The Development of Process Indicators to Estimate Student Gains Associated with Good Practices in Undergraduate Education

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the development of psychometrically sound process indicators of student performance is described. Second, the results are reported of a test of the utility of these indicators with six samples of men and women students (n = 911 in each group) from 19 baccalaureate, 27 master's, and 29 doctoral-granting institutions. Process indicators represent behaviors associated with desired outcomes of college and estimate the extent to which students are engaged in these activities. Selected items from the College Student Experiences Questionnaire were used to create measures of three good educational practices: faculty-student contact, cooperation among students, and active learning. Active learning and cooperation among students in that order were the best predictors of gains for both women and men at all three types of institutions. Student background characteristics had only trivial influences on educational gains. Implications are discussed for institutional policy and further research.     

The Impact of Learning Communities on First Year Students’ Growth and Development in College

This study investigated the direct and indirect relationships between participating in a learning community, student engagement, and self-reported learning outcomes. Using a sample of 241 freshmen at a single urban research university who took the College Student Experiences Questionnaire, the results indicate that after controlling for demographic characteristics and entering composite ACT score, the relationship between learning community participation and learning outcomes are mediated by students’ levels of engagement. Learning community participation was not directly related to educational gains but was indirectly related to educational gains through student engagement. Student engagement in turn was strongly related to educational gains.     

Quality of Effort and Career Preparation Differences Between African American and White Community College Students

This study examined data from a random sample of 500 White students and 500 African American students who have taken the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire to determine which factors in the environment impact their career preparation. The results showed that interaction with faculty had the strongest impact on career preparation for all students. Counseling services were significant for African American students. The African American students indicated they put more effort into student-faculty interactions and peer interactions than White students, and they reported greater gains in career preparation.     

Self-concept,school self-image,satisfaction, and involvement in an alternative high school

Alternative education emphasizes students' psychological development and academic achievement. The present paper reports a case study of the psychological correlates of students' adjustment to a small urban free school. It was expected that: (a) students would have high general self-concept, school selfimage, satisfaction, and involvement; (b) self-concept would discriminate between those high and low in school adjustment: and (c) there would be a positive relationship between school self-image, satisfaction, and involvement. Forty male and thirty female students voluntarily answered the New Morning Student Questionnaire (1972) and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (Fitts, 1965). Results showed that students were psychologically well adjusted; they had a somewhat higher self-concept than the norm for high school students; self-concept was a good predictor of school self-image and satisfaction; and there was a positive relationship between school self-image, satisfaction, and involvement.     

Influences of the Normative Environment of Peer Groups on Community College Students' Perceptions of Growth and Development

Grounded in Weidman's (1989a) socialization model and Pace's (1979b) theoretical conception of quality of effort, this study examines the effects of peer groups on community college students perceptions of general educational gains. Peer groups were defined as the aggregate student body within an institution. The sample consisted of a national sample of community college students who had responded to the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire. Given the nested structure of the data, hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine institutional- and student-level effects. Dominant influences on students' perceived gains were from the quality of effort exerted by students. Aggregates of individual-level measures were used as indicators of the peer environment and had little impact on individual-level estimates.     

Exploring First-Year Science Students' Chemistry Self-Efficacy

First-year chemistry classes typically comprise of a mixture of majors and non-majors. Reports in the literature suggest that students have lower self-efficacy for subjects outside their intending major. Here we report on research that examines changes in chemistry students' chemistry self-efficacy throughout their first year of chemistry study at a New Zealand University. Chemistry self-efficacy was measured at three times throughout the year using the self-efficacy component of the Chemistry Attitudes and Experiences Questionnaire (CAEQ). Quantitative data were triangulated with qualitative data obtained from interviews of a cohort of 19 students. The research findings provide insights into the chemistry learning tasks that students feel high and low levels of confidence in.     

Joint factor analysis of the college student experiences questionnaire and the act COMP objective exam

This study reports the joint factor structure of the ACT College Outcomes Measures Project Objective (COMP-O) examination and the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) scales for graduating college seniors at a large doctoral degree-granting institution. From a theoretical, empirical, and psychometric perspective, one might expect to observe a relationship between the effort that a student puts into the collegiate experience and academic outcomes. This study successfully replicated the factor structures of the CSEQ and the COMP-O reported elsewhere. The joint factor analysis of the two instruments failed to identify any constructs common to the two instruments. Based on our findings and those of others, the use of the COMP-O as a sole measure of the effectiveness of any program or collegiate outcome appears unjustified.     

