Student Success in Developmental Mathematics Courses

Mathematics is a particular stumbling block for community college students in developmental course work. The present study empirically investigated student-level and teacher-level factors that influence the success of community college students enrolled in developmental mathematics courses. Specifically, numerous variables in one statistical model were examined, which included student self-efficacy (SE) beliefs in various aspects of academic engagement, previous course difficulties, full-time teaching status, and class attendance policies. Multiple regression results show that attendance was the largest predictor for higher course grades, followed by repeating a mathematics course and students’ sense of SE. In the hierarchical line modeling (HLM) model, teachers’ full-time status was a significant predictor in the model, but when teaching status was controlled for, the remaining student belief variables in the model were not statistically significant except SE in Cognitive Strategies, Self-Regulated Learning, and Motivational Strategies. The results provide empirical support for increased communication between full- and part-time faculty members, implementation of attendance policies, academic interventions prior to students’ failures, and the need to address students’ sense of SE.     

PARTICIPATION AND CONTENT IN COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE BOARD MEETINGS

This study examined meetings of North Carolina community and technical college boards of trustees, focusing on the participation and contributions to the content of those meetings by board members. The boards represented smallest to largest institutions, in the eastern, central and western regions of the State. They met morning, mid‐day, afternoon and evening on a monthly, bi‐monthly, and tri‐monthly schedule from August 1986 through February 1987. Attendance was high, with few late arrivals or early departures. All agendas, ranging from 6 to 18 items, were completed in 50 to 115 minutes, with limited comments or questions by trustees. Members initiated little during the meetings and provided little evidence of use of sources of information from other than their college personnel.

It is suggested that meeting at least monthly for at least 1 1/2 hours (mean for the study was 73 minutes) could encourage more initiating contributions by members. Boards should consider regular examination of the processes of their subcommittee and full board meetings to determine their effectiveness and member satisfaction with them. Orientation of new board members should stress the importance of members seeking relevant information to contribute or undergird their participation in board meetings.     

PROC LCA: A SAS Procedure for Latent Class Analysis

Latent class analysis (LCA) is a statistical method used to identify a set of discrete, mutually exclusive latent classes of individuals based on their responses to a set of observed categorical variables. In multiple-group LCA, both the measurement part and structural part of the model can vary across groups, and measurement invariance across groups can be empirically tested. LCA with covariates extends the model to include predictors of class membership. In this article, we introduce PROC LCA, a new SAS procedure for conducting LCA, multiple-group LCA, and LCA with covariates. The procedure is demonstrated using data on alcohol use behavior in a national sample of high school seniors.     

Prevalence and Reliability of Phonological,Surface, and Mixed Profiles in Dyslexia: A Review of Studies Conducted in Languages Varying in Orthographic Depth

The influence of orthographic transparency on the prevalence of dyslexia subtypes was examined in a review of multiple-case studies conducted in languages differing in orthographic depth (English, French, and Spanish). Cross-language differences are found in the proportion of dissociated profiles as a function of the dependent variables (speed or accuracy), the classification method (classical vs. regression-based methods), and the control sample (chronological age vs. reading level controls). The classical method results in a majority of mixed profiles, whereas the regression-based method results in a majority of dissociated profiles. However, the regression-based method appears to result in less reliable subtypes within and between languages. Finally, reading-level comparisons revealed that the phonological subtype reflects a deviant developmental trajectory across all languages, whereas the surface subtype corresponds to a delayed developmental trajectory. The results also indicate that reading speed should be considered to correctly classify dyslexics into subtypes, at least in transparent orthographies.     

Making Research Relevant in Preservice Early Childhood Teacher Education

Increasingly, researchers, teacher educators and governmental agencies underline the need for early childhood professionals to be able to conduct and use relevant research in their practice. In contrast, early childhood teachers tend to draw exclusively on practical advice rather than research evidence to evaluate and develop their teaching. To address these contradictions in expectations, recently developed preservice early childhood teacher education programs have included a core research subject that aims to foster an appreciation of the value of research and its contributions to professional practice. This study examines the effectiveness of teaching and learning approaches designed to make research relevant to undergraduates at an Australian regional university by tracking students' changing views about research during a one-semester teaching period. The findings of this study show that relevant learning experiences, such as designing and conducting a simple research project, modeling research, collaborative inquiry, focused reading, and organizing a research conference, significantly changed student perceptions of the relevance of research to their teaching and their future role as early childhood professionals.     

