The influence of marriage on community college student achievement in specific programs of study

This study reveals and confirms earlier work regarding the positive influence of marriage on the scholastic achievement of community college students. It was found that marital status was an important predictor of community college graduating Q.P.A. in the following programs of study: Business Administration General, Business Administration Transfer, Executive Secretarial, and Nursing Education. Specifically, being a married woman appeared to place students in these programs at an academic advantage. It is suggested that researchers should look more closely at what marriage does to enhance a student's performance at the community college level.     

Perceived control and instruction in the college classroom: Some implications for student achievement

Recent research suggests that loss of control by students interferes with the quality of instruction in the college classroom. The present study examined how four types of feedback affected perceived control and student achievement in different instruction settings. College students wrote an aptitude test which provided either contingent, low noncontingent failure, high noncontingent failure, or no-performance feedback. The amount of feedback was varied by modifying the length of the test: short, medium, long. The students then observed a videotaped lecture, presented by a low or high expressive instructor, and completed a postlecture achievement test. High noncontingent failure feedback reduced students' perceived control over their performance and created an external attribution profile. For expressive instruction, achievement deteriorated in accordance with the severity of students' uncontrollability. Implications are discussed regarding loss of control and effective instruction.Parts of this work were presented at the American Psychological Association annual meeting, Los Angeles, August 1981.     

A comparison of student reactions to biology instruction by interactive videodisc or conventional laboratory

This study was designed to learn if students perceived an interactive computer/videodisc learning system to represent a viable alternative to (or extension of) the conventional laboratory for learning biology skills and concepts normally taught under classroom laboratory conditions. Data were collected by questionnaire for introductory biology classes at a large midwestern university where students were randomly assigned to two interactive videodisc/computer lessons titled Respiration and Climate and Life or traditional laboratory investigation with the same titles and concepts. The interactive videodisc system consisted of a TRS-80 Model III microcomputer interfaced to a Pioneer laser-disc player and a color TV monitor. Students indicated an overall level satisfaction with this strategy very similar to that of conventional laboratory instruction. Students frequently remarked that videodisc instruction gave them more experimental and procedural options and more efficient use of instructional time than did the conventional laboratory mode. These two results are consistent with past CAI research. Students also had a strong perception that the images on the videodisc “were not real” and this factor was perceived as having both advantages and disadvantages. Students found the two approaches to be equivalent to conventional laboratory instruction in the areas of general interest, understanding of basic principles, help on examinations, and attitude toward science. The student-opinion data in this study do not suggest that interactive videodisc technology serve as a substitute to the “wet” laboratory experience, but that this medium may enrich the spectrum of educational experiences usually not possible in typical classroom settings.     

Interactions between student achievement orientation,locus of control,and two methods of college instruction

Are some methods of instruction more suited to some students than to others? Do students who seem to be motivated to achieve through independent action actually do better in classes that reward independent behavior? And do students whose orientation is more one of conformity actually do better in classes that reward conforming behavior? This study found some of the anticipated results — and the authors discuss how their findings can be applied in college settings. Results at variance with earlier findings also are discussed.     

From reading strategy instruction to student reading achievement: The mediating role of student motivational factors

This study investigated the associations among reading strategy instruction, student motivational factors (i.e., attitudes toward reading, reading self‐concept, and motivation to read), gender, and reading achievement. The analyses were conducted using the Hong Kong sample (students at Level 1, n = 3,875 and teachers at Level 2, n = 133) from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2011 through multilevel structural equation modeling. The results showed that, first, the relation between the frequency of reading strategy instruction and student reading achievement was mediated by student attitudes toward reading. Second, the frequency of reading strategy instruction was significantly related to student attitudes toward reading and motivation to read and student attitudes toward reading was significantly associated with reading achievement. Finally, girls had more positive attitudes toward reading, more positive reading self‐concept, higher motivation to read, and higher reading achievement than boys. These findings may shed light on how teachers should arrange their reading strategy instruction to interplay with student attitudes toward reading and motivation to read and to help improve reading achievement.     

