Showing papers on "Student engagement published in 1998"

Student expectations in introductory physics

Abstract: Students’ understanding of what science is about, how it is done, and their expectations as to what goes on in a science course, can play a powerful role in what they get out of introductory college physics. In this paper, we describe the Maryland Physics Expectations survey; a 34-item Likert-scale (agree–disagree) survey that probes student attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions about physics. We report on the results of pre- and post-instruction delivery of this survey to 1500 students in introductory calculus-based physics at six colleges and universities. We note a large gap between the expectations of experts and novices and observe a tendency for student expectations to deteriorate rather than improve as a result of the first term of introductory calculus-based physics.

Student Evaluation of College Teaching Effectiveness: a brief review

Abstract: This paper presents a brief review of the existing research on student written evaluations of the teaching performance of college and university instructors. First, a short historical background is given. Next, arguments are presented which have been advanced for and against the use of student written evaluations as a valid indicator of teaching effectiveness, followed by a discussion of various background characteristics which have been thought to influence student ratings. Student and faculty reaction to the use of student ratings is discussed, and finally suggestions for further investigation are given.

Beginning Graduate School: Explaining First‐Year Doctoral Attrition

Abstract: A graduate student's decision not to continue in an initial program is that student's answer to one or more questions.

Literacy Instruction in Nine First-Grade Classrooms: Teacher Characteristics and Student Achievement

Abstract: Classroom observations and in-depth interviews were used to study 9 first-grade teachers from 4 districts who had been nominated by languagearts coordinators as outstanding (N = 5) or typical (N = 4) in their ability to help students develop literacy skills. Based on observational measures of student reading and writing achievement and student engagement, 3 groups of teachers emerged from the original 9. The following practices and beliefs distinguished the instruction of the 3 teachers (2 nominated as outstanding, 1 as typical) whose students demonstrated the highest levels on these measures: (a) coherent and thorough integration of skills with high-quality reading and writing experiences, (b) a high density of instruction (integration of multiple goals in a single lesson), (c) extensive use of scaffolding, (d) encouragement of student self-regulation, (e) a thorough integration of reading and writing activities, (f) high expectations for all students, (g) masterful classroom management, and (h) an aware...

Participant Structures, Scientific Discourse, and Student Engagement in Fourth Grade

Abstract: The overall aim of this study was to examine the complex interrelations among stu- dent engagement, scientific thinking practices, and student role taking and social interaction in the context of school-based science lessons. Typically, elementary hands-on science classes are organized with 3 main parts to every lesson: (a) teacher introduction, (b) small group investigation time, and (c) whole class reporting time in which students report about their small group investigations to the class. In this study, 2 classroom interventions, based in part on this standard format, were designed to guide students in constructing scientific understanding. Both interventions involved instruction in the same set of intellectual roles that could be applied during small group investigation time. These roles included (a) predicting and theorizing; (b) summarizing results; and (c) relating predictions, theories, and results. The difference between the intervention classes was that 1 class received specific audience role as...

Assessment in Partnership with Learners

Abstract: Assessment procedures have a profound impact on the attitudes students take towards their work, their learning strategies and their commitment to learning. Most assessment of student learning is, however, undertaken with little or no consultation with students. Given the importance to students of developing the capacity for self‐assessment and evaluation, the unilateral control of assessment assumed by many academic staff can only be viewed as pedagogically unsound. It is important that students develop a clear understanding of tutor expectations regarding any learning task and this requires engagement in dialogue in the classroom setting. To become effective, independent, autonomous learners, students must be enabled to understand assessment criteria and expected levels of attainment. They should be empowered through meaningful feedback on their learning which relates to assessment criteria and which is given from a perspective of improvement on current attainment. This paper presents the case f...

