Personality development and the college experience

Studies of freshman-senior data on undergraduates show that, despite major differences among institutions and students, the direction of net change was basically the same in several diverse colleges. Institutional freshmen means spanned a wide range, yet students became more autonomous, more aware, more integrated, more aesthetically sensitive, more tolerant, more liberal in religious views, and less concerned about material possessions. Although all students tended to change in the same direction at all colleges, they did not become more similar; diversity increased for the total group and, more often than not, diversity increased within each college.When sub-groups of similar students were examined within institutions, different patterns of change appeared, and were systematically related to such factors as college climate, student characteristics, teaching practices and study activities, and student-faculty relationships. Thus, differential change occurred as a function of institutional fit. When there is a close fit change proceeds along lines indicated by cultural and genetic forces and is consistent among diverse colleges. Where there is a misfit — students who have not developed to the general level at which a college operates, or whose development has gone beyond the operating level of a college — significant changes occur which are strongly associated with varied college characteristics and educational practices.The research reported here was supported by NIMH Grant #MH14780-05     

Why bright college students won't teach

A case study of the career expectations of noneducation college seniors (primarily in high demand fields) reveals that present policies, such as career ladders, merit pay, and traditional college loan programs, may have little positive impact on their consideration of teaching as a career alternative. For the brightest of the students, the most significant reasons why they won't teach relatenot to the lack of financial reward in teaching, but to frustrating working conditions, bureaucratic requirements, the lack of professional control, and few opportunities for intellectual growth, as well as their intolerance for diversity in the workplace and their perception of teaching as a boring job. In most cases, these negative lessons about teaching were learned while they were public school students. The recent movement to professionalize teaching would appear to be an important step in luring these bright students into teaching. However, professionalism alone will not ensure a school district's ability to attract and retain bright college students as teachers.     

Some theories of college instruction

On the assumption that colleges need a theory which specifies what they should be trying to do and how they should do it, two popular theories of this sort are described. Bundle of knowledge theory rests on the idea that education should impart pieces of knowledge which can be assessed by behavioral criteria with methods based on established principles of learning. Developmental stage theory holds that education should help students move through a sequence of general stages towards maturity. A third theory called component theory, is then sketched, in which the idea of general stages is disputed and the idea of component abilities of intellectual processes substituted. This theory has implications which are similar to those of stage theory if it is combined with certain moral assumptions about the goals of college education, namely that its purpose is to help students form and pursue life plans which are both rational and just.     

Utilizing Federal Funds for Experiential Education: The Job Location and Development Program

The way in which the government defines financial need does not always account for the individual decisions families make when sending a student to college. Many students who do not qualify for federal financial aid must still pay for part of their educational expenses, and need a part-time job in order to do so. The Job Location and Development (JLD) program was designed to help these students find the employment they need, to pick up where federal work study leaves off. Since 1979, the MU Career Center and the Office of Student Financial Aid at the University of Missouri–Columbia have together operated a JLD program on campus that, since its inception, has helped more than 25,000 students find employment while in school. Those employment opportunities serve to not only assist students in funding their education, but also to provide students the opportunity to learn about themselves—their strengths and weaknesses, their career interests, perhaps what major they ought to choose—as well as valuable skills they can use after graduation.     

Theoretical Eclecticism in the College Classroom

In this article we argue that student learning is enhanced by theoretical eclecticism, which we define as intentionally drawing on different theories of learning when making instructional decisions to provide students with the instructional support they need to be successful. We briefly review the literature on four views of learning and on learner-centered approaches to instruction and then integrate this literature with Barr and Taggs (1995) distinction between the instruction paradigm and the learning paradigm. Finally, we present examples from a teacher education course to illustrate how theoretical eclecticism can be used to support student learning.Anastasia S. Morrone is the Executive Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning and an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the School of Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She received her B.S. degree in Technical Communication from the University of Minnesota and her Ph.D. degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests center around instructional practices that promote college student motivation and learning. Terri A. Tarr is the Director of the Instructional Design and Development unit of the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Director of Associate Faculty Development at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. She earned the Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Purdue University as well as an M.A. in School Psychology and a B.A. in Psychology from Ball State University. Her special interests are individual differences in learning and effective practices in faculty development     