Predicting genetics achievement in nonmajors college biology

Students enrolled in a non-majors college biology course were pretested to determine their level of intellectual development, degree of field independence, mental capacity, amount of prior genetics knowledge, and amount of fluid intelligence. They were then taught a unit on Mendelian genetics. The only student variables found to not account for a significant amount of variance on a test of reading comprehension and/or a test of genetics achievement was amount of prior genetics knowledge. Developmental level was found to be the most consistent predictor of performance, suggesting that a lack of general hypothetico-deductive reasoning ability is a major factor limiting achievement among these students.     

Type of high school biology program and its effect on student attitude and achievement in college life science

A specially designed questionnaire and a modification of the “Science Classroom Activity Checklist” by L. H. Krockendorfer were used to categorize 299 life science students at the University of Iowa into two groups; those with high school biology backgrounds founded in the BSCS philosophy and those with traditionally oriented backgrounds. These groups were compared with respect to grade achievement in a college life science course, ratings of their background for the college course, and their attitude toward biology as established by their high school experience. With respect to inquiry and student-centered methods, texts were revealed as poor indicators of types of programs offered.     

The influence of parental and peer attachment on college students' academic achievement

This study examined relations among attachment to parents and peers, cognitive ability, psychosocial functioning variables, and academic achievement in a multiethnic sample of college students (n = 357). A small subgroup (14.8%) of students reported low levels of attachment to both parents and peers. Significant positive correlations were documented between parent and peer attachment and several indices of psychosocial competence. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that indices of cognitive ability were significant predictors of college students' grade point averages, while broader measures of functioning in early adulthood (attachment, intellectual ability, self‐esteem) were significant predictors of scholastic competence. Results suggest that perceived attachment to both parents and peers is a component of wider patterns of social competence and adjustment that may function as protective or compensatory factors during key transitions in young adulthood, such as participation in college, and with its attendant demands for academic achievement. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Joint determination of college student achievement and effort: Implications for college teaching

In this paper, a four-equation simultaneous equations model is developed with college student effort and achievement being jointly determined. The model is then tested using a sample of students from one comprehensive university. The empirical results provide evidence that student efforts with respect to faculty interaction, but not with respect to library usage or course effort, significantly affect achievement.You know, teachers sometimes think they are all that happen in class. But I have to take what a teacher is trying to teach me and translate it into something I learn, and that has little to do with the teacher. The learning is what I do.—A student named Susan, fromOn College Teaching, by Ohmer Milton and AssociatesAn earlier version of this paper was presented at the Lilly Conference on College Teaching at Miami University in November 1989.     

Predicting student progression: The influence of race and other student and institutional characteristics on college student performance

In this study of college student retention and progression, significant differences were found between black and white student cohorts in terms of their attrition rates, overall progression rates (defined as length of time to graduate), and tendency to follow the prescribed progression pattern (sophomore in the second year, junior in the third year, senior in the fourth year, and graduate after the fourth year). However, multiple regression analyses show that racial differences disappear when the effects of other student and institutional characteristics are statistically controlled. Therefore, colleges and universities would do well to rethink special retention and counseling programs designed especially to serve minority group students.     

Relationships between attitude and achievement among college biology students

The purposes of this study were to (1) study changes in attitude toward science, school, and academic self among college biology students, and (2) to examine relationships between attitudes and achievement in an introductory college course in biology. The three attitude variables were assessed at the beginning and end of the study. Each of the three constructs was measured by the semantic differential and one additional instrument. One cognitive measure, biology achievement, was taken at the beginning and end of the study. This was accomplished by using the Nelson Biology Test. Another cognitive measure, grade in the course, as given by the instructor, was recorded at the end of the course. Normative data and correlation coefficients among pre- and postadministrations were calculated for each institution and the composite sample as well. An analysis of variance showed that while gains in scores on the Nelson Biology Test were significant beyond the 0.01 level of probability, changes in attitude scores were not. Correlations were calculated between the attitude and cognitive variables in this study. Relationships between academic self-concept and achievement in biology were the strongest. Data from this study show that while student cognitive behavior was changed during an introductory college biology course, selected attitudes either stayed the same or became slightly more negative. Affective as well as cognitive gains would appear to be desirable goals in college courses. As we learn more about relationships that exist between cognition and affect, science educators at all levels will become better equipped to improve learning in science.