The Impact of Membership in Black Greek-Letter Organizations on Black Students' Involvement in Collegiate Activities and Their Development of Leadership Skills

Abstract: Despite numerous recent events that have cast collegiate Black Greek-letter organizations (BGOs) in a negative light, many view these and other Greek organizations as important leadership development vehicles. This article reports on a study that examined the impact of BGO membership on Black students' involvement in campus-related activities and their leadership development. BGO members and students unaffiliated with BGOs attending historically Black and predominantly White institutions of higher education were compared. The results indicate that BGO members, regardless of campus type, evidenced greater student involvement and had more confidence in their leadership skills. They further suggest that BGO membership provides an important means by which to enhance student involvement and leadership development for Blacks in college and beyond. Early leadership experiences provide individuals with the tools they need to succeed academically, in the workforce, and in other social arenas. Leadership development during the collegiate years has been widely studied to determine the best methods of enhancing students' leadership skills, and the differential processes by which those skills are developed or impeded within various types of student groups (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). Despite this broad scrutiny, student leaders remain an understudied component of the collegiate population. Research studies variously identify them as student government officers, fraternity and sorority presidents, or residence hall advisors (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Schuh & Laverty, 1983); but conclusive evidence does not exist with regard to how or if these organizations produce leaders. Nor it is clear the extent to which collegiate experiences advance students' leadership capabilities, for, as Pascarella and Terenzini argue, without an understanding of students' experiences prior to college, understanding what they have learned in college is difficult if not impossible. What is clear from the literature, however, is that the concept of student involvement is key to understanding student leadership. Astin (1984, 1985, 1993), who has authored much of the literature on this concept and its importance in higher education, defines student involvement as "the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience" (Astin, 1984 p. 297). He further notes that "a highly involved student is one who, for example, devotes considerable energy to studying, spends a lot of time on campus, participates actively in student organizations, and interacts frequently with faculty members and other students" (p. 297). Some of the results of this involvement, Astin concludes, are greater academic success, lower dropout rates, and the development and enhancement of leadership skills. Though much-maligned on many contemporary campuses in the United States, Greek-- letter organizations traditionally have been identified as key players in the development of leadership skills among college students. As Horowitz (1987) points out, fraternities and sororities have produced some of academe's most visible college leaders. Other researchers have argued that these organizations facilitate a perpetual cycle that creates leadership opportunities for their own members while excluding others from similar opportunities (Horowitz, 1987; Shaffer, 1983). Still others insist that through the "Greek experience," students learn how to lead by following the excellent role models found within their chapters, and gain additional leadership experiences and skills within their individual chapters and the larger Greek community (Hughes & Winston, 1987). Among African Americans, two student collegiate groups-Black student organizations and historically Black Greek-letter organizations (BGOs)-have been found to be the benefactors of leadership experiences unique to their cultures and to create unique leadership opportunities for their members (Sedlacek, 1987). …

New didactics for university instruction: why and how?

Abstract: Why should instructors in traditional higher education institutions consider the re-design of their courses? The paper begins with a defense of four compelling reasons for changes in didactics: a review of some key principles of good teaching and learning, the increasing diversity of student characteristics and associated needs, the strategic and educational rationales for five types of flexibility increase in our current courses, and the particular need for instructors in faculties of education to provide leadership and models. Given the why, the next question is how? The remainder of the paper discusses the how in terms of a conceptually grounded approach to the pedagogical re-engineering of existing courses so that they become more flexible, with more student engagement, more-targetted communication, and more-attuned instructor scaffolding of increased student responsibility for his or her own learning. These concepts are made concrete through the extension of six standard sets of course-related tasks into redesigned sets involving the new didactics and WWW-based course-support functionalities. Examples from current practice at the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology at the University of Twente are used to illustrate the new didactical categories and their use of WWW-based course environments. The paper concludes with a consideration of key challenges that will confront the implementation of such new didactics in practice.

Cross-Cultural Field Placements: Student Teachers Learning From Schools and Communities

Abstract: (1998). Cross‐cultural field placements: Student teachers learning from schools and communities. Theory Into Practice: Vol. 37, Preparing Teachers for Cultural Diversity, pp. 155-162.

A Dozen Recommendations for Placing the Student at the Center of Web-Based Learning.

