From Gatekeeping to Engagement: A Multicontextual, Mixed Method Study of Student Academic Engagement in Introductory STEM Courses

The lack of academic engagement in introductory science courses is considered by some to be a primary reason why students switch out of science majors. This study employed a sequential, explanatory mixed methods approach to provide a richer understanding of the relationship between student engagement and introductory science instruction. Quantitative survey data were drawn from 2,873 students within 73 introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses across 15 colleges and universities, and qualitative data were collected from 41 student focus groups at eight of these institutions. The findings indicate that students tended to be more engaged in courses where the instructor consistently signaled an openness to student questions and recognizes her/his role in helping students succeed. Likewise, students who reported feeling comfortable asking questions in class, seeking out tutoring, attending supplemental instruction sessions, and collaborating with other students in the course were also more likely to be engaged. Instructional implications for improving students’ levels of academic engagement are discussed.     

高师专科生学习适应性现状的研究

学习适应性本质上是一种生活适应能力,是影响学生学业成就和心理健康发展的重要因素。本研究采用问卷调查法对广西612名师专生的学习适应性状况进行调查,结果表明:师专生学习适应性总体得分偏低。不同性别、年级、专业师专生的学习适应性水平存在显著差异。女生的学习适应性优于男生;在学习态度和管理模式的适应性方面,大三学生不及低年级学生,在学习能力适应性方面,大一学生不及高年级学生;理科生学习适应性水平高于术科生和文科生。不同生源地师专生的学习适应性没有显著差异。高校需要结合师专生的学习适应性发展特点,开展有针对性地适应性教育。     

人文教育与思维方式的转换或整合

梳理人教育与人精神的关系；区分人教育与科技教育的特点；进而着重分析感性思维方式与哲学思维方式同科学思维方式的本质区别，揭示人教育的真正目的在于重建感性思维方式与哲学思维方式，最终实现这两与科学思维方式的转换或整合。     

地方理工类院校人文社科学生学风调查与分析

文章通过对地方理工类院校人文社科学生学风情况的问卷调查,总结出影响学生学风的主要因素并分析其产生的原因,从学风建设的四个着力点出发,对切实改进地方理工类院校人文社科学生的学风建设提出建议。     

关于文科课程启发式教学的几点思考

文科教育肩负着提高全民族素质的重任,具有启真、启善、启美的功能,应当得到相当的重视。文科课程以口头语言表达为主,对于教师的语言表达能力有着更高的要求。如何使讲课更具艺术性,生动有趣、引人入胜是困扰许多教师的难题。同时我国的文科教育在培养学生能力方面存在着很大欠缺。启发式教学从活跃学生思维入手进而活跃课堂气氛,调动学生学习的积极性,训练学生的独立思考能力,效果显著。从文科课程自身的特点出发,启发式教学应具有不同于理科课程的特色。     

关于我国理工科大学文科教育的几点认识

在理工科大学生中进行文科教育,是培养21世纪的社会主义建设者和接班人的重要途径,高素质的人才是重要的战略资源,直接关系到21世纪中国的面貌,决定着中国在世界中的地位、前途和命运。加强文科教育,适应了日益明显的自然科学、社会科学和人文学科交叉综合的趋势,有利于形成适应科学、工业和文化发展的思维方式和造就能够文理结合、综合创新的复合型人才。     

A Longitudinal View of the Liberal Arts Curriculum a Decade After Merger: A Multiple Case Study of Community Colleges in Connecticut,Kentucky, and Louisiana

This study is an examination of the state of the liberal arts curriculum in community colleges in three geographic regions of the United States. From a constructivist paradigm and using globalization theory as a theoretical framework, this multiple case study examined faculty work life and administrative processes related to curriculum change in merged community and technical colleges. Through an examination of research on globalization, mergers, and trends in the general education and liberal arts curriculum, a gap in the literature emerged in the studies of community college curriculums after merger. This study considers whether the focus on workforce development and decrease in the transfer mission has diminished the liberal arts courses in the college curriculum. Research on liberal arts courses identified them as courses that emphasize higher order thinking and the development of intellectual skills needed to engage in a democratic society. If students are not exposed to these skills, it may have a detrimental effect on a democratic society. Study findings suggested that the English and communication curriculums are narrowing and the mission is more toward workforce skill preparation. Also, the changing demographics of today[#x02019]s community college students, as well as the ongoing budget constraints, create challenges and frustrations for faculty members.     

