses are used to recruit high school students by offering college level credit in classes they take during their high school experience. For this study, the subjects consisted of freshmen students attending a mid-sized regional Tennessee university. This research explores the transition of students’ successes in terms of their continued education once they begin their college level classes at an institution of higher learning. More specifically, this research examines the academic level of achievement of dual credit students’ first semester out of high school as compared to their academic level of achievement upon entering with dual credit coursework.

Multidisciplinary Climate Change Education: Determining Effectiveness Through Comparative Analysis

Climate Change Education (CCE) is one of the most widely-recognized mitigative solutions to the climate crisis, but research suggests that most global and national CCE policies and curricula are ineffective. A reason for this is that existing CCE curriculum consists of purely science-based pedagogy, despite the fact that multiple studies suggest that a multidisciplinary approach—involving humanities and the arts rather than just science—would be more effective. A case study was conducted at a select California high school, and compared the effectiveness of multidisciplinary CCE to the existing, science-focused CCE, in terms of Climate Literacy (CL) outcomes in students. CL encompasses climate change knowledge, credibility assessment skills, communication skills, and climate-related behavior, four factors that are important determinants when evaluating CCE effectiveness. Using survey research and structured interviews, the CL of students who took 3 or greater Advanced Placement (AP) courses was compared to that of students who took less than 3 such courses. Involvement in Advanced Placement (AP) classes, college-level classes offered to students by the College Board, was used as an indicator of being exposed to multidisciplinary CCE, and was compared to the effects of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) which are currently in use in California. The research found that CL within students was significantly greater in AP students in terms of climate change knowledge, credibility assessment, and communication; but climate-related behavior was low in both groups of students and did not seem to be affected by educational curriculum.

Constructing Corequisites: How Community Colleges Structure Corequisite Math Coursework and the Implications for Student Success.

States and broad-access colleges are rapidly scaling corequisite coursework-a model where students concurrently enroll in college-level and developmental coursework-in response to dismal completion rates in traditional "developmental" sequences. At community colleges, evidence suggests that corequisite reforms can dramatically improve students' completion of required college-level courses, but colleges often implement new programing and sequences with limited information. We analyzed administrative data from Texas community colleges implementing a statewide corequisite mandate. Our results illustrate (a) how colleges structured corequisite courses in response to the statewide mandate and (b) how corequisite coursework characteristics predicted student outcomes. Our results suggest that some corequisite coursework elements-including mixed-ability college-level classes, higher credits for the developmental education (dev-ed) corequisite support course, and using the same instructor across both the college-level and dev-ed course-improve students' probability of passing college-level math, though these course design elements do not appear to predict long-term outcomes like persistence in college.

USES OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN COLLEGE CLASSES: A SURVEY OF MANDI BAHA-UD-DIN AND BHALWAL COLLEGES

The paper explores the use of electronic media in college level classes in smaller cities of Punjab province. It is argued if electronic media is used in classes by the college teachers in the classes, it can enhance effectiveness and also learning to the part of the students. It may attract students, creating in them more interest in class activities and sharing of knowledge. The use of electronic devices and different applications; YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp and electronic mails, and search engines such as Google Chrome, internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox etc., inculcates enthusiasm among the students and the teacher performance can become livelier fulfilling the objectives of learning in the class. The study has been undertaken by surveying a number of college teachers from various areas of the province of Punjab. Its results manifest that there is an increase of use of electronic media by the teachers in preparation as well as delivery of lectures. They also motivate the students to use these resources for learning skills. The study concludes if regular application of such technologies is made possible as a vibrant variable it would play a vital contribution to institutional competitiveness, improve the learning and teaching experience and meet students’ growing expectations of improved use of ICT (Sweeney, 2009)

A Data Mining Approach for Identifying Predictors of Student Retention from Sophomore to Junior Year

Student retention is an important issue for all university policy makers due to the potential negative impact on the image of the university and the career path of the dropouts. Although this issue has been thoroughly studied by many institutional researchers using parametric techniques, such as regression analysis and logit modeling, this article attempts to bring in a new perspective by exploring the issue with the use of three data mining techniques, namely, classification trees, multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), and neural networks. Data mining procedures identify transferred hours, residency, and ethnicity as crucial factors to retention. Carrying transferred hours into the university implies that the students have taken college level classes somewhere else, suggesting that they are more academically prepared for university study than those who have no transferred hours. Although residency was found to be a crucial predictor to retention, one should not go too far as to interpret this finding that retention is affected by proximity to the university location. Instead, this is a typical example of Simpson’s Paradox. The geographical information system analysis indicates that non-residents from the east coast tend to be more persistent in enrollment than their west coast schoolmates.

