Education Commons^™

Scandals Are Threatening Higher Education., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Among the unfortunate curses affecting the

image of higher education are the scandals taking

place with unrelenting regularity. Whether

they have to do with athletics, sexual assaults,

murders, cheating, hazing, or corruption, the

media are echoing those scandals, sometimes

in excruciating detail. In some cases, like the

“Sandusky affair” that made headlines for

months and tarnished the reputation of Penn

State University and its renowned football coach

Joe Paterno, these scandals have a lasting effect

on public opinion.

We in academia have always been worried

about the effect of these scandals on an issue

very important to colleges and universities …

Cultivating Minority Scientists: Undergraduate Research Increases Self-Efficacy And Career Ambitions For Underrepresented Students In Stem, Anthony Carpi, Darcy M. Ronan, Heather M. Falconer, Nathan H. Lents

Publications and Research

In this study, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) is used to explore changes in the career intentions of students in an undergraduate research experience (URE) program at a large public minority-serving college. Our URE model addresses the challenges of establishing an undergraduate research program within an urban, commuter, underfunded, Minority-Serving Institution (MSI). However, our model reaches beyond a focus on retention and remediation toward scholarly contributions and shifted career aspirations. From a student’s first days at the College to beyond their graduation, we have encouraged them to explore their own potential as scientists in a coordinated, sequential, and self-reflective process. …

Should The New England Education Research Organization Start A Journal In The Age Of Audit Culture? Reflections On Academic Publishing, Metrics, And The New Academy, Edward Lehner, Kate Finley

Publications and Research

A large regional educational research association can straightforwardly establish a scholarly journal associated with its annual meeting. However, this work underscores the complicated scholarly ecosystem that an association enters when publishing a journal. The social sciences’ scholarly literature exists in a related series of networks that could be described as a type of “audit culture.” Within audit culture, two major academic publishers, Elsevier and Thomson Reuters, have established competing, yet strikingly collinear, journal metrics systems: Scopus and Web of Science, respectively. These and other bibliometrics systems are used to assess, order, and rank the supposed value of a researcher’s work. …

Should College Students Assessed As Needing Remedial Algebra Take College-Level Statistics Instead?, Alexandra W. Logue

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Review: Posner, Richard A. Divergent Paths: The Academy And The Judiciary. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Legal education in the United States has been controversial in the last few years

due to its cost, decreasing enrollments, and doubts about its practical value. Until

the mid-nineteenth century legal training was essentially technical in nature. At

that time many lawyers—like Abraham Lincoln—could afford to study the law by

themselves without even attending law school and then, by passing the bar exam,

were admitted in the legal profession.

Review: The New Celebrity Scientists. Out Of The Lab And Into The Limelight. Fahy, Declan. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In the last couple of decades, we have seen the widespread ascendancy of the

phenomenon of celebrity in society. Celebrities as a cultural manifestation are not

necessarily something new. We saw that notion in the twentieth century being

exploited by Hollywood through their “star system” as well as by sports teams

hungry to increase their revenues. Now that phenomenon has expanded into areas

that we would not have imagined decades ago, and one of them is in the field of

science. With the advent of social media and the relaxation of social views

regarding stereotypes, we have seen the rise …

Using Student-Developed Narratives To Improve Learning And Engagement In Computer Problem-Solving Courses, Candido Cabo, Reneta Lansiquot

Publications and Research

In our Computer Systems major, we require all students to take a problem-solving course (PS) to prepare them for subsequent courses in computer programming. As part of the PS course, students learn basic procedural programming concepts such as input, sequencing, selection (if/else), repetition (for and while loops), and output, using flowchart interpreters like Visual Logic (www.visuallogic.org). When trying to solve flowcharting problems, students have difficulty translating word problems into computer algorithms. Moreover, most problems proposed to students are closely related to mathematics and accounting, and our students are not well prepared in mathematics. Partly for this reason, students are often …

Integrating Creative Writing And Computational Thinking To Develop Interdisciplinary Connections, Candido Cabo, Reneta Lansiquot

Publications and Research

A typical college curriculum does not make it easy for students to establish connections between required general education courses and courses in their majors. Intentional linking of courses from different disciplines using interdisciplinary pedagogical strategies allows students to make those connections while developing the interdisciplinary skills which will benefit their college and post-college careers.

In addition to communication, critical thinking and reasoning, and collaborative skills, it has been recently argued that computational thinking (i.e., the application of computing concepts and methods to solve problems) should also be a part of a twenty-first century liberal education for a broad range of …

Should Students Assessed As Needing Remedial Mathematics Take College-Level Quantitative Courses Instead? A Randomized Controlled Trial, Alexandra W. Logue, Mari Watanabe-Rose, Daniel Douglas

Publications and Research

This data set is for Should Students Assessed as Needing Remedial Mathematics Take College-Level Quantitative Courses Instead? A Randomized Controlled Trial (Logue, Watanabe-Rose, & Douglas, 2016).