From conception to performance: How undergraduate students conceptualise and construct essays

Interviews with forty six undergraduate students enrolled in either first or third year of a Bachelor of Education explored how they conceptualised and undertook an essay writing task. The conceptual structure of their essays was analysed using the SOLO Taxonomy. Comparisons between students who wrote essays of differing levels of complexity revealed that there were major differences between students at every stage of the essay writing process. Compared to students writing essays with simple conceptual structures, students writing more complex essays engaged in processes of reconstruction rather than knowledge telling, put more effort into finding references, used organisational systems for integrating their notes according to topics or themes, built arguments rather than presented information when structuring and drafting their essays, were concerned with improving ideas and arguments as well as mechanics when revising their essays, had a more sophisticated understanding of the concepts underlying the assessment criteria, and expected and received higher grades. The results suggest a developmental process in underlying conceptualisations of both the body of knowledge forming the content of the essay, and the essay writing processes themselves. As such, attempts to improve students' essay writing skills need to shift from a focus on discrete skills to an emphasis on the relationship between students' understanding of the content and their ability to write about it. As part of the writing process, students need help building understandings representing the body of knowledge they are writing about, and this help needs to be geared to their current level of operation.     

Learning to think thru movement activities

Young children can be critical thinkers because they are natural inquirers! They use higher order thinking to explore and interpret their environment. The topic of critical thinking is one of the most dynamic issues in education today. Educators are presenting a rather convincing case that teaching children to think (regardless of subject matter) and solve problems should be an integral part of the curriculum. The apparent traditional emphasis on rote memory has resulted in learners who have become passive, waiting to be told what to learn and how to learn it.Carl Gabbard is Director, Child Movement Laboratory, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.     

Print and reading: What do preschoolers know?

John Downing, an eminent reading researcher at Canada's University of Victoria, says that many children come to school in a state of cognitive confusion about the functions of reading and the terms we use when we start to teach them to read formally. Adults take for granted that young children know what they mean when they talk about a word, a letter, a sound, and other print-related terms. In his studies done in England and in Canada, Downing (1970; 1973–74) has found that many children, especially those who have not been read to regularly, simply don't understand the conventions of print and really don't understand what reading is all about.Joan T. Feeley is Professor of Reading and Language Arts at William Paterson College in Wayne, New Jersey.     

“It's Easier to Be Yourself When You Are Invisible”: Female College Students Discuss Their Online Classroom Experiences

There has been considerable scholarly interest in issues related to gender in the classroom, especially in terms of finding ways in which classrooms might be configured to be more welcoming--and less chilly--to female students. There is some evidence to suggest that the online learning environment may provide educators with opportunities to achieve a more female-friendly classroom, and this study was designed to gather information about that question. 125 female college students who had completed at least one online, college-level class were invited to discuss their experiences learning online. These data show that female college students respond to the online environment in a variety of ways. A small group of students indicated that they did not enjoy learning online, while others expressed mixed feelings. The majority, however, had positive things to say about their online classroom experiences; and of these, a large number identified anonymity as the most important positive aspect of the online learning environment.     

Better communication = better relationships: Tips for caregivers

We all live in a social environment with others. Indeed, ... we desire and seek out relationships with others, and we have personal needs that can be satisfied only through interacting with other humans (Johnson, 1986). It is not possible to think of living without relating to other people, nor is it possible to develop satisfying relationships without some sort of communication. Communication skills are the tools, the means, the mechanism through which we develop our relationships. Just as a carpenter would not expect to produce a fine piece of furniture with a blunt saw, neither should we assume that we can develop productive relationships with other people, such as children and their parents, colleagues or professional associates, using inadequate or ineffective communication skills. Johnson (1986) suggested that interpersonal skills are learned just as any other skills are learned. However, simply having learned communication skills is not enough! We need to continually practice these skills and occasionally be reminded of their value for interacting with and developing relationships with others. This, therefore, is a small reminder that all of us, caregivers and parents alike, can do with sharpening up our style of communicating with others and learn to create better and more satisfying human relationships!Jillian Rodd is a psychologist who lectures at the School of Early Childhood Studies, University of Melbourne, Australia. She acts as a consultant in parent education and in-services child care staff and for preschool teachers.     