Intro to Coding Using Python at the Worcester Public Library

The Worcester Public Library (WPL) offers several Digital Learning courses to our adult patrons, and among them is “Intro to Coding Using Python”. This 6-session class teaches basic programming concepts and the vocabulary of software development. It prepares students to take more intensive, college-level classes. 
 The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a bright future for software developers, web developers, and software engineers. WPL is committed to helping patrons increase their “hireability” and we believe our Python class will help patrons break into these lucrative and gratifying professions… or just have fun.

Are We There Yet? Comparing Remote Learning Technologies in the University Classroom

Telepresence robots can empower people to work, play, and learn along with others, despite geographic distance. To investigate the use of telepresence robots for remote attendance of university-level classes, we conducted a study in four courses at our university. We compared student experiences attending class during three distinct phases in three different ways: in person, via state-of-the-art university distance learning tools (DLT), and via a telepresence robot. The results from N = 18 student participants revealed that although class attendance method preferences were split between in-person and DLT attendance, students felt more present, self-aware, and expressive when using a telepresence robot than when using DLT. The instructors of the courses uniformly preferred in-person attendance, but they noted that for remote learning, telepresence would be preferable to DLT use. This work can help to inform telepresence robotics and higher education researchers who wish to improve distance learning technologies.

There Has Been No Remorse over It: A Narrative Inquiry Exploring Enslaved Ancestral Roots through a Critical Family History Project

This paper explores the benefits and value of college students’ conducting critical family history (CFH) projects, which may serve as curricular material to expand students’ understanding of complex aspects of history and immigration. This article unpacks how one student came to see herself and others from a deeper perspective, particularly through the lens of someone who chose to continue digging into her enslaved ancestors’ roots. Using narrative inquiry, a college instructor and former student collaboratively reflect on the lessons learned from using a CFH project in a college-level class primarily for preservice teachers. A unique aspect of this paper is that it gives voice to a former student in the class, which provides a way of seeing the complexities and dehumanizing components of the lives of enslaved Africans in the U.S.—often sanitized out of history books. In addition, a university librarian suggests approaches to genealogical research, by focusing more on the lived experiences of ancestors that go beyond dates and locations. The perspectives from both a former student and the college instructor add multiple dimensions on lessons learned from a critical family history project, which uses students’ family histories as funds of knowledge as the primary curriculum.

Community College Instructors’ Perceptions of Constraints and Affordances Related to Teaching Quantitative Biology Skills and Concepts

Quantitative skills are an important competency for undergraduate biology students and should be incorporated early and frequently in an undergraduate’s career. Community colleges (CCs) are responsible for teaching introductory biology to a large proportion of biology and prehealth students, and quantitative skills are critical for their careers. However, we know little about the challenges and affordances that CC instructors encounter when incorporating quantitative skills into their courses. To explore this, we interviewed CC biology instructors (n = 20) about incorporating quantitative biology (QB) instruction into their classes. We used a purposeful sampling approach to recruit instructors who were likely to have tried evidence-based pedagogies and were likely aware of the importance of QB instruction. We used open coding to identify themes related to the affordances to and constraints on teaching QB. Overall, our study participants met with challenges typical of incorporating new material or techniques into any college-level class, including perceptions of student deficits, tension between time to teach quantitative skills and cover biology content, and gaps in teacher professional knowledge (e.g., content and pedagogical content knowledge). We analyze these challenges and offer potential solutions and recommendations for professional development to support QB instruction at CCs.

Using human case studies to teach evolution in high school A.P. biology classrooms

