The disadvantaged student at a liberal arts college

In the fall of 1969, a program to expand educational opportunities (EEO) for economically disadvantaged students was initiated at Macalester College. During the first three years of the program, the percentage of non-white students at the College rose from 3% to approximately 15%.Average grades for the EEO students were approximately one standard deviation below those of a random non-EEO sample, similar to the differences in high school grades between the two groups. However, the EEO students persisted at Macalester College at a slightly higher rate than non-EEO students. The EEO students also were more likely than non-EEO students to major in the behavioral/social sciences and less likely to major in the fine arts, humanities, and physical sciences.     

The liberal arts college and adult continuing education: A rationale

Discussion concentrates on feasibility of private liberal arts college involvement with adult and continuing education. Evidence of need is provided by national and local surveys. Basic model is that developed by Saint Mary's College, Winona, Minnesota, which sponsors an Employee Learning Program with support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Experiences of the exploratory period indicate positive support from college administration and faculty, increasing response to course offerings (life-coping skills and personal enrichment), cautious involvement by business and industry, and meager interest from organized labor. The program continues to define the model in its second year of operation.     

工科院校文科生就业挑战及对策探析

在严峻的就业压力和工科院校文科生群体不断扩大的背景下,工科院校文科生就业难的问题也日渐凸现。本文从文科生就业现状出发,从社会经济形势、文科学科特点、工科院校背景及文科学生等方面分析了工科院校文科生就业的面临的挑战和机遇,扬长避短地提出了改革人才培养模式、挖掘工科院校资源、提高实用写作能力、加强个性化培养等对策来推动工科院校文科生的就业。     

文科女生数学学习障碍探究

现在的文科班,不管是重点中学还是普通中学,女生的数量都占班级总人数的绝大部分。笔者在执教过程中发现,文科女生由于某些原因,在数学学习中存在着这样或那样的障碍,以至于数学成绩提高较慢,进而对学习数学有一种恐惧心理。有的女生甚至是因为数学不好才去学文科的。文章从文科女生学习数学障碍的分类及成因入手,提出一些合理的建议及看法,帮助文科女生克服各种障碍,走出心理阴影,不因数学而哭泣,真正学好数学。     

Attrition in the liberal arts college of a major metropolitan university

A variety of data was collected about students in the liberal arts college of a major metropolitan university. Random samples of 120 students were selected from each of two groups: stayers and leavers. The data include only those variables that would be known to administrators at the time an admissions decision is to be made. These data were then subjected to a stepwise linear discriminant analysis. Significant results are found for discriminating between the two groups, and nine variables are found to contribute to the discrimination.     

文科物理实验教学实践探索

东南大学是国内少数较早对文科各专业开设大学物理实验课程的学校之一,经过多年的教学实践改革,东南大学的文科物理实验教学体系已初步形成。该文从教学内容、教学模式及实验考核等方面进行了介绍和总结。     

Statistical models for college admission and enrollment: A case study for a selective liberal arts college

In making admission decisions, selective colleges make choices that allow them to improve the quality of the college. Desired student attributes include leadership, noteworthy achievements and talents, and cultural and geographical diversity, as well as high academic performance. Since few applicants dominate in all these attributes, a delicate balancing act must be forged.In this study we construct probability models for college admissions and student enrollment. We have chosen a selective liberal arts college as a case study over a four-year period. In the first stage we estimate the probability of acceptance to the college for individual applicants. The logit model includes a number of academic factors as well as nonacademic components. In the second stage we estimate the probability of enrollment for an accepted student.The first stage results show that the actual outcome of the admissions decision does match the broader institutional goals of the college. However, in the second stage, the discrepancy between the acceptance and enrollment decisions frustrates the efforts of the institution to achieve its diversity goals and highlights the difficulty that admission officers have in targeting their efforts toward special groups of applicants.     

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.     

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.     

基于学习共同体的文科实验教学模式研究

传统文科实验教学常常忽视实验对象的特殊性,抄袭理工科实验教学模式,模仿或重复教师的实验步骤和过程,缺少相互间的交流与合作,无法体现团队力量和创新思维。通过探讨文科实验教学过程中存在的问题,构建以项目为导向的学习共同体,培养学生的团队合作能力和实践动手能力。     

Attrition in STEM fields at a liberal arts college: The importance of grades and pre-collegiate preferences

There is widespread concern, both in the private and public sectors, about perceived declines in U.S. college graduates in STEM fields. In our sample, the proportion of science majors has remained steady over the sample period; however, the number entering our college intending to major in STEM fields has fallen. In this paper we use administrative data from the graduating classes of 2001–2009, roughly 5000 graduates, from a northeastern liberal arts college to model the progression of students through STEM majors. The results suggest that absolute and sometimes relative grades are important, as is the intended major (as reported on the admissions application). AP credits are also strongly correlated to taking a first course, but diminish in the more selected samples. Simulations suggest that if science grade distributions were more like the college average, there would be roughly 2–4% more students progressing in STEM departments.     

文科物理网络学习系统的设计

本文根据素质教育和远程教学的发展需要，对文科大学物理网上学习系统的内容、结构和组建方式，提出了系统的技术方案，并研制出有适用价值的文科大学物理网上学习系统，对提高文科学生的科学素质具有现实意义。     

合作学习模式在艺术类大学英语课堂中的效果探究

合作学习模式在艺术类大学英语教学中的应用,对艺术类大学英语教学的实施具有重要的推动作用,因此,对合作学习模式在艺术类大学英语课堂教学中的运用效果展开研究更具现实意义,本文从合作学习模式在艺术类大学英语课堂中应用的优势分析入手,进而对合作学习模式在艺术类大学英语课堂中有效实施的过程展开分析,最后对合作学习模式在艺术类大学英语课堂中有效实施的策略进行分析,希望以本文的研究能够有效的促进合作学习模式在艺术类大学英语课堂中的应用,推动英语教学在该类大学中的更好实施。     

发达国家理工院校培养文科人才的经验及启示

西方发达国家理工院校顺应科学教育与人文教育并重时代发展潮流,普遍重视和不断加强人文教育,注重打好人文教育的基础,对中国理工院校培养文科人才的培养具有很大的经验与启示,即:理工类院校要确立文理相结合的教育模式,树立二者平衡发展的办学观念;理工院校要有海纳百川的"胸怀",能够充分容纳人文社会科学的精神价值观与学科特点,扬长避短;在坚持本校原有的、富有特色的理工类专业的学科发展策略时,还应加强哲学、文学、历史、外国语等人文学科的设置。