First-generation college students: Characteristics,experiences, and cognitive development

This study sought answers to three questions: (1) Do the precollege characteristics of first-generation students differ from those of traditional students? (2) Do first-generation students' college experiences differ from those of other students? (3) What are the educational consequences of any differences on first-year gains in students' reading, math, and critical thinking abilities? Answers come from 2,685 students (825 first-generation and 1,860 traditional students) who entered 23 diverse institutions nationwide in Fall 1992 and who completed one year of study. First-generation students differ from their traditional peers in both entering characteristics and college experiences. Although traditional students make greater net gains in reading during their first year, the two groups gain to about the same degree in math and critical thinking skills. Those gains, however, appear to result from somewhat different experiences.     

A Q factor analysis of college undergraduate students' study behaviours

This study attempted to better understand the study behaviours of undergraduate students by categorizing students into distinctive typologies based on their self-reported study behaviours through an exploratory approach – Q factor analysis. A sample of 152 undergraduate students completed a survey instrument, the Study Behavior Inventory. The Q factor analysis yielded a 2-factor structure. Participants exhibiting the 1st behavioural type demonstrated reflective, well-organized study behaviours and favoured high-level thinking; thus were described as “Organized Holistic Learners”. Those exhibiting the 2nd behavioural type were found to manage time poorly and primarily focus on memorizing facts; thus were labelled “Disorganized Procrastinators”. Type 1 students had significantly higher grade point averages (GPAs) than Type 2 students. Student type was a significant predictor of academic achievement, as measured by self-reported GPA above and beyond students' attribute variables including sex, age, major, and enrolment status. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

REVIEW OF CURRENT PERIODICAL LITERATURE

Art and Literature: Children's Experiences in Art by Pearl Greenberg. New York: Reinhold, 1966. 132 pp. $7.50.

Comparative and International Education: The World in Their Hands by Anna L. Rose Hawkes. West Lafayette, Ind.: Kappa Delta Pi Press, 1966. go pp. $2.50.

Chinese Communist Education: Records of the First Decade. New York: John Wiley &; Sons, Inc., 1966. 542 PP. 82.95 paper.

Guidance and Psychology: Neurological Organization and Reading by Carl H. Delacato. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, Publisher, 1966. 181 pp. $7.50.

Frustration and Conflict by Aubrey J. Yates. New York: John Wiley &; Sons, Inc., 1966, 236 pp. $1.45 paper.

Cybernetic Principles of Learning and Educational Design by Karl U. Smith and Margaret Foltz Smith, New York: Holt, Rinehart &; Winston, 1966. 529 PP. 88.95.

Guidance—Personnel Work: Future-Tense edited by Margaret Ruth Smith. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 1966. 176 PP. $4.75

Higher Education: The University in the American Future by Kenneth D. Benne, Sir Charles Morris, Henry Steele Commager, and Gunnar Myrdal. Edited by Thomas B. Stroup. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1966. 111 pp. $4.00.

Eighteen Plus, Unity and Diversity in Higher Education edited by Marjorie Reeves. London: Faber &; Faber, Ltd., 1965. 226 pp. 25s.

History and Philosophy of Education: Toward A Theory of Instruction by Jerome S. Bruner. Cambridge: The Belnap Press of Harvard University Press. x + 176 pp. $3.95.

Catholic Schools in Action edited by Reginald Neuwien. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966. 328 pp. $10.50.

Authority and Freedom in Education by Paul Nash. New York: John Wiley &; Sons, 1966. 342 pp. $3.95 paper.

Classrooms on Main Street by Harold F. Clark and Harold S. Sloan. New York: Teachers College Press, 1966. 162 PP. $3.95.

Mathematics: Basic Concepts of Elementary Mathematics (2nd Ed.) by William L. Schaaf. New York: John Wiley &; Sons, Inc., 1965. 384 pp. $6.95.

Social Studies and Science: A Sourcebook for the Biological Sciences (2nd Ed.) by Evelyn Morholl, Paul Brandwein, and Alexander Joseph. New York: Harcourt, Brace &; World, Inc., 1966. 795 PP. $9.75.

Geography in the Teaching of Social Studies by Paul R. Hanna, Rose E. Sabaroff, Gordon F. Davies, and Charles R. Farrar. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1966. 511 pp. $4.00 paper.     

Assessing twenty‐first century skills through a teacher created video game for high school biology students

As twenty‐first century skills become a greater focus in K‐12 education, an infusion of technology that meets the needs of today’s students is paramount. This study looks at the design and creation of a Multiplayer Educational Gaming Application (MEGA) for high school biology students. The quasi‐experimental, qualitative design assessed the twenty‐first century skills of digital age literacy, inventive thinking, high productivity, and effective communication techniques of the students exposed to a MEGA. Three factors, as they pertained to these skills, emerged from classroom observations. Interaction with the teacher, discussion with peers, and engagement/time‐on‐task while playing the MEGA suggested that students playing an educational video game exhibited all of the projected twenty‐first century skills while being engrossed in the embedded science content.     

Academic Follow-Up Data on Two Cohorts of High-Risk Transfer Children

Two cohorts of children from inner-city elementary schools were provided a tutoring intervention to help in their transition to new schools. Participants were third, fourth, and fifth grade children who were identified as having low-income status, evidencing lags on achievement tests, and experiencing stressful life events. The intervention involved an orientation program with twice weekly paraprofessional tutoring. Two and three year academic and sociometric follow-up data were collected. Those provided the intervention evidenced some improvements over time, and these changes were most prominent in the area of reading grades. Fewer significant findings were found on sociometric indices.