Abstract: During the past year, 14 learner‐centred principles from the American Psychological Association (1993, 1997) were used to design, implement, and refine Web‐based educational psychology courses and laboratory experiences offered to pre‐service teachers at Indiana University. In this article, we reflect on our various experiences as well as the perspectives our students shared with us in their formative and summative evaluations of our Web courses. These impressions form the basis for a dozen learner‐centred recommendations for Web‐based instruction. The topics addressed in our recommendations relate to: (1) establishing a safe learning community; (2) fostering student engagement; (3) giving students choice; (4) facilitating learning; (5) offering public and private feedback; (6) apprenticing student learning; (7) employing recursive assignments; (8) utilizing electronic writing and reflection activities; (9) building on student Web link suggestions; (10) providing clear expectations and prompt tas...

Preparing the Way: A Qualitative Study of High-Achieving African American Males and the Role of the Family

Abstract: Employed qualitative methods to examine the role of the family in the academic success of very high-achieving African American males. Findings revealed a complex tapestry of family processes and contexts involved in each youth's journey to outstanding academic achievement. Specifically, the combined importance of parental-determined academic engagement, strict discipline, nurturance, and community connectedness appeared to counteract potentially negative contextual influences of neighborhood, peers, schools, and society. The qualitative findings tell a multifaceted, rich, and compelling story of the pathways to academic success for Black males, and highlight the need for culture-specific and ecologically based conceptualization, research, and intervention approaches.

Grading Classroom Participation

Abstract: The quality of student classroom participation can be improved if the instructor develops consistent and articulable standards for assessing classroom participation.

Why Involvement Matters: A Review of Research on Student Involvement in the Collegiate Setting.

Abstract: Research reveals that student involvement on college campuses impacts student development and student learning. This review highlights different types of student involvement, summarizes key findings, and identifies significant gaps in the research. The implication of the findings suggests that student affairs administrators need to continue the exploration on the importance of college student involvement. The growing body of literature and research examining student involvement addresses the fundamental question: "In what ways and to what degree does the experience of attending college promote change in students?" (Love, 1995, p. 162). The impact college attendance has on students' development in areas such as cognition (King & Kitchener, 1994), moral reasoning (Rest, 1986a; 1986b), and identity (Chickering & Reisser, 1993) have been explored. Changes in attitudes (Astin, Parrott, Korn, & Sax, 1997), career choices (Luzzo, McWhirter, & Hutcheson, 1997), and levels of knowledge (Rabinowitz & Glaser, 1985) have also been researched, along with issues of retention and matriculation (Tinto, 1993). Exactly which areas of student involvement have the greatest impact on student development and student learning and which specific campus services and/or programs influence a student to become involved are questions which serve as the focus for this article. In a general sense, several researchers have come to agree that personal development is accomplished through student involvement (Kuh, Schuh, Whitt, & Associates, 1991). Specifically, the resounding theme in the student affairs literature is that student involvement at the collegiate level does impact student development and learning. In other words, when students become involved with their collegiate environment, students develop and learn outside the classroom. More concretely, Alexander Astin's "theory of involvement" states that "students learn by becoming involved" (p. 36). According to Astin, there is a direct correlation between student involvement and student development. His theory of student involvement is helpful in illustrating the term. Astin gives five "basic postulates" that characterize involvement: (a) mental and physical energy must be invested in "objects" (i.e., activities, tasks, people), (b) involvement is a continuous concept--with different amounts of energy applied by different students to different tasks, (c) involvement has both qualitative and quantitative characteristics, (d) the amount of development and learning is directly proportional to the quantity and quality of involvement, and (e) the effectiveness of any practice or policy is related to its capacity to encourage student involvement (pps. 35-36). These postulates provide a framework for examining student involvement and serve as a guideline from which to study involvement and its effects. The question of does college student involvement matter seems a simple one to answer given the plethora of studies conducted during the last few decades (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991) and given the fact that several studies conducted after 1990 indicate that there is a continuing trend to support the importance of college student involvement on overall student development and learning. However, the question now for student affairs administrators focuses on which areas of student involvement matter. A review of the recent literature on student involvement clarifies that student involvement impacts the collegiate experience. However, the differences in the studies reveal that different types of student involvement may influence the learning and development experiences differently. This is a critical, albeit obvious, disclosure as student affairs administrators begin to focus on the establishment of learning and personal development objectives in program design and assessment. It becomes important to acknowledge what research reveals so student affairs professionals can be aware of both intentional outcomes of student involvement, as well as anticipate some unintended outcomes of student involvement. …

