Factors Predicting the Importance of Libraries and Research Activities for Undergraduates

While prior research has established linkages between undergraduate students' library use, research participation, and success, researchers know little about the importance undergraduates place upon libraries and research activities. Utilizing data from the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey, the purpose of this paper was to examine factors associated with the importance of libraries and research among undergraduates at nine large, public research universities. The results of this study suggest a variety of factors are positively associated with the importance of libraries and research for students, including participation in research activities, interest in medical or research careers, academic engagement, faculty interactions, library satisfaction, and development of library skills, among others.     

Ignis Fatuus Effect of Faculty Category: Is the Tenure Versus Non-Tenure Debate Meaningful to Students’ Course Experiences?

The American professoriate is shifting its majority makeup from tenure track to non-tenure track faculty members. Less known, though, is what the implications of this shift are for students’ course experiences. We sought to examine the extent to which the teaching practices, with regard to academic rigor and cognitively responsive teaching, differ between faculty category using observational measures of teaching in the classroom. We found that broad categorizations of faculty may not be meaningful unless they are examined in particular contexts, such as discipline and class size.     

Creating a dialogic environment for transformative science teaching practices: towards an inclusive education for science

Abstract

This paper focuses on the design and application of a teacher training strategy to promote the inclusive education of students with disabilities in the science classroom, through the creation of adult learning environments grounded on the principles of dialogic learning. Participants of the workshop proposal consisted of a group of twelve teachers who were working at various educational levels. Teacher teams proposed and implemented in their classroom, innovative, inclusive science-learning activities about a topic of their choice. Data were collected from interviews with teachers five months after the courses, teachers’ portfolios about their practice during implementation of such sequences, and researchers’ observations. The data suggest that it is possible to stimulate a gradual transformation of teaching practices through a teacher training proposal that promotes self-awareness and critical reflection, situated in the creation of meaning and a willingness to change in the spirit of solidarity and social action. We found elements to recommend the incorporation of these innovations at the curricular and practical level for teacher training schools and for in-service teacher development programmes in Mexico and elsewhere.     

Stimulation of thinking skills in high school students

The objective of this research was to examine the effects of the instruction method “thinking actively in an academic context (TAAC)” on thinking skills, creativity, self‐regulation and academic achievement. The design was pre‐test–intervention–post‐test with control group. The sample included 46 participants (aged 16 to 18 years), 24 experimental and 22 controls. Before and after application of the method, six instruments were used to measure thinking skills and academic achievement. The method, divided into eight stages, was followed in each didactic unit during an academic course. The method allows teaching the thinking skills, the creativity and the self‐regulation simultaneously with the syllabus content. The results showed that greater changes were obtained with the new method of instruction in all the dependent variables. Relevant scientific and educational implications are drawn from the study.     

Stacks,Serials, Search Engines,and Students' Success: First-Year Undergraduate Students' Library Use,Academic Achievement,and Retention

Like other units within colleges and universities, academic libraries are subject to increasing internal and external pressures to demonstrate their contributions to institutional goals related to students' success. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between first-year undergraduate students' use of the academic library, academic achievement, and retention. Results of ordinary least squares regressions predicting first-year students' cumulative grade point averages (GPA) and logistic regressions predicting students' first-year to second-year retention suggest that students who used academic library services and resources at least once during the academic year had higher GPA and retention on average than their peers who did not use library services. The results of two separate regressions predicting students' GPA by 10 different types of library use suggest that four library use areas were consistently and positively associated with students' GPA: database logins, book loans, electronic journal logins, and library workstation logins. The results of two separate logistic regression analyses suggest that logging into databases and using library workstations were actions consistently and positively associated with students' retention. Additional results predicted by students' use of services at least one time and by one-unit increases in the frequency of library area uses are discussed.     

First‐Generation Students' Sense of Belonging,Mental Health,and Use of Counseling Services at Public Research Universities

This study explored 1st‐generation students' sense of belonging, mental health status, and use of mental health services in comparison to non‐1st‐generation students. Using the Student Experience in the Research University multi‐institutional survey, the authors found that 1st‐generation students tended to report lower ratings of belonging, greater levels of depression/stress, and lower use of services compared to non‐1st‐generation students. Implications for college counselors and suggestions for future inquiry are provided.