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Eric.ed.gov – Strategies for Promoting Gatekeeper Course Success among Students Needing Remediation: Research Report for the Virginia Community College System

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) is engaged in a strategic planning process to improve performance beyond the goals in “Dateline 2009,” the system’s current vision and plan. A key objective is to encourage colleges to improve retention and academic success for students, particularly the substantial numbers who arrive unprepared for college-level work. Specifically, the VCCS seeks to improve the rates at which underprepared students complete developmental coursework and advance to take and pass college courses, particularly the initial college-level, or “gatekeeper,” math and English offerings. The VCCS asked the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, to conduct analyses to inform its efforts to improve student outcomes. In response, CCRC designed a study to address the following question: What student characteristics, course-taking patterns,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Exploring Faculty Insights into Why Undergraduate College Students Leave STEM Fields of Study- A Three-Part Organizational Self-Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: An institutional self-study at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) explored factors thought to impact students’ decisions to persist in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields of study. This self-study is presented as a model first step for Institutions of Higher Education interested in launching efforts to improve STEM education and STEM student success and persistence. A methodology combining qualitative and quantitative analysis approaches was used to examine different aspects of the overarching research question, “Why do undergraduate students leave college STEM fields of study?” A quantitative review of institutional data was used to identify four particular gaps in student persistence and success in STEM fields of study at Texas State University. An online survey and a focus group guide were developed based on existing but more… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – An Analysis of the High Attrition Rates among First Year College Science, Math and Engineering Majors.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Increases in attrition rates among science, mathematics, and engineering (SME) majors have produced a variety of deleterious effects for society. This paper attempts to clarify and interpret the interaction of those characteristics of the structure and culture of undergraduate SME programs that perpetuate high loss rates among their first-year college majors by looking at a number of studies of SME programs and undergraduate attrition. The interaction of instructional factors, differing high school and faculty expectations for entering SME undergraduates, and epistemological considerations was found to contribute to a higher dissatisfaction among SME majors as compared with non-SME major and to resulting student attrition. Significant support was not seen for the contribution of commonly cited explanations of SME attrition such as cognitive factors and large class sizes. (Contains… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – School Improvement Grants: Progress Report from America’s Great City Schools

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This report measures trends in performance among urban schools receiving federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) awards as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Council of the Great City Schools aims to document how member districts of the Council of the Great City Schools implemented SIG and specifically what effects the program had on student test scores and school “holding power”–the ability of high schools to move students through the system on a timely basis. Finally, based on interviews with district and school-based staff in several case study districts, common characteristics of successful and unsuccessful implementation of the SIG program in Council schools and districts are identified and described. Results of the analysis across states for grades three through eight in both… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – American Higher Education: Journalistic and Policy Perspectives from “National CrossTalk”

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In the first decade of the 21st century, the nation, the states, and colleges and universities began to grapple with the challenges of globalization, changing demography, the implications of the digital era, and of a less expansive public sector. Although not a transformative period for higher education, the decade saw significant innovations in teaching and learning, intense policy ferment, and debates over the future of colleges and universities and their roles and responsibilities in American society. Parts one and two of this book describe several of the most interesting and significant developments in higher education, and in public policy, reported by leading journalists in the field of higher education. In part three, observers of American higher education comment on critical issues facing colleges and universities, the states… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Technology Engineering in Science Education: Where Instructional Challenges Interface Nonconforming Productivity to Increase Retention, Enhance Transfer, and Maximize Student Learning

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Technology Engineering is an innovative component of a much larger arena of teaching that effectively uses interactive technology as a method of enhancing learning and the learning environment. Using this method to teach science and math content empowers the teacher and enhances the curriculum as the classroom becomes more efficient and effective. Although the most modern technology–enhanced content is available for classroom deployment, this study suggests that various challenges arise that can delay a fully productive and successful integration of technology in the science classroom. In this study, seven urban school science teachers, incorporated technology-enhanced inquiry-based modules into their lesson plans to determine the overall effectiveness of technology integration in their classrooms. This paper examines how Technology Engineering helps students to understand scientific phenomena, despite hindrances within… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Math and Science Instructors’ Perceptions of Their American Indian Students at a Sub-Baccalaureate Technical College: A Delphi Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Instructors have long been known to be a major influence on American Indian student success in college, but much is still unknown on exactly how and where this influence exerts itself. Based on the perceptions of math and science instructors at one college of their American Indian students, this article seeks to pinpoint areas where more detailed research on American Indian student success factors appears promising. (Contains 1 table.) Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – California Teacher Workforce Trends Signal Worsening Shortages. Research Brief

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In the past year, overall teacher workforce trends in California have worsened, with especially severe consequences in special education, math, and science, and significant threats in bilingual education. California’s teacher shortage has worsened as teacher demand grows and teacher supply stagnates. As a result, districts are having to hire a growing number of teachers on substandard permits and credentials, which are increasing more quickly than are preliminary credentials. California’s goals for high-quality education will be undermined if the state continues to supplement an inadequate teacher supply with underprepared teachers who leave at high rates (two to three times greater than prepared teachers), thereby provoking greater churn in high-need schools and depressing student achievement. To address the shortfalls, this brief offers three solutions. [For the full report “Addressing… Continue Reading