Envisioning collaboration: including ESOL students and teachers in the mainstream classroom

The inclusion of language learners and the imperative to meet the needs of English language learners in the mainstream classroom call upon teachers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL teachers) and mainstream teachers to work together; however, little research has been done in US contexts to understand collaborative efforts between ESOL and mainstream teachers. Research thus far has focused on the inclusion of English language learners (ELLs), but this paper argues that we need to look more closely at the inclusion of teachers of ELLs, by examining how three ESOL teachers and three of their mainstream counterparts envision their work as collaborative. We found that when pairs envisioned their work as collaborative, they created a synergy that constructed a broader network of resources for ELLs by bringing together more people, materials, ideas and abilities than either teacher was able to generate alone. This network allowed both teachers in the pair to become part of a larger conversation, and connected both teachers to others who were working to foster the academic success of ELLs.     

Comparing Theories of Media Learning: Cognitive Mediation,Information Utility,and Knowledge Acquisition from Cancer News

Determining what factors predict media learning is an important avenue of research for the field of mass communication. The present study provides a comparative investigation of two models of media learning: the cognitive mediation model and the information utility model. Participants (N = 1,076) read a news article related to scientific discoveries relevant to cancer prevention and responded to all constructs of the two models. Recognition and comprehension were used to measure knowledge acquisition. Results generally support previous predictions of each model, though predicted variance remains small. In addition to testing the existing models, a modified cognitive mediation model using a key construct related to information utility—perceived relevance—was tested. The refined cognitive mediation model offered a more nuanced understanding of certain causal mechanisms but did not result in a meaningful change in predictive power of the model. Implications of the theoretical comparison and integration are discussed.     

Interpersonal conflict: Effects of variations in manner of expressing anger and justification for anger upon perceptions of appropriateness,competence, and satisfaction

Using a 3x3 factorial design, nine scenarios were developed in which a spouse had either a strong, moderate, or weak justification for becoming angry at a subject who was instructed to assume the role of the other spouse. In each senario, the spouse confronted the subject and expressed anger in one of three ways: assertively, aggressively, or non‐assertively. Subjects responded to the spouse's expression of anger on scales measuring perceptions of appropriateness, competence, and satisfaction. Findings contradicted conventional wisdom and research findings on assertive communication. Implications of the results along with suggestions for future research were offered.     

Revising a College 101 Course for Sustained Impact: Early Outcomes

ABSTRACT

In response to strikingly low completion rates in public 2-year colleges, including for students who are well-prepared academically, most community colleges across the country offer student success courses as one approach to improving outcomes for students. Some colleges have begun to revise these courses in response to research indicating that their impact fades over time. This article examines Bronx Community College’s efforts to restructure their student success course into a First Year Seminar (FYS) that integrates college orientation activities, disciplinary content, and academic success skills. The course emphasizes student-centered pedagogies in order to encourage learning that persists beyond the semester of participation. We use mixed methods to assess the early outcomes of students in FYS courses and understand whether and why the course’s impact has the potential to be sustained. Using propensity score matching to compare 1,138 FYS participants to 1,138 similar nonparticipants, we find early evidence that the FYS approach leads to positive outcomes, including higher grade point averages (GPA) and earning more credits. Using classroom observations (N = 40), instructor interviews (N = 10), and interviews with participants (N = 27), we find that FYS appears to facilitate student-centered, contextualized, and applied learning, thereby helping students apply their FYS-related skills in future courses. This study has implications for reforming student success courses in a way that achieves long-term positive student outcomes.     

College Student Utilization of a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program

The authors sought to identify college students at risk for experiencing a mental health crisis that warranted a psychiatric evaluation at a hospital and/or a psychiatric hospitalization. A retrospective chart review of college students evaluated at a comprehensive psychiatric emergency program during a 1‐year period was conducted. Demographic variables, mental health treatment history, diagnosis, and hospital discharge plans were found to predict those students likely to be hospitalized and those likely to have positive discharge outcomes.     

Recent Sexual Assault and Suicidal Behaviors in College Students: The Moderating Role of Anger

Sexual assault and suicide are 2 of many issues facing college students. Recent research calls for an examination of anger in suicidal behavior. Through a series of moderated logistic regression models, the authors examined the moderating effects of anger on the association of recent sexual assault and suicidal behaviors. Results support the moderating role of anger in the association of sexual assault with suicidal thinking, but not with self‐injury or suicide attempts. The authors discuss practitioner implications.     

Adolescents' Age Preferences for Dating Partners: Support for an Evolutionary Model of Life-History Strategies

The tendency for women to prefer older partners, and for men to prefer younger partners, has frequently been explained in terms of socialization to American sex-role norms specifying that men must be older and more powerful than their female partners. However, recent cross-cultural data reveal this same pattern in all societies studied, a finding more in line with an evolutionary life-history model. The evolutionary model assumes that what is attractive to males is not youth, per se, but features related to fertility. This perspective leads to a hypothesis concerning the development of age preferences among adolescents: teenage males should violate the normative pattern shown in adult males and express interest in females older than themselves. 209 teenagers (103 males, 106 females) ranging in age from 12 to 19 were surveyed regarding the age limits they would find acceptable in a dating partner, as well as the age of a dating partner they would find ideally attractive. Although teenage males were willing to date girls slightly younger than themselves, they indicated a much wider range of acceptability above their own ages, and also reported that their ideally attractive partners would be several years older than themselves. Preferences of teenage females were similar in pattern to those of adult females, ranging, on average, from their own age to several years older. When combined with the consistent adult data obtained from numerous cultures, these data suggest the utility of viewing the development of sex differences in mate preference from the perspective of an evolutionary life-history model.     

A national study examining the impact of SEVIS on international student and scholar advisors

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact that Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is having on the professional worklives of international student and scholar advisors (ISSAs) on U.S. college and university campuses. ISSAs are clearly satisfied with their work and hold their institutions in high regard. However, SEVIS is having a profound effect on their morale, satisfaction, and their likelihood to leave the field. That is, SEVIS (i.e., reporting, training, time) and the quality of worklife (i.e., professional activities and career development, recognition for competence and their expertise, external and intra-department relationships, perceptions of discrimination) are important to ISSAs, and thus have a strong effect on their level of satisfaction and/or morale, and their subsequent intentions to stay or leave their career/profession.     

Reaction Cards as a Formative Evaluation Tool: Students' perceptions of how their use impacted classes

This article explores students' perceptions of how their input on 'reaction cards' affected their classes. Reaction cards - index cards upon which each student writes remarks related to each day's class activities - were used in 10 classes across seven disciplines as a means of formative evaluation. Open-ended survey questions about the reaction cards were completed anonymously by 195 students at mid-term and by 184 students at the end of the semester. Faculty also reported on how they used the cards and their perceptions of how the cards impacted their classes. At mid-semester, students indicated that the cards had a positive impact on their classes. The cards improved communication, increased students' involvement in the course, and improved their connection to the material. At the end of the semester there were some negative comments related to the tedium of filling out the cards in each class. Reaction cards can provide a simple but powerful tool for gathering data that can be used to modify and improve courses as they progress.