When Hope and Fear Collide: A Portrait of Today's College Student. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series.

Abstract: 1. Generation Without a Name. 2. Flaws, Problems, and Decline: The New Localism. 3. Campus Politics: Let the Buyer Beware!. 4. Multiculturalism: The Campus Divided. 5. Personal Life: Retreat from Intimacy. 6. Academics: Search for an Insurance Policy. 7. The Future: Doing Well of Doing Good. 8. Conclusion: A Transitional Generation.

Mentoring Student Teachers in Primary Schools: assisting student teachers to become learners

Abstract: SUMMARY The paper draws on recent research on student teachers’ experiences of learning to teach in English primary schools. It identifies the opportunities and constraints provided by a view of mentoring which might be described as the induction of student teachers into a local community of practice. The constraints are addressed by a consideration of the contribution that the frameworks for understanding learning offered by research into situated cognition might make to planning for the learning of student teachers while they are in school. The paper concludes by examining how increased attention to the intentional and metacognitive learning of student teachers may also benefit mentors and schools.

Historical Constructions: How Social Studies Student Teachers' Historical Thinking is Reflected in Their Writing of History.

Abstract: How do current social studies student teachers think about and write historical narratives? This question was explored through an examination of student teachers' historical thinking, use of sources and writing. Specifically, this inquiry focused on social studies student teachers' construction of historical accounts through their use of multiple sources of information relating to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three secondary social studies student teachers provided the data for this study, and Wineburg's (1991a) research design served as a model. Each of the three cases were analyzed on the basis of certain criteria. After completing this analysis, common themes and patterns became evident among the student teachers' historical thinking and writing. Based upon the findings, serveral suggestions for improving student teachers' engagement with historical thinking and writing are posited.

Predictors of Student Academic Performance in the Introductory Marketing Course.

Abstract: Student characteristics may affect academic performance, but little research exists on the determinants of student performance in undergraduate marketing courses. For a variety of reasons, this is an important issue to students, educators, administrators, and other constituents of institutions of higher education. Using OLS regression analysis on a sample of 349 undergraduate students of marketing in a public university, the model explains about 40% of a typical student's grade, and the results of this study show that a student's grade point average, academic origin, and employment commitments may be good predictors of student performance in this course.

Book Review: Contributing to Learning: The Role of Student Affairs and Student Learning Outside the Classroom: Transcending Artificial Boundaries

Abstract: The debate over whether student learning provides a new focus for student affairs work or merely gives a new name to student affairs' traditional emphases is likely to be exacerbated by "Contributing to learning: The role of student affairs" and "Student learning outside the classroom: Transcending artificial boundaries." While both volumes focus on enhancing the student learning experience, their philosophical foundation and vision for the future are fundamentally different.

How Students Learn From Community-Based Preceptors

Abstract: Objective: To explore how students learn in communitybased family physicians’ offices from the student’s point of view. Method: Each student completing a community-based family medicine clerkship wrote a “critical incident” narrative about an event that was particularly educational. A coding system was developed by a multidisciplinary research team and thematic analysis was conducted. Results: Critical education experiences were brief, problem-focused, had definitive outcomes, were often collaborative, and led to self-reflection. The most commonly identified mode of learning was “active observation.” In most of these situations, the student had significant clinical responsibility, but some involved observation of complex tasks beyond the expectations of a medical student. Most (77%) identified their learning needs after having observed a preceptor, rather than prospectively. Collaboration, coaching, advocacy, and exploring affect were means whereby preceptors and students created a learning environment that students felt was safe, allowed them to recognize their own learning needs, and helped them adopt new behaviors. Conclusions: These findings broaden the definition of active learning to include active observation and support learner-centered and relational models of learning. Increasing preceptors’ awareness of these modes of student learning will enhance the quality of education in ambulatory settings. Arch Fam Med. 1998;7:149-154