The effect of effort grading on learning

In the fall of 2004, Benedict College – a Historically Black College in Columbia, SC – began enforcing a new grading policy called Success Equals Effort (SE²). Under this policy, students taking freshman and sophomore level courses were assigned grades that explicitly rewarded not only content learning (“knowledge” grade) but also measures of effort (“effort” grade). This paper examines the effects of effort grading using two stage least squares and fixed effect estimates. I find evidence of a strong positive correlation between “effort” grades and “knowledge” grades. Under some restrictions this relationship can be interpreted as “effort” producing “knowledge”.     

Table of Contents

Introduction, Context, and Overview Definitions and Conceptual Framework Major Theoretical Perspectives on Student Success in College Sociological Perspectives Organizational Perspectives Psychological Perspectives Cultural Perspectives Economic Perspectives Summary The Foundation for Student Success: Student Background Characteristics, Precollege Experiences, and Enrollment Patterns Student Demographics Family and Peer Support Academic Preparation and Motivation to Learn Enrollment Choices and Patterns Summary Student Behaviors, Activities, and Experiences Associated with Student Success College Activities A Closer Look at Engagement in Effective Educational Practices Student Characteristics Summary Notes Institutional Conditions Associated with Student Success Structural and Organizational Characteristics Programs and Practices Summary Propositions and Recommendations for Student Success in Postsecondary Education Propositions and Recommendations Needed Research A Final Word Appendix A: Note on Research Methods Appendix B: Indicators of Student Success in Postsecondary Education References Name Index Subject Index About the Authors     

The undergraduate experience: Commonalities and differences among colleges

Item and scale responses of students in 42 colleges to the College Student Experiences Questionnaire were examined to determine the frequency with which students had engaged in a wide variety of college activities. Results suggested that students most commonly attended and carried out activities related to studying and classwork, but typically did not engage in a great many intellectual and extracurricular activities. Students in selective and general liberal arts colleges were more active and involved in their colleges' lives than students in doctoral universities or comprehensive colleges and universities. Community college students were just as active as other students in academic areas, but were far less involved in out-of-class activities.     

BOOK REVIEW

This study examined whether community college students of differing ethnic backgrounds report differential perceptions of growth and development as a function of their community college experience. A multivariate analysis of variance was conducted on survey data from the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire (J. Friedlander, C. R. Pace, &; P. W. Lehman, 1990). A national sample of 15,263 community college students was used. The ethnic groups under investigation were African‐American, Hispanic, White, and Asian. Tukey‐Kramer tests revealed several statistically significant differences among ethnic groups. However, effect size and omega square analyses suggest that these differences were small in magnitude.     

Concurrent and predictive validity of career development inventory

After an overview of the situation in vocational guidance for Quebec young people, we present the results of a study of the predictive validity of the Career Development Inventory adapted for French schools in Quebec. This study demonstrates that the instrument could be used to predict student perseverance and satisfaction in their professional choices. We then present the results of a second study which verified the concurrent validity of the Career Development Inventory by comparing the results obtained using this instrument with those obtained using the Career Education Questionnaire with the same students.     

Regulatory mechanism of self-determination involvement in higher education: assessing Chinese students’ experiences

Investment in higher education facilities in terms of both hardware and software has witnessed significant growth on a yearly basis since the reintroduction of the college entrance examination known as the NMT in 1977. However, a social assessment of graduates’ qualities seems to indicate that the improvement in skill levels and graduates’ general qualities has failed to keep pace with the growth in investment. As a bridge to relate college environment to student gains in learning, student self-determined involvement in educational activities plays an important role in analyzing the educational effects of colleges. Based on a conducted through the survey of Chinese College Student Experience Questionnaire, with data collected from 647 valid respondents, universities can observe and evaluate the levels and quality of students’ involvement in the educational process. The students’ involvement of educational activities can be investigated through data analysis, employing statistical methods of a structural equation model. In observing student involvement in the educational system, it becomes apparent that the students’ capacity for building on and playing a key role in the improvement of the quality of education they receive is largely controlled by their involvement activities in the learning process. In addition, both of the college environment and student motivation have a combined and significant effect on student involvement behaviors. Student involvement can be divided into three gradual but distinct levels (controlled, identified and integrated involvement) in accordance with the varying degrees of internalization. Student involvement will exponentially magnify the positive effects on student gains when colleges invest in new and additional resources, particularly when students become more deeply involved in the educational environment. In addition, when colleges make a concentrated effort to recognize the importance of student involvement, and they encourage and incentivise students to become involved, the college itself will benefit greatly from the improved university environment. This combination of mutually beneficial activity, therefore, represents a virtuous circle of promotion between college and students.     

