Service Learning and Civic Engagement

Outside work can complement what goes on in the classroom in ways that benefit both the community and students. Of course, AQ readers may have heard of tendentious programs and faculty ideologues, who channel student enthusiasm into partisan activism. Still, statistical survey analysis presented here by Mary Prentice suggests that participation in service learning can increase students’ civic engagement, when civic engagement is defined as more than just political action.Outside work can complement what goes on in the classroom in ways that benefit both the community and students. Of course, AQ readers may have heard of tendentious programs and faculty ideologues, who channel student enthusiasm into partisan activism. Still, statistical survey analysis presented here by Mary Prentice suggests that participation in service learning can increase students' civic engagement, when civic engagement is defined as more than just political action.     

The Effect of Service Learning on Community College Students

This study discusses the implementation of a service learning component in community college communication 101 level courses. Through the execution of a service learning component in communication classes at a community college, students’ communicative competency and attitude toward community service is assessed. Using two different delivery approaches, a quantitative study assessed the pretest and posttest of the standardized tool Communicative Adaptability Scale (CAS). Eight sections of communication 101 courses were distributed into two groups: (a) an experimental group and (b) a control group. The experimental group (n = 69) was required to finish a service learning project consisting of 15 hours by the end of the semester. The control group (n = 64) students did not participate in a community service project. Quantitative research methods were applied through data collection of the CAS taken by participants preimplementation and postimplementation of the service learning component, which was a community service project. The CAS results support that the implementation of service learning significantly increases students’ communication adaptability and competence.     

Academic Outcomes Among a Sample of Learning Support Community College Students

This research examined the relationship between placement in a learning support college program and subsequent academic outcomes. The sample consisted of 275 entering freshmen students who were enrolled in the Learning Support reading courses in the fall of 2005. Data were collected from the Gordon College Office of Institutional Research. The data showed that of the 275 students who enrolled in a Learning Support reading course in the fall 2005 semester, 189 returned for the spring 2006 semester. Data also showed that 58% of the 275 students enrolled in Learning Support reading during fall 2005 successfully completed a basic reading intensive course upon completion of their remedial reading class. One hundred eighty seven students who had previously completed Learning Support reading enrolled (spring 2006 or later) in Introductory English 101 and 121 passed. Fifty-five students who had completed Learning Support reading enrolled (spring 2006 or later) in History 1121, Western Civilization, and 20 students passed. Six of the 205 students who completed Learning Support reading graduated Gordon College within a three-year period. The results of the present study indicate that the Learning Support Reading Program in place at Gordon College has proven to be a beneficial tool for at-risk college students. It is assumed that programs such as the Learning Support Program described here may help students build a foundation that will aid them throughout their college career.     

Career Identity Among Community College Students

Career identity development is salient in adolescence and young adulthood, but little research has assessed career identity in populations other than four-year college students. Context should be considered when examining career identity, and to address this gap in the literature, the current study examined the extent to which parental support for career, work experience, and career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) influenced career identity evaluation (i.e., engaging in in-depth career exploration and identification with one's career) in a sample of community college students. Results showed that parental support for career was predictive of CDSE, and CDSE was predictive of career identity evaluation, which suggests parental support for career indirectly affects career identity evaluation through CDSE. In contrast to expectations, work experience was not associated with CDSE or career identity evaluation. Findings suggest differences in career identity development for two-year community college and four-year university students.     

Rearticulating Civic Engagement Through Cultural Studies and Service-Learning

Although service-learning has the potential to infuse technical communication pedagogy with civic goals, it can easily be co-opted by a hyperpragmatism that limits ethical critique and civic engagement. Service-learning's component of reflection, in particular, can become an uncritical, narrow invention or project management tool. Integrating cultural studies and service-learning can help position students as critical citizens who produce effective and ethical discourse and who create more inclusive forms of power. Rather than being tacked on, cultural studies approaches should be incorporated into core service-learning assignments.     

Success in Algebra Among Community College Students

College algebra is a required course for most majors, but is viewed by many as a gatekeeper course for degree completion by students. With almost half a million students taking college algebra each year, faculty are experimenting with new course lengths of time that might result in higher success, completion, and retention rates for college algebra students. This article reports on a study of the traditional 16-week versus an 8-week course length in college algebra at a two-year Metropolitan Community College (MCC) in the United States. The study was to determine which course length of time, 8 weeks or 16 weeks, results in a higher proportion of students successfully completing the college algebra course. Also investigated were success rates among ethnicities, genders, and age groups. The study included 231 students in college algebra. Data were analyzed on four sections of the traditional 16-week courses and four sections of 8-week courses. In this study, success was measured as earning a grade of A, B, or C in the course. Understanding more about course lengths of time for college algebra can aid in increased understanding of time as a factor and, ultimately, may determine if students are more successful in 8-week or 16-week courses of instruction.     

Service-Learning Among Nontraditional Age Community College Students

In recent decades, many institutions of higher education have responded to community and student learning needs through the development of service-learning programs (Sapp & Crabtree, 2002 Sapp , D. A. , & Crabtree , R. D. ( 2002 ). A laboratory in citizenship: Service-learning in the technical communication classroom . Technical Communication Quarterly , 11 ( 4 ), 411 – 431 .[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Community colleges have been noted as leaders in the establishment of service-learning programs. The purpose of this study was to better understand the service-learning experiences and subsequent outcome of nontraditional age students at a community college. The study utilized the three commonly noted best practices in service-learning as a guide in the exploration of literature and data: (a) connection between course material and the service experience through reflection; (b) the extent to which it is perceived that participation in service-learning had an impact on the community; and (c) the training or orientation activities incorporated into the service-learning experience. Using case study methodology, multiple data sources were collected and analyzed, including faculty member surveys, course syllabi, agency surveys, student surveys and semistructured interviews. Findings of the study revealed a number of implications for practice, as well as recommendations for future research. This study revealed the critical importance of postreflective assignments in helping students connect their service experience to course content and better understand community needs, yielded an understanding of how appreciative agency representatives and working with others at the agency enhanced the service-learning experience, explained how informal means by which to receive an orientation to the service agency are of value, and confirmed previous research that suggests intention to volunteer after graduation can be attributable, at least in part, to students’ participation in service-learning.     