A Study Of Flipped Information Literacy Sessions For Business Management And Education, Madeline Cohen, Alison Lehner-Quam, Jennifer Poggiali, Robin Wright

Publications and Research

This presentation reports the results of a quantitative study of flipped classroom approaches to information literacy instruction in business and education classes. The presenters used pre- and post-tests to assess learning objectives for students in traditional class sessions and flipped sessions. The findings of our study show a statistically significant improvement in student achievement on pre-tests for those students in the flipped group, but no statistically significant difference in learning outcomes on the post-tests. We discuss the implications of these and other results, as well as the design and execution of the classes.

The Art Of Cheating In The 21st Millennium: Innovative Mechanisms And Insidious Ploys In Academic Deceit, Steven M. Lipson, Laina Karthikeyan

Publications and Research

Cheating is rampant throughout academia, with no hard evidence suggesting that such pedagogic deceit will wane. Cheating is most insidious on the college level, where such academic deceit has evolved from perhaps its basic pattern of merely peeking at another student’s examination, to planned deceit employing sophisticated subterfuges and interplay between two or more co-conspirators. Importantly, cheating per se may not necessarily be student initiated, but fostered by college/university staff for purposes of institutional or personal financial gain. Statistical studies (e.g., demographics) in complement with sociological and psychological factors associated with cheating have been previously described. This review does not …

From Marginality To Mattering: Linguistic Practices, Pedagogies And Diversities At A Community-Serving Senior College, Andrea Springirth, Hannah Göppert

Publications and Research

The cultural diversification of colleges and universities which initially targeted the needs of a specific minoritized group raises questions concerning the inclusion of every individual and the maintenance of the advances which have been made for the original population. This paper provides insight into the challenges and merits at the intersection of linguistic and racial/ethnic diversification within CUNY’s Medgar Evers College. Historically tied to the Black Campus Movement, the college is committed to being an agent of social transformation for the surrounding community. Aiming to understand the perspectives on language and diversity of the key stakeholders at the college, a …

Advocate, Spring 2016, Vol. 27, No. 2, Advocate

The Advocate

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Editor’s Note:

- The DSC Votes to Boycott Israeli Academic Institutions. Bhargav Rani (p. 3)

CUNY News:

- Inside the CUNY Pipeline. Makeba Lavan (p. 5)

- State of Your Public-School Education. Carlos Camacho and Cecilia M. Salvi (p. 7)

Debate:

- Elitism in Supreme Court and Presidential Politics. Shawn Simpson (p. 9)

- Harmony and Mayhem in Somalia. Denise Rivera (p. 14)

Features:

- Combating the Neoliberal University with a Strike. Gordon Barnes (p. 18)

Reviews:

- Stokely: A Life Through the Lens of Kwame Ture’s Autobiography. Rhone Fraser (p. 26)

Advocate, Spring 2016, Vol. 27, No. 1, Advocate

The Advocate

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editor’s Note. Dadland Maye (p. 3)

CUNY News:

- Locked in Battle: The PSC, CUNY, and the Governor. Andrew Caringi (p. 6)

Debate:

- PSC Refuses to Bargain on Behalf of Adjuncts (p. 9)

Conversations:

- CUNY’s Largest Crisis in Forty Years. Conor Tomás Reed (p. 11)

Features:

- History at the Altar of Nationalism: The Stakes of the Student Resistance in India. Bhargav Rani (p. 16)

- The Signs They Should be Changing: Bringing All-Gender Bathrooms to The Graduate Center. Paul L. Hebert (p. 28)

- When Outsiders Are Not Outsiders: Enforcing Standards of Education in …

Advocate, Spring 2016, Vol. 27, No. 3, Advocate

The Advocate

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

CUNY News:

- This Article is Banned by the CUNY Policy on Expressive Conduct. Stefanie A. Jones and Dominique Nisperos (p. 3)

Debate:

- The Attitude Toward Homelessness in America. Shawn Simpson (p. 7)

Features:

- What led to the Impeachment of Brazil’s First Female President? Denise Rivera (p. 16)

- CUNY by the People, for the People. Rachel J. Chapman and Conor Tomás Reed (p. 21)

Reviews:

- From Freedom to Suppression: The Problem of Jamaica’s Maroon Heritage in Queen Nanny. Gordon Barnes (p. 26)

The Impact Of Academic Service Learning On Community College Students, Sharon S. Ellerton, Sandy Figueroa, Peter Fiume, Debra Greenwood

Publications and Research

Although research clearly indicates that academic service-learning provides multiple benefits to college students in baccalaureate institutions, there is less known about its impact on community college students; a population who may benefit the most from this pedagogy. Four faculty members from four different community colleges within the City University of New York incorporated service-learning into their classrooms while also maintaining control classes. Quantitative survey data on student civic engagement and college skills were collected and survey responses from those students that did, and did not, participate in service-learning were compared. The data demonstrated meaningful differences between the non-service-learners and service-learning …

Hostos Online Learning Assessment: A Survey Of Student Perceptions, Kate Wolfe, Sarah Hoiland, Kate Lyons, Carlos Guevara, Kristopher B. Burrell, Jacki Disanto, Sandy Figueroa, Aaron Davis, Iber Poma, Wilfredo Rodriguez, Linda L. Ridley

