The student advisory committee: Program evaluation that develops students

A student advisory committee was formed to complement program evaluation for an open learning center. The center's staff found that the student committee members not only gave valuable feedback about instruction and services but also served as excellent problem-solvers. As a result of this committee, the center improved its evaluation process, the staff gained insight into problems from the student's perspective, and, most important, the students were given an opportunity to develop themselves.Girard Weber holds an MA degree in Educational Measurement and Statistics from the University of Iowa and MA in Linguistics and English Literature from Northern Illinois University. His chief research interests are in assessment, and retention, especially of nontraditional students.Steven Prater holds a Masters of Education in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He is currently Counselor for the Open Learning Center of John Wood Community College. He has worked as a counselor for nine years and has been a staff sponsor and mentor for nontraditional students and student groups.     

An assessment model for proof comprehension in undergraduate mathematics

Although proof comprehension is fundamental in advanced undergraduate mathematics courses, there has been limited research on what it means to understand a mathematical proof at this level and how such understanding can be assessed. In this paper, we address these issues by presenting a multidimensional model for assessing proof comprehension in undergraduate mathematics. Building on Yang and Lin’s (Educational Studies in Mathematics 67:59–76, 2008) model of reading comprehension of proofs in high school geometry, we contend that in undergraduate mathematics a proof is not only understood in terms of the meaning, logical status, and logical chaining of its statements but also in terms of the proof’s high-level ideas, its main components or modules, the methods it employs, and how it relates to specific examples. We illustrate how each of these types of understanding can be assessed in the context of a proof in number theory.     

Teacher behavior,student interest and affective learning: putting theory to practice

Students of Project Adapt (PA), an instructional program for at-risk middle school students in Brooklyn NY, have displayed startling improvement on cognitive outcome measures. Teacher given grades and standardized tests illuminate the progress students have made since entering the program. The current investigation attempts to analyze PA on students' affective responses in a pre/post-test experimental design. Upon entering PA, students completed measures of interest, affect, and their previous teachers' behavior (pre). These ratings were then compared to end of year ratings on the same instruments (post). Results indicate students' perceive PA teachers utilizing different behaviors than their previous teachers. Additionally, student affect and interest increased significantly. Results of this study have implications for both instructional researchers and educational practitioners.     

Librarians and Mandatory Academic Advising at a Mid-sized Public University: A Case Study

This article provides a case study of librarians being assigned the responsibility of providing academic advising to undeclared students at a mid-sized public university. The experience of academic advising as librarians is explored as well as challenges, benefits, best practices and next steps. The implications and impact of advising on library work is discussed. For the most part, the librarians found that academic advising dovetailed well with the culture of librarianship.     

A Comparative Study of Physique and Performance Measures Resulting from a Short-Term Physical Fitness Course

Abstract

Cardiorespiratory and anthropometric assessments were made on 95 randomly selected young college males enrolled in three physical fitness sections and one tennis course, each lasting eight weeks. Laboratory and field measures were utilized to report and evaluate changes in functional fitness and physique variables, including nine selected fat and girth measurements, height and weight, timed vital capacity, Harvard Step Test, grip strength, mile run time, and vertical jump. Analysis of the data yielded the following conclusions: (a) Eight weeks of physical fitness training can produce significant improvements in physique and circulorespiratory characteristics; (b) A skill-oriented tennis class demonstrates no significant physical improvements; (c) Body weight can be increased while body fat is lost; (d) Vital capacity has little value in reflecting levels of physical performance; (e) Specificity of a physical fitness program will influence its outcome.