BackgroundWhile recent research indicates that using human examples can be an engaging way to teach core evolutionary concepts such as natural selection and phylogenetic thinking, teachers still face potential conflicts and challenges that arise from cultural barriers to teaching and learning about evolution. The “Teaching Evolution through Human Examples” (TEtHE) project developed (1) a set of four curriculum mini-units for advanced placement (A.P.) biology that use human examples to teach evolutionary principles (Adaptation to Altitude, Evolution of Human Skin Color, Malaria, and What Does It Mean To Be Human?), and (2) a cultural and religious sensitivity (CRS) teaching strategies resource that includes background materials and two in-class activities to help teachers create a classroom environment to increase student willingness to engage the topic.MethodsThis paper reports on the development and field test of the TEtHE materials in A.P. biology classes in 10 schools in 8 states during the 2012–2013 school year using a design-based research framework (cf. Anderson and Shattuck in Educ Res 41:16–25, 2012). We chose A.P. classrooms to study the potential impacts of the materials in a “best case scenario” and analyzed data about understanding and acceptance of evolution from pre-post assessments in the 10 classrooms separately to mitigate potential validity concerns arising from the design (Anderson and Shattuck in Educ Res 41:16–25, 2012; Shadish et al. in Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2002). These data were treated as a secondary source of formative data to add additional perspective to teacher self-reports, observations, student and teacher questionnaires, teacher interviews, and student focus groups.ResultsResults indicate that the use of the three curriculum mini-units which focus on natural selection and the CRS classroom activities generally increased A.P. biology students’ understanding and acceptance of evolution. Students whose teachers used one of the CRS activities showed generally larger increases in understanding of evolution than those whose teachers did not use one of the CRS activities.ConclusionsAlthough the utility of using human examples to teach evolution in college-level classes has been demonstrated in a few previous studies, this is the first national project of which we are aware to systematically explore the effect of a similar approach in high school biology classes. While we recognize that the results may be mitigated by the limitations of design-based research, particularly the absence of a comparison or control group, the general effectiveness of this approach suggested by qualitative and quantitative data in increasing student understanding and acceptance of evolution suggests that using human examples and explicitly creating a classroom environment to help students engage the topic of evolution are worth considering for further development and more robust testing.

Voila!: The Rockefeller Archive Center's Exhibit Creation Process

The Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC) in Sleepy Hollow, New York, hosts groups ranging from foundation staff to college-level classes. Over the course of a year, the RAC hosts approximately 30 visiting groups that include from as few as 10 people to as many as 45. The aim is to engage visiting groups with the RAC's vast collections by creating hands-on, tailored exhibits. The RAC has created policies and procedures, exhibit guides, and workflow templates that allow for documentation of each exhibit and encourage inclusiveness and transparency among staff. Employing a new, standardized approach by using these tools has made all phases of the exhibit process more efficient and allows the RAC to provide a rich, immersive archival experience for visitors. This article offers a case study in standardized exhibit creation that may benefit professionals in other institutions who are seeking to develop work processes and policies without diminishing the visitor experience.

Scaffolding Mathematics Remediation for Academically At-Risk Students Following Developmental Education Reform in Florida

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how educational scaffolding may explain changing patterns of student success in mathematics in the era of developmental education (DE or remediation) reform in Florida College System (FCS) institutions. Specifically, we apply the concept of scaffolding to underprepared FCS students who are at risk of dropping out or failing gateway courses (the first credit-bearing college-level class in a course sequence) because they lack the academic skills necessary to succeed in college-level coursework, particularly in mathematics. We present data from focus groups conducted at 10 FCS institutions, suggesting that a reduction of scaffolding in math remediation occurred in the areas of course sequencing, instruction, and coordination with academic support services following state-level policy changes. In light of these findings, we offer a discussion of practical recommendations for college administrators related to academic advising, instructional strategies in DE courses, coordination between developmental and college-level instructors, student success courses, and the integration of DE instruction with academic support. We also suggest directions for continued research on the effects of policy changes in the FCS and DE reform efforts across the country.

Two Models for Teaching ESL Developmental Readers in College: A Question of Effectiveness

Finding an effective instruction mode for ESL students in the US educational system has not been an easy task. The country’s secondary and tertiary institutions continue to struggle to meet the needs of their large non-native student populations. The article revisits the debate whether sheltered instruction is an effective model to follow. In our study, a sheltered section of a college-level reading class was more effective in improving students’ reading abilities compared to mainstream sections where the international students were mixed with native speakers.

Is Learning in Developmental Math Associated With Community College Outcomes?

Objective: Remedial mathematics courses are widely considered a barrier to student success in community college, and there has been a significant amount of work recently to reform them. Yet, there is little research that explicitly examines whether increasing learning in remedial classes improves grades or completion rates. This study examines the relationship between procedural and conceptual learning in developmental math and measures of progress toward a degree, such as grades. Method: A mathematical skills assessment was given to all intermediate algebra students at a large, urban community college, and to students in the following college-level class at the beginning of the next term. Assessment scores were compared with student characteristics, grades in intermediate algebra, grades in college-level math, and whether the student earned a credential. Results: After controlling for grades in previous classes, procedural algebra skills were not associated with higher grades in college-level math. Conceptual mathematics proficiency was associated with higher grades in general education math but not in precalculus. In developmental classes, however, learning gains were primarily procedural, which were correlated with grades. In addition, students who took at least one term off of math had significantly lower procedural skills but not conceptual skills. Contributions: The findings challenge the assumption in community college research that increased student learning in remedial mathematics will improve student outcomes. The results suggest that the type of mathematics taught in developmental classes can have an effect on student outcomes. Instruction focused on procedural skills may not be preparing students for college mathematics.