Publications and Research

The Office of Education Technology (EdTech) at Hostos Community College and faculty members from various departments created the Hostos Online Learning Assessment (HOLA) Task Force to design a survey for gathering and assessing data about students’ perceptions of their online learning experiences. The task force wanted to utilize the survey results to identify strengths and weaknesses in online instruction and student preparedness for the online learning environment. Student perceptions of online learning are integral to building upon current best practices and also gauging the preparedness of the students for the online learning environment, particularly in an urban, Hispanic-serving community college. …

Testing The Efficacy Of Mypsychlab To Replace Traditional Instruction In A Hybrid Course, Kasey L. Powers, Patricia J. Brooks, Magdalena Galazyn, Seamus Donnelly

Publications and Research

Online course-packs are marketed as improving grades in introductory-level coursework, yet it is unknown whether these course-packs can effectively replace, as opposed to supplement, in-class instruction. This study compared learning outcomes for Introductory Psychology students in hybrid and traditional sections, with hybrid sections replacing 30% of in-class time with online homework using the MyPsychLab course-pack and Blackboard course management system. Data collected over two semesters (N = 730 students in six hybrid and nine traditional sections of ∼50 students) indicated equivalent final-grade averages and rates of class attrition. Although exam averages did not differ by class format, exam grades in …

Testing Create At Community Colleges: An Examination Of Faculty Perspectives And Diverse Student Gains, Kristy L. Kenyon, Morgan E. Onorato, Alan J. Gottesman, Jamila Hoque, Sally G. Hoskins

Publications and Research

CREATE (Consider, Read, Elucidate the hypotheses, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment) is an innovative pedagogy for teaching science through the intensive analysis of scientific literature. Initiated at the City College of New York, a minority-serving institution, and regionally expanded in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area, this methodology has had multiple positive impacts on faculty and students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. To determine whether the CREATE strategy is effective at the community college (2-yr) level, we prepared 2-yr faculty to use CREATE methodologies and investigated CREATE implementation at community colleges in seven …

Classification Accuracy Of Mixed Format Tests: A Bi-Factor Item Response Theory Approach, Wei Wang, Fritz Drasgow, Liwen Liu

Publications and Research

Mixed format tests (e.g., a test consisting of multiple-choice [MC] items and constructed response [CR] items) have become increasingly popular. However, the latent structure of item pools consisting of the two formats is still equivocal. Moreover, the implications of this latent structure are unclear: For example, do constructed response items tap reasoning skills that cannot be assessed with multiple choice items? This study explored the dimensionality of mixed format tests by applying bi-factor models to 10 tests of various subjects from the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Program and compared the accuracy of scores based on the bi-factor analysis with …

Distance Education More Expensive Than Thought., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Cost is one of the big issues facing higher education.

Diminishing government funding has spiraled

the expense of attending public colleges and

universities, which, in turn, has increased the debt

burden on students to more than a trillion dollars.

Facing this issue has become a national concern

for many politicians. State legislators and governors,

as well as executives of some for-profit

education companies, have been pushing distance

education (mostly in the form of on-line courses)

as the solution.

Spectators Or Patriots? Citizens In The Information Age, Amrita Dhawan

Publications and Research

In theory, a strong democracy rests on robust citizen participation. The practice in most democracies is quite different. This gap presents a challenge, which can be narrowed by augmenting civic education to bring it up to date with the current information environment and thus give citizens the opportunity to participate. Robert Dahl’s work on democracy provides a model that looks at this problem structurally. He writes about the ideals and the actual institutions necessary for a democracy and if we situate his model in the modern information environment we get a better idea of how to improve civic education. Successful …

The Papers Of Pamella Tucker Farley, Brooklyn College

Finding Aids

The collection Papers of Tucker Pamella Farley contains primarily materials related to her teaching and activism in Brooklyn College. It includes syllabi, readings, bibliographies, students’ tests and papers, and correspondence that span over two decades. These materials help document the history of the Women’s Studies Program at Brooklyn College, and reveal the incorporation and development of lectures in the program. In addition, there are professional papers related to conferences and professional courses she attended, as well as article submissions. This collection also features newspaper clippings and flyers, mostly related to women and literature, but also related to lesbianism and women …

Seek And College Discovery Programs, Brooklyn College

Finding Aids

The collection of the Percy Ellis Sutton SEEK and College Discovery Programs contains materials of various categories, mostly related to the SEEK Department at Brooklyn College. The administration, plans, and reports papers constitute the majority of the collection. Along with these files, this collection provides details about the SEEK and CD structure, as well as summer programs, basic skills, remedial programs, and others. As these special programs are geared towards improving education accessibility, much information can also be found about students, such as alumni biographies, reports on expectations, outcomes, motivation, retention, and graduation. Furthermore, newspaper clippings, SEEK and CD newsletters, …

Moocs Are Not The Promised Technological Fix, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Colleges Should Be Preparing Their Own Leaders, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

When Ignorance Begets Confidence In Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

U.S. Lags Behind In Many Areas Of Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Colleges Need To Become Better Fundraisers, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Higher Education Being Haunted By Zombies, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.