大学生合作学习参与程度调查研究

合作学习已逐渐发展为一种主流的教学理论与策略,普遍应用于当前的学校教学中。但现有的相关研究多聚焦于中小学生,对于大学生的合作学习情况则少有研究。针对这一结构性缺失,本研究采取了实证调查方式,对大学生合作学习的参与程度及其影响因素进行了探讨和分析,以期提出富有针对性的建议,从而更好地发挥合作学习在提升大学生综合能力方面的作用。     

Civic Development Among College Students at Southern Baptist Colleges and Universities

Utilizing data from the 2009 College Senior Survey, this study measured and compared social agency and civic awareness among undergraduate students enrolled at four types of institutions: Baptist, CCCU, Catholic, and nonsectarian. Comparisons were made through paired-sample t-tests and ANOVA analyses. A series of separate multiple regressions were conducted to compare the patterns and predictors of civic development across institutional types. The results indicated that, despite the many features religious colleges share in common, student outcomes varied significantly between institutional types. Furthermore, student characteristics and college experiences contributed to students’ civic development to varying degrees depending on the type of religious institution students attended.     

The Effects of a Preengineering Project-based Learning Curriculum on Self-efficacy Among Community College Students

Using statewide survey study data collected from more than 5,000 community college students, this study examined the impact of a preengineering curriculum on students' self-efficacy level after they entered rural community colleges. Project Lead The Way (PLTW), is a project-based learning curriculum for middle and high school students that strives to create a path to college and career success in STEM-related fields. In this article, the authors focused on comparing the probability of rating high self-efficacy among 86 community college students who participated in PLTW with students with no PLTW experience. The findings indicated that PLTW students have significantly lower probability of rating high self-efficacy compared to their non-PLTW counterparts. It might be that PLTW students rated their self-efficacy by comparing with a group of their close peers, who might be a group of academically high-ability students. This study provides implications for the unique, perhaps unintentional, peer effects of the project-based learning curriculum on the self-rating of students' self-efficacy. The findings highlighted the secondary-postsecondary nexus on STEM education, especially the importance of secondary programs that could positively influence the STEM educational pathways for community college students.     

高职院校学生在线学习投入与在线学习倦怠研究

基于对高职院校学生的随机抽样调查数据,通过描述性统计分析和结构方程模型进行研究。结果显示:在线学习投入对在线学习倦怠和在线学习满意有较大正向影响,在线学习倦怠对在线学习满意有较小的负向影响;学习动机和学习专注对在线学习满意有较大正向影响,学习精力对在线学习满意有很大的正向影响;情绪低落和行为不当对在线学习满意有很大的负向影响,低成就感对在线学习满意有较大正向影响。基于研究结果,从课程系统性改革、强化技能训练、参与技能大赛方面提出建议。     

高校社团对增进大学生公民精神的作用分析

平台的缺失使得大学生群体缺乏应有的公民技能训练,进而不能够把相应的“公民意识”升华为“公民精神情感”层次。这必然影响到我国公民社会的建立,减缓现代化进程。社团联合活动正好可以弥补这一缺失,为大学生提供一个广泛的实践平台。高校通过积极的价值引导,鼓励大学生踊跃地组建和参加各种社团,定能对其公民主体性精神、契约精神以及科学理性情感起到极大的增进作用,为社会培育合格的现代公民。     

Protest Reconsidered: Identifying Democratic and Civic Engagement Learning Outcomes

Using a case study approach, the authors examine the democratic and civic engagement learning outcomes of a campus protest. The conceptual framework is built on the ideas outlined in Learning Reconsidered (Keeling 2004) and modeled in its pragmatic follow-up, Learning Reconsidered 2 (Keeling 2006). Results suggest student and campus administrator actions during a campus protest support democratic aims, student development, and digital age democracy. Recommendations for campus educators are included. This study extends previous discussion on activism’s journey from detrimental to developmental (Astin 1999; Chambers & Phelps 1993; Hamrick 1998; Hunter 1988) by mapping the learning environment through the interaction of protestor and university and by incorporating new forms of activism. J. Patrick Biddix  received his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with specialization in Higher Education from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He is currently Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Research Methodology in the Department of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology at Valdosta State University. His primary research interests include college student uses of technology outside the classroom, career pathways in student affairs, and research methodology. Patricia A. Somers  received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration with specialization in Higher Education from the University of New Orleans. She is currently an Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Her primary research interests include college access, student persistence, student development theory, and two-year colleges. Joseph L. Polman  received his Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University. He is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Technology in the Division of Teaching and Learning at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. His primary research interests include inquiry-based learning involving computers and the Internet as tools, viewed from a sociocultural perspective.     

大学生学习投入与知识共享的现状及其关系研究

为了解当代大学生学习投入与知识共享之间的关系,对328名大学生进行学习投入量表与知识共享量表的实证调研.研究结果表明：大学生学习投入水平与知识共享水平总体一般,学习投入与知识共享之间呈显著正相关,大学生获取知识是学习投入的有效预测变量.