College Classroom Environments: Disciplinary and institutional-type differences and effects on academic achievement in introductory courses

Using the College Classroom Environment Scales (CCES) and controlling for differences in class size, it was found that there were significant differences in students' perceptions of their classroom social climates depending on the type of collegiate institution they attended. Students at research universities perceived their classes as having more structure than did those at two year colleges and liberal arts colleges and they perceived less concern by instructors for their personal development and learning than did students at liberal arts colleges. Two-year college students perceived that their classes had higher academic standards than did their counterparts at liberal arts colleges. When comparing classes (and controlling for class size) in English composition, laboratory sciences, and behavioral sciences, it was found that students in English classes perceived them as being the most intellectually exciting and interesting, as being the most academically rigorous, as having the least amount of formal structure, and as promoting more friendships and cooperation among students (than in behavioral sciences classes). Laboratory sciences classes were perceived as having the most hostile and intimidating environments. Significant interactions of institutional type and academic discipline occurred on all scales of the CCES. It was found that perceptions of the classroom environment differentially affected students' course grades in each of the academic discipline areas.Mary E. Vahala is currently Associate Director of Student Activities and Centers at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and teaches in the college student personnel program. She obtained an Ed.D. in counseling and student personnel services from the University of Georgia. Her research interests focus on environmental assessment. Roger B. Winston, Jr. obtained his Ph.D. in counseling and student personnel services from the University of Georgia. He is professor and coordinator of the student affairs administration specialty in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services at the University of Georgia. His research interests include environmental and outcomes assessment in higher education and the psychosocial development of college students.     

How the instructional and learning environments of liberal arts colleges enhance cognitive development

This study analyzes longitudinal data from 17 four-year institutions in the United States to determine how the distinctive instructional and learning environment of American liberal arts colleges accounts for the positive impact of liberal arts college attendance on four-year growth in critical thinking skills and need for cognition. We find that, net of important confounding influences, attending an American liberal arts college (vs. a research university or a regional institution in the United States) increases one’s overall exposure to clear and organized classroom instruction and enhances one’s use of deep approaches to learning. In turn, clear and organized classroom instruction and deep approaches to learning tend to facilitate growth in both critical thinking and need for cognition—thus indirectly transmitting the impact of attending a liberal arts college.     

RETIREES RETURN TO COLLEGE: AN EVALUATIVE STUDY AT ONE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

There has been a pronounced increase in the number of older Americans attending colleges and universities under tuition waiver programs, but there have been few reported studies of their educational experiences. The present research evaluated the tuition waiver program for retirees enrolled at the University of Maryland College Park. Completed questionnaires were received from 160 of 340 retirees who had been admitted to the university under this tuition waiver program. Additional data in structured follow‐up interviews were obtained for 139 of the 160 persons who returned questionnaires. Students attending the university under this program were an active, healthy, mobile, geographically stable, well‐educated group of men and women in their early years of retirement. Their academic interests centered in the arts and humanities, especially art, music, and foreign languages. Older students in this study reported that younger students and instructors were friendly, accepting, and did not treat them as different or older. Difficulties cited by older students attending the university were parking, registration, and the academic demands of keeping up with the class and meeting course requirements. The findings of this study suggest that a tuition waiver program well serves the needs of retirees to remain intellectually active, to explore academic areas long‐postponed during their working years, and to develop new or improve existing skills and interests.     

Pre-service teachers in an after school program: increasing understanding of students,communities, and teaching

The purpose of the After School Creative Expression Program (ASCEP) was to provide a short-term afterschool program focusing on the visual and written creative arts to a group of elementary school children attending a Title 1 school. Pre-service teachers attending a liberal arts university within the same geographic region developed lessons in writing and photography and served as afterschool educators for ASCEP. The program provided pre-service teachers a valuable experience outside the classroom. Findings demonstrate pre-service educators gained new insights from ASCEP that will impact their teaching practices during school. Overall, results show ASCEP provided future educators with valuable learning experiences and opportunities to connect more deeply with their students and their community.     

CORRELATES OF RETENTION AMONG ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES: THE CASE FOR HAWAIIAN STUDENTS

This study examined Hawaiian students' persistence at the four community colleges on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The research covered a five-year period (10 semesters), fall 1991 - spring 1996, and focused on factors promoting persistence for students pursuing either liberal arts or vocational-technical degrees. Logistic regression was the statistical method used, and the analyses were performed separately for the two groups of students. The results indicated that four factors - cumulative grade point average,financial aid, average credit hours, and enrollment at Campus 4 - were significant for both liberal arts and vocational-technical majors,whereas another two variables - reverse transfer and attending an urban high school - were significant for liberal arts students only. Recommendations for policies, programs, and strategies to promote persistence for Hawaiian students were based on those results.     

