Education Commons^™

Identity Composition: A Qualitative Study Of Community College English Composition And Lgbtq-Inclusive Pedagogical Practices, Lucas Michel Gassen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research investigates the identity-based practices and experiences of English composition instructors who teach at community colleges and assesses the extent to which LGBTQ-inclusive pedagogical approaches are undertaken to meet the needs of sexual and gender minority students. The participant pool was comprised of community college instructors within the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) who have taught English composition courses within the past five years. This study aims to answer the following research questions: 1. In what ways and to what extent is identity-based instructional content incorporated in community college English composition courses? 2. In what ways and …

Systemic Functional Linguistics In The Community College Composition Class: A Multimodal Approach To Teaching Composition Using The Metalanguage Of Sfl, Jennifer James

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This qualitative research study sought to understand the affordances and limitations of a systemic functional linguistics (SFL) approach to teaching composition at the community college level. The study took place over the course of a semester in two developmental college composition classes using the language of SFL to teach writing through multimodal assignments. The study was developed in response to the increasing diversity in writing skills and educational goals of students in the community college composition class. The increase in diversity is a result of legislation in California that restructures developmental class offerings and affects placement in the transfer-level composition …

To Note Or Not To Note: Students' Conceptualizations Of Note Taking During Academic Reading In A Developmental Reading Course, Margaret J. O'Kerns

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This grounded theory research study investigated one active reading strategy, note taking, with a goal of creating student-centered, evidence-based curriculum for the developmental reading instructor. Sixteen students participated in a two-part session: a semi-structured interview and a think aloud of an assigned, academic text. The students were asked to discuss their attitudes regarding reading, both academically and for pleasure, and about any previous reading instruction. They were then observed reading their assigned text, an expository article, and queried as to their use (or not) of any note taking procedures or strategies. As an outcome of this study, it became apparent …

Seeing Reading In First-Year Composition, Matthew Felumlee

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on a study of reading-into-writing strategies employed by students in two sections of first-year-composition (FYC) that were paired with a support course as part of an accelerated learning program (ALP) at a community college. Each FYC course was comprised of 11 students whom the college had deemed college-ready without the ALP course, and 11 students who were deemed at remedial levels in reading and / or writing and who were subsequently required to enroll in the ALP course. The study employs grounded theory methodology to identify and consider the many factors that influenced how reading was portrayed, …

Examining The Effects Of A Content-Based Peer Feedback Writing Intervention In Community College Classrooms, Jennifer M. Gilken

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has documented that low-level writing skills among postsecondary students are an ongoing concern and contribute to the lack of persistence and degree attainment for community college students (Karp, 2011; Perin, 2013). Since academic writing is a process that develops over time (Perin, 2003), many students require writing support beyond remedial course work for long-term success in more advanced courses (Karp, Hughes, & O’Gara 2010; Perin, 2013; Tapp, 2013). The current study used a Community of Practice (CoP) framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991) to create a content-based peer feedback intervention to examine two key ways in which a content-based peer …

The Influence Of Cognitive And Psychological Well-Being Factors On Freshmen Community College Student Gpa: A Prediction Model, Barbara Karwacinski

Dissertations

Problem

One of the most significant issues for higher education in the early 21st century is student success. Research studies indicate that a large number of freshman community college students are unsuccessful in their academic endeavor. However, there is insufficient research conducted to determine the holistic causes of this problem. Current research focuses on two types of traditional predictors: cognitive (ability, academic factors) and non-cognitive (affective, non-academic factors). It seems, however, that traditional cognitive and non-cognitive predictors alone are inadequate measures for determining students’ full potential because they cannot account for the psychological processes that contribute to and influence a …

Novelty Or Knowledge? A Study Of Using A Student Response System In Non-Major Biology Courses At A Community College, Tasha Herrington Thames

Dissertations

The advancement in technology integration is laying the groundwork of a paradigm shift in the higher education system (Noonoo, 2011). The National Dropout Prevention Center (n.d.) [JS1] claims that technology offers some of the best opportunities for presenting instruction to engage students in meaningful education, addressing multiple intelligences, and adjusting to students’ various learning styles. The purpose of this study was to investigate if implementing clicker technology would have a statistically significant difference on student retention and student achievement, while controlling for learning styles, for students in non-major biology courses who were and were not subjected to the technology. This …

“What The Hell Is Revise?”: Student Approaches To Coursework In Developmental English At One Urban-Serving Community College, Stefan A. Perun

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The primary objective of this dissertation was to help illuminate why most students who enroll in developmental English at community colleges never make it to a college-level course. The extant literature suggests that students’ learning experiences in a course largely account for success or failure, yet few studies have uncovered how students experience content and pedagogy in developmental English at community colleges, and how these experiences shape students’ success or failure in their course. To remedy this gap, I conducted a semester-long, classroom level, qualitative study of three sections of developmental English at one community college. I primarily relied upon …

The Orientation Curriculum In A Community College: An Interpretive Approach, Patricia Anne Gutierrez-Hartell

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study focused on curriculum used in a community college orientation program classroom where most of the students were Hispanic. Curriculum for the purpose of student orientation has become an essential tool for increasing student retention rates at institutions of higher education (Hendel, 2007; National Research Council Publications, 2009). While the objectives of orientation courses and their curricula have been documented, not much is known about how these objectives unfold in classrooms, particularly in classrooms serving Hispanic students.

Qualitative inquiry was the basis for my study. I relied on an ethnographic approach to conduct research that involved gathering data by …

Leadership Behaviors Gained As A Result Of Involvement In A Community College Student Leader Program, Chanda Torres

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess whether participation in a community college student leader program had an effect on the leadership behaviors of students based on five (5) practices measured by a student leadership practices inventory. By assessing these leadership behaviors, the community college was able to determine the effectiveness of the program and ways to improve the program's curriculum. This study addressed the following: 1) whether students who participated in a student leader program in a community college showed significant growth in leadership behaviors; 2) whether the growth in leadership behaviors of students who participated in a …

An Examinition Of Competencies, Roles, And Professional Development Needs Of Community College Distance Educators Who Teach Mathematics, Falecia Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study describes the perceptions of both distance education administrators and faculty who teach mathematics online in a Florida community college setting with regard to the relative importance of core competencies and roles in teaching online courses and the need for professional development that is supportive of these competencies and roles. The perceptions of administrators and online faculty for level of importance indicated for core competencies and skill area needs for faculty development when teaching an online course were examined. Results of these perceptions by group were re-examined in relation to gender, age, ethnicity, years of community college teaching experience, …

An Administrative Guide For Developing A Tech Prep Program For Horticulture Education At South Kitsap High School, Patrick L. Oster

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to develop a Tech Prep Program for horticulture education. This program focused on career goals of students enrolled at South Kitsap High School and South Seattle Community College. To accomplish this purpose, current research and literature on Tech Prep models, career paths, and the horticulture industry were reviewed. Additionally, selected materials were obtained from model Tech Prep programs throughout the State of Washington.

Washington State History: The Early Years, Margo M. Buchan

All Graduate Projects

The High School Completion Lab setting for Washington State History students, whose pre-project assignment for two hours a day, three days a week, involved reading the selected text, Northwest Heritage by William Scofield, and answering Chapter Questions, met state requirements but seemed unnecessarily sterile. It was hoped that the production of videotaped lessons which could be presented either to groups of H.S. 016 students or to individuals would, if well-made, provide the class with an enriched perspective of Washington State History.