Reviews

Writing in the Academic Disciplines, 1870–1990: A Curricular History. David R. Russell. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois UP, 1991. 383 pp.

The Politics of Writing Instruction: Postsecondary. Ed. Richard Bullock and John Trimbur. Gen. Ed. Charles Schuster. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 1991. 311 pp.

Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured. Susan Jarratt. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1991. 154 pp.

Gender in the Classroom: Power and Pedagogy. Ed. Susan L. Gabriel and Isaiah Smithson. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1990. 196 pp.

Technology Transfer: A Communication Perspective. Ed. Frederick Williams and David V. Gibson. New York: Sage, 1990. 302 pp.

Writing Strategies: Reaching Diverse Audiences. Laurel Richardson. Beverly Hills: Sage, 1990. 65 pp.

Computers and Writing. Ed. Deborah H. Holdstein and Cynthia L. Selfe. New York: MLA, 1990. 150 pp.

Perspectives on Software Documentation: Inquiries and Innovation. Ed. Thomas T. Barker. Amityville: Baywood, 1991. 279 pp.

Writing Space: The Computer, Hypertext, and the History of Writing. Jay David Bolter. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1991. 258 pp.

Design of Business Communications: The Process and the Product. Elizabeth Tebeaux. New York: Macmillan, 1990. 516 pp.     

Community College and High School Reform: Lessons from Five Case Studies

The research reported in this paper examined a set of innovative high school programs on community college campuses. Specifically, a full-time dual enrollment program and 4 middle college high schools were studied. The authors used in-depth interviews and observational data to investigate the structure, processes, and perceptions of effectiveness of the programs. The study found multiple missions for these programs and identified common features that appear to play an important role in their formation and relative success. Although constituent perceptions of effectiveness were overwhelmingly positive, the programs did not systematically collect and analyze empirical evidence of their effectiveness.     

Improving Group Satisfaction: making groups work in a first‐year undergraduate course

Abstract

The value of working in groups as a strategy for learning, and the development of communication and interpersonal skills is acknowledged in most tertiary institutions. Academic staff tend to avoid introducing groupwork into crowded first‐year undergraduate curriculum, because of large numbers and, in many cases, staffing constraints. This paper outlines the establishment of a groupwork component in a first‐year undergraduate accounting tutorial programme. Although this component did not work well in the first year for about half the students involved, it proved a valuable support socially, as well as academically for the rest of the cohort, so was continued into a second year. To increase group satisfaction, structural and managerial changes were introduced, with positive results. Establishing groupwork early in an undergraduate course allows group skills to develop over time, encourages reflection on learning behaviour and can facilitate increasing expertise in the subject area.     

The Complexities of Effective Mentoring in Initial Teacher Education

Mentoring is now widespread in initial teacher education. However, it is by no means clear that research identifying the complexities of the role, the demands it places on teachers, and what they seem able and unable to do is either keeping pace with, or informing, change. This paper attempts to identify both problematic and unproblematic issues related to the role through the development of case studies of mentors working with students on a one year secondary mathematics PGCE course. The research points to a need for all those engaged in initial teacher education to support mentors in recognising students as learners who are best served by discussing with them the realities and difficulties of practice in school rather than presenting them with idealised views of teaching.     

Differences of Mentoring Experiences across Grade Span among Principals,Mentors, and Mentees

The purpose of this mixed research study was to examine mentoring experiences specific to grade span through the perspective of principals, mentors, and mentees. An instrument containing items on demographics, administrative support, and mentoring program components was administered to first-year teachers (n?=?998), mentors (n?=?791), and principals (n?=?73). Mentors’ attitudes towards mentoring were statistically significantly more positive than were the mentees’ attitudes, although, on average, the attitudes for both groups were positive. A statistically significant difference in attitudes emerged as a function of grade span, with elementary school mentees reporting the highest levels of motivation to be mentored and the greatest desire to observe veteran teachers. Qualitative analyses revealed that mentoring includes specific format, better matches, increased time for mentoring, observation opportunities, and better training for mentors. Implications are discussed.