Experimental university classes and “the best that has been thought”

In the latest in a series of articles on experimental courses at Kent State University, the authors study how students perceive such classes in terms of a liberal arts cultural education versus a values oriented education. The results determine that subject matter interest was the prime motivation for students to enroll in experimental classes. The results also suggest an openness and variety of student interest that seems unaware of a liberal arts core of the best that has been thought.     

Community attitudes and the urban university

This study looks at the relationships between a number of personal and social characteristics of a random sample of 254 urban citizens from the Twin Cities and their satisfaction with a University. Most of the urban citizens had considerable university related experiences, and they believed that faculty and students are sincere and hardworking. Most were satisfied with different facets of University life, endorsed the broad principle of campus freedom of expression, but were generally opposed to the goals of students when they used more active methods of dissent. Citizens' satisfaction with the University was heavily related to their perception of campus life as it related to the ideological criteria of Work Ethic and Americanism.     

Institutional goals: Their impact on adult learners

A research study of Sinclair's College Without Walls program for adult students was recently conducted through the University of Cincinnati using the Educational Testing Service's Community College Goals Inventory. A control group of approximately 100 students enrolled in a traditional program (randomly selected) was compared with an experimental group of approximately 100 College Without Walls students. Statistically, College Without Walls students expressed significantly greater satisfaction with the accomplishment of numerous institutional goals than did their traditional student counterparts. There were no other statistically significant differences in this comparison of two groups on a myriad of other factors from career preparation to institutional environment.     

A Lakatosian Framework to Analyze Situations of Cognitive Conflict and Controversy in Students' Understanding of Heat Energy and Temperature

The objective of this study is to analyze secondary school students' interactions (conflicts, controversies, and arguments) as they participate in an intact classroom activity designed to facilitate their understanding of heat energy and temperature. The study is based on 32 ninth-grade students in a public school in Londrina, Brazil. Results obtained show that the differentiation between heat energy and temperature constitutes considerable difficulties for the students, and can be considered as part of the hard-core of their understanding (Lakatos, 1970, Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 91–196). Student interactions (video taped) were classified into an Alternative Model, Transitional Model, and Scientific Model, depending on the degree to which they reflected a progressive transition in their hard-core. Students generally resisted a change in their conceptual understanding. Some students were able to question the hard-core of their beliefs and construct a Transitory Model. Some students experienced a further progressive transition by constructing a Scientific Model, based on the understanding that Temperature only measures the energy of agitation. Methodology used also provided a glimpse of how a particular student grappled with the conflicts in order to facilitate progressive transition in understanding. It is concluded that given the opportunity to discuss, reflect, consider alternative/conflicting situations, students can construct models that increase progressively in their heuristic/explanatory power.     

Systems thinking: An experimental course for college freshmen

An experimental interdisciplinary freshman course called The Systems Approach to the Universe was taught at North Carolina State University in the Spring of 1986. The goals of the course were to introduce principles of general systems theory; to provide examples through lectures and readings of applications of these principles in a wide variety of fields and disciplines; and to introduce and provide practice in critical questioning and evaluation. This paper outlines what was done, how it worked, and how the instructors and the students assessed the experience afterwards.He received his B.Ch.E. from the City College of New York, and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton University. Barbara A. Soloman is Coordinator of Advising for the Academic Skills Program and Lecturer in the University Studies Program at North Carolina State University. She received her B.S. in mathematics from the City College of New York and her M.S. in mathematics from North Carolina State University.     