As sequências textuais no gênero oral: análise de uma aula expositiva universitária

<p>O trabalho tem como tema a organização textual e discursiva do gênero oral “conferência” (também chamado, no trabalho, de “apresentação oral”). Nosso objetivo é analisar, a partir dos planos do texto e do contexto de produção, as estratégias de textualização empregadas pelo sujeito produtor e as regulações “descendentes” (regulações que as situações de interação nos lugares sociais, nas línguas e nos gêneros dados impõem aos enunciados) que interferem nessa produção e que, desta forma, se fazem presentes nos textos em questão. O <em>corpus </em>escolhido faz parte das elocuções formais (uma aula universitária), transcritas pelo Projeto da Norma Urbana Culta da Cidade de São Paulo - NURC-SP e publicadas por Castilho e Preti (1986). Adotaremos, como referencial teórico, aspectos ligados à Linguística Textual dos Discursos, na perspectiva divulgada por Adam (2000). A partir dessa perspectiva, investigamos a relação entre a organização macroestrutural do texto e os diversos fatores externos em jogo na elaboração textual do <em>corpus </em>em análise, focalizando a aspectos referentes à situação comunicativa e à interação entre os sujeitos. Os resultados das análises suscitam discussões relativas à interação postulada por Adam (2000) entre regulações “ascendentes”, que regem os encadeamentos de proposições no sistema que constitui o texto, e regulações “descendentes”, aquelas imposta pelas situações de interação e pelos gêneros. Com isso, também tentamos demonstrar, em nossa análise, que a apresentação oral possui estratégias de textualidade específicas, como, por exemplo, a adoção do tipo textual da narração, que pode ser um índice do caráter assíncrono do gênero em questão, tendo em vista que a narração é monológica (no sentido conversacional) e limita as possibilidades de cooperação dos ouvintes. Desta forma, sob o impacto da busca por expressão e por interação, os enunciados podem assumir formas infinitas, mas os gêneros e as línguas interferem como fatores que regulam o processo de textualidade.</p>

Investigation of Remedial Education Course Scores as a Predictor of Introduction-Level Course Performances

This study explores whether performance in remedial English and remedial math is a predictor of success in a college-level introduction English or college-level math class; and whether demographic variables increase the likelihood of remedial English and remedial math as a predictor of success in a college-level introduction English or college-level introduction math course. Participants included two cohorts of students from a degree-granting, for-profit institution taking either face-to-face or online courses. There were 1,091 students for math and 1,297 students for English in the fall quarter of 2007 cohort and 1,098 students for math and 1,372 students for English in the fall quarter 2008 cohort. Analysis showed that remedial class performances for both math and English were weakly associated with college-level class performance. Additionally, results showed that family income and race/ethnicity appear to be significant predictors of performance in their corresponding college-level course.

Precollege Factors and Leading Indicators: Increasing Transfer and Degree Completion in a Community and Technical College System

Today, community colleges are challenged to maintain their historical identity of open access while increasing student success. This challenge is particularly salient in the context of performance-based funding models. These models create student achievements, which determine institutional levels of state funding. Therefore, these new student success metrics are important to the fiscal health of community colleges. In an effort to better identify the likelihood of meeting these metrics, some scholars have suggested leading indicators. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of leading indicators on transfer to a four-year institution and associate degree completion for community and technical college students at Kentucky’s two-year public institutions for groups based on student characteristics. Logistic regression analyses showed that leading indicators do predict transfer to a four-year institution and associate degree completion, but with varying levels of affect. Earning 30 credit hours by the end of the first year, passing a summer class and completing a college-level English class had the greatest effect on transfer to a four-year institution and associate degree completion. For performance-based funding models to be most effective and fair, policies and practices should consider precollege factors in their models. Also, these findings have implications for institutional level policy-making and practices.

The Role of Beliefs and Motivation in Asynchronous Online Learning in College-Level Classes

Epistemic and learning beliefs were found to affect college students' cognitive engagement and study strategies, as well as motivation in classroom settings. However, the relationships between epistemic and learning beliefs, motivation, learning perception, and students' actual learning participation in asynchronous online settings have been under-studied and under-theorized. In this study, 132 students participated in collaborative learning activities through asynchronous online discussions in a college-level online course. The results from correlation analysis and structural equation modeling indicate that epistemic and learning beliefs have significant effects on students' learning participation and perceived learning, through the mediation of achievement goals. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for the design of online learning.