Revisiting thinking styles' contributions to the knowledge and use of and attitudes towards computing and information technology

This study examines the role of students' thinking styles in their knowledge and use of as well as in their attitudes towards the use of computing and information technology (CIT) in education. One hundred and five students from a large university in Texas responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory and to a brief measure of their attitudes towards the use of CIT in education. Between the present study and a previous study of Hong Kong students, the following common findings have been obtained. First, the more creativity-generating thinking styles positively predicted knowledge and use of CIT as well as a favorable attitude towards the use of CIT in education, whereas the more norm-conforming thinking styles negatively did so. Second, female students reported less knowledge and use of CIT. Minor differences were also identified between the U.S. and Hong Kong groups. These findings have implications for teachers, staff development personnel, and for CIT program designers.     

国内外理工科大学办文科之比较

高等教育的社会化、综合化和国际化趋势以及创办世界一流大学发展目标的确定,要求理工科大学对文科的发展战略作出相应的调整。本文在对国内外以工科为主大学的文科发展模式进行比较后,提出了有关理工科大学如何办文科的一些建议。     

理工见长高校的文科阶段性发展战略

文科发展关系到一流大学的建设和高校竞争优势的形成。理工见长高校文科发展具有阶段性、长期性、渐进性,每一所大学发展历史不同、发展水平不同、所处阶段不同。理工见长高校的文科发展,大体要经历起步、发展、提高三个阶段。理工见长高校文科建设要实施阶段性发展战略。在建设的过程中,不同的学校要分析自身的发展状态,弄清自身所处的发展阶段,明确本阶段建设的思路、目标、行动方案、评价标准,并适时地推进发展阶段之间的战略转变。进入全面提高阶段后,理工见长高校文科建设要坚持把握文科发展的方向性,着力加强文科师资队伍建设,努力建设良好学术生态。     

文科专业计算机课程教学的理论研究与实践——基于“计算思维”能力培养

培养一专多能的复合型人才不仅能够满足社会对人才的新需求,而且能够帮助学生拓宽就业渠道,扩展职业发展空间.就如何利用理工科院校的优势培养文科学生自然科学素质的问题,从教学内容、教学方法、考核评价等方面给出了基于"计算思维"能力培养的文科专业计算机课程群课堂教学和实验教学的思考与实践.     

建立适合文科学生的物理实验教学模式的调查分析

以普通院校的文科学生为对象,以“建立适合文科学生的物理实验教学模式”为目标,根据开设文科物理公选课的教学实践设计了调查问卷,对问卷进行了认真的统计和分析,据此对文科物理实验课程教学模式进行了分析与思考.     

Small-town college to big-city school: preparing urban teachers from liberal arts colleges

This paper describes a model program in existence for over 30 yrs to prepare students from liberal arts colleges in the midwest for careers in urban teaching. The academic ability and educational background of graduates of selective liberal arts colleges make them the sort of teachers that have traditionally ended up in affluent suburban schools, yet it is these characteristics that potentially make them more valuable in urban schools.     

The Relationship of Discipline Background to Upper Secondary Students’ Argumentation on Socioscientific Issues

In the present STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-driven society, socioscientific issues (SSI) have become a focus globally and SSI research has grown into an important area of study in science education. Since students attending the social and science programs have a different focus in their studies and research has shown that students attending a science program are less familiar with argumentation practice, we make a comparison of the supporting reasons social science and science majors use in arguing different SSI with the goal to provide important information for pedagogical decisions about curriculum and instruction. As an analytical framework, a model termed SEE-SEP covering three aspects (of knowledge, value, and experiences) and six subject areas (of sociology/culture, economy, environment/ecology, science, ethics/morality, and policy) was adopted to analyze students’ justifications. A total of 208 upper secondary students (105 social science majors and 103 science majors) from Sweden were invited to justify and expound their arguments on four SSI including global warming, genetically modified organisms (GMO), nuclear power, and consumer consumption. The results showed that the social science majors generated more justifications than the science majors, the aspect of value was used most in students’ argumentation regardless of students’ discipline background, and justifications from the subject area of science were most often presented in nuclear power and GMO issues. We conclude by arguing that engaging teachers from different subjects to cooperate when teaching argumentation on SSI could be of great value and provide students from both social science and science programs the best possible conditions in which to develop argumentation skills.