An exploratory study of the impact of intervening variables on student performance in a Principles of Accounting course

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide some new empirical evidence on the determinants of student performance in a Principles of Accounting course at Birzeit University situated in the Occupied West Bank. It examines the impact of a number of new attitudinal variables on examination performance. The empirical results suggest that, in addition to a number of standard control variables, student perceptions of factors associated with class size, the attributes of the lecturer, student effort and the complexity of the course are associated with student performance in a first level principles of accounting course.

Intensive Document-Based Instruction in a Social Studies Methods Course and Student Teachers' Attitudes and Practice in Subsequent Field Experiences

Abstract: This article examines the socialization of student teachers in secondary history classrooms. Specifically, the article examines student teachers' responses to a history-intensive social studies methods course and their subsequent uses of document-based instruction. The analysis, grounded in data collected from interviews, lesson plans, and written reflections, supported previous research regarding student teachers' active participation in their socialization process. The findings also provide further insights into the complex relationship between teacher education and student teachers' beliefs and practices. The article ends with a discussion of ways in which methods coursework might be designed to better enable student teachers to introduce document-based instruction into existing secondary history classrooms.

Classroom Dynamics and the Development of Serious Emotional Disturbance

Abstract: This study investigated classroom dynamics and young children identified as at risk for the development of serious emotional disturbance (SED) as compared to not-at-risk peers. Assessment of classroom dynamics included teacher (attitudes and perceptions), student (academic engagement and perceptions of teacher's expectations), and instructional factors (accommodations for at-risk students), as well as classroom interactions (teacher-student and peer). Results indicated that young children identified as at risk for the development of SED but not yet labeled by the school were experiencing a significantly different reality in the classroom than not-at-risk peers. Implications for effective classroom interventions for these young at-risk children include collaborative/consultation teacher models, task modifications, direct instruction, and cooperative learning and peer tutor programs.

Selecting teaching strategies suitable to student in computer-assisted education

Abstract: The invention concerns computer-assisted education, in which a school curriculum is stored in computer repositories. A learning profile is maintained for every student, which indicates the student's capabilities, preferred learning style, and progress. Based on the profile, an Intelligent Administrator (IA) selects appropriate material for presentation to the student during each learning session. The IA then assesses whether the student has mastered the material. If not, the material is presented in a different way. If repeated different presentations fail to instill mastery, the IA establishes a video conference between the student and a professor.

Problems, Pitfalls, and Benefits of Portfolios

Abstract: Portfolios, "one more thing to do" for overworked student teachers, may not be considered important by students who are already stressed by their heavy load of teaching and their focus on obtaining a teaching job. Are they worth the time and effort required? Training a large group of student teachers in their final semester of student teaching to develop portfolios was an eye-opening experience. Students in a cohort program, Block A, at California State University, Fresno are required to develop portfolios in their first semester of initial student teaching. Portfolios for student teaching assessment have been used in the Block A Program for the past seven years. They are an excellent means for student teachers to document and reflect on their learning and growth as teachers. The portfolio is organized into five sections that represent the competencies they are required to achieve to complete their creden tial: plannning and organizing, classroom teaching, Bernice A. Stone is a classroom management, interpersonal relations, and professor in the professional development. Students are directed to Curriculum, Teaching collect materials for their portfolio as they progress and Educational through student teaching. Items collected document Technology Department and demonstrate their experiences, their achieve of the School of ments, andtheirprogressthroughtheirstudentteach Education at California ing semesters. They include lesson plans, units, State University, Fresno. projects, student work, evaluations by master teach 105