“Hispanic” children: Theoretical,empirical, and related policy issues

Not only are school-age ethnic and racial minority children one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population, they are also one of the most vulnerable. Hispanic children in particular are representative of the at-risk status of minority populations, displaying a portrait of unrealized social, educational, and employment success. This paper addresses the background and history of U.S. social and educational policies as they relate to the Hispanic student. Recent empirical findings are presented which support the following: (a) the bilingual character of Hispanic children is not a linguistic, cognitive, or educational liability and, in fact, should be employed to promote academic achievement; (b) the culture of the Hispanic family and child are better understood with regard to socialization variables and the potential differences they produce when directly compared to Anglo culture; and (c) educational strategies for Hispanic students that respect and integrate students' social, psychological, and linguistic attributes serve students effectively.     

Studying construction work: Connecting classroom centers

Johnny has one hammer, one hammer, one hammer; Johnny has one hammer, Johnny has two, sings a small group of children in the woodworking center as they pound small cuts of wood with hammer and nails. Hey, Ronnie, put that block here. We're making a chimney for our house, directs one youngster in the block center. We can move in when we're finished, he tells his two companions.Laverne Warner is Professor of Early Childhood Education within the Division of Teacher Education at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Melissa Sepulveda is a kindergarten teacher at Lowery Elementary School in the Cy-Fair Independent School District in Houston, Texas.     

The reverse transfer student: A growing factor in higher education

Study purposes were (a) to identify factors associated with academic performance of students enrolled at a four-year university and a two-year community college; and (b) to determine if students who (1) dropped out of a four-year university, (2) entered a two-year community college, and then (3) returned to the same four-year institution improved in academic performance. The 195 undergraduate subjects began their college careers at a large university and subsequently transferred to a community college, a type of student mobility referred to as reverse transfer student. Following a poor academic performance at the university, the students achieved satisfactorily at the two-year college. Students who later returned to the university improved their grades with each quarter's course work. Factors associated with academic performance at the two institutions were identified.     

The relationship between psychological identification with instructors and student ratings of college courses

Drawing upon Freud's seminal discussion of psychological identification vis-a-vis group psychodynamics, this study investigated the relationship between degree of student identification with an instructor and students' ratings of instructional effectiveness. Specifically, it was hypothesized that students who highly identify with their instructor will rate the course more favorably, perceive greater progress on their part toward course related objectives, and report higher motivation to learn than students who do not identify with their instructor. Using a 50 item personality trait Q-sample, 96 undergraduates from eight different courses taught by three different instructors were asked to describe the instructor, their actual self, and their ideal self; Q-sorts for the instructor and ideal self were correlated separately for each student as the measure of identification. Instructional effectiveness was assessed using the Kansas State IDEA form. Correlational and path analyses of the data provided support for the hypothesis. Results are discussed in light of the unique contribution made by the traditional notion of identification to instructional outcomes and evaluation.     

Error factors: A missing link between cognitive science and classroom practice?

Cognitive scientists are now able to model the errors of learners on simple, well-specified topics such as subtraction. Unfortunately, the associated techniques are too involved, and the analyses too fine-grained, for teachers to apply them to general classroom topics. Deficiencies are also apparent in current curriculum theories, which do not pay sufficient attention to the consequences of untreated errors. The most immediately usable and integrative approach of which I am aware is in terms of Error Factors (EFs)-promoters of underlying confusion in learning. I show here how this framework helps us understand the failure of classical attempts to arrange error-free learning or to provide diagnostic or remedial tests and exercises. Further, anecdotal evidence I present confirms that it is rare for teachers who are peripherally aware of such factors to deal systematically with them; more often, teachers are both ignorant of and unable to recognize typical error factors, whether in their teaching (itself commonly a source of confusion for students) or in their students' learning. Accordingly, this paper provides an overview of the more significant facets of EFs, together with such psychological explanations for their occurrences as exist. It is hoped that a fuller and more cogent appraisal of errors will be seen in classrooms as a result.