资助贫困大学生工作的问题与对策

文章阐述并分析了当前资助贫困大学生工作中存在的一些热点问题，并据以提出做好资助贫困大学生工作的若干政策措施，主要是：注重扶贫教育，强化管理工作，建立新的机制，并提高助学金管理手段的科技含量。     

How generalization inferences are constructed in expository text comprehension

Three questions regarding adult readers’ processing of generalization inferences (conceptually broad statements that subsume several specific statements) are investigated. College students (N = 193) read expository texts containing target statements that were consistent, inconsistent, or off-topic in relation to a generalization implied by one paragraph. Reading times were faster for consistent than inconsistent statements and faster for inconsistent than off-topic statements, indicating adult readers construct generalization inferences online during initial reading of a text and that the inference they construct is relatively narrow in scope. This pattern of faster reading time for consistent sentences occurred under different reading goals, suggesting generalization inferences are a pervasive component of expository text comprehension.     

Improving teacher questioning in science using ICAP theory

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate the efficacy of professional development in changing two middle school science teachers’ questioning to include more questions that require deeper student responses. The professional development was based on ICAP theory which proposes a framework for identifying cognitive engagement based on what is required of students. ICAP hypothesizes that Interactive and Constructive questions, such as those requiring inferential thought and collaboration, lead to deeper thinking and therefore stronger learning gains than questions that are more Active, Passive. Teacher questioning before and after the PD showed a marked improvement in increasing the number of questions that required students to make inferences about the materials. Student gain scores from tests on the lesson’s content suggests a positive relationship between constructive questions and student learning. This paper also details a coding scheme based on ICAP that can be used to provide feedback on teachers’ questioning.     

NSSE Benchmarks and Institutional Outcomes: A Note on the Importance of Considering the Intended Uses of a Measure in Validity Studies

Surveys play a prominent role in assessment and institutional research, and the NSSE College Student Report is one of the most popular surveys of enrolled undergraduates. Recent studies have raised questions about the validity of the NSSE survey. Although these studies have themselves been criticized, documenting the validity of an instrument requires an affirmative finding regarding the adequacy and appropriateness of score interpretation and use. Using national data from NSSE 2008, the present study found that the NSSE benchmarks provided dependable means for 50 or more students and were significantly related to important institutional outcomes such as retention and graduation rates.     

高校学生社团建设中存在的问题及对策

当前,高校学生社团建设中存在许多问题,如管理体制不完善、内部运作不规范等。做好学生社团的发展和管理工作,要取得高校的扶持,建立规范的管理体制,加强社团内部的管理和建设的指导。     

What students think when teachers get upset: Fundamental attribution error and student‐generated reasons for teacher anger

Using a sample of college students (N = 301), this study examined students' attributions about and explanations for teachers' expressions of anger in the classroom. These displays of anger were evaluated based on the extent to which they were aggressive (e.g., Distributive or Passive) or assertive (e.g., Integrative). Consistent with the fundamental attribution error, students assigned internal attributions to teachers who used Distributive Aggression (e.g., yell and scream) and Passive‐Aggression (e.g., show anger with cold looks) to a greater extent than teachers who were Assertive (i.e., calmly discuss the problem with the students). When students were asked to identify why they thought their teacher was angry, the overwhelming majority of reasons involved student‐related problems. In fact, the most frequently cited reason was Student Misbehaviors followed by Lack of Student Effort. Surprisingly, students acknowledge that something they did triggered the teacher's display of anger; however, consistent with fundamental attribution error, students still attributed the teacher's expression of anger to internal causes. The implications of these findings for negative emotional expressions in the instructional context in particular and for teacher‐student relationships in general are discussed.     

The effect of the demand control and effort reward imbalance models on the academic burnout of Korean adolescents

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the Demand Control Model (DCM) and the Effort Reward Imbalance Model (ERIM) on academic burnout for Korean students. Specifically, this study identified the effects of the predictor variables based on DCM and ERIM (i.e., demand, control, effort, reward, Demand Control Ratio, Effort Reward Ratio) on academic burnout. Participants were 1,530 elementary, middle, and high school students and multivariate multiple regression analysis was used. Results indicated that the variables of ERIM (i.e., effort, reward, Effort Reward Ratio) were more influential predictors than the variables of the DCM (i.e., demand, control, Demand Control Ratio). Implications and limitations are discussed.