Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Still A Private Universe? Community College Students’ Understanding Of Evolution, Meredith A. Dorner, Philip Sadler, Brian Alters

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Measuring what students know and retain about evolution is essential to improving our understanding of how students learn evolution. The literature shows that college students appear to have a poor understanding of evolution, answering questions on various instruments correctly only about half of the time. There is little research regarding evolution understanding among community college students and so this study examines if those students who are enrolled in life science classes, who are assessed using questions based on grade eight standards, show a better understanding of evolutionary principles than younger students and if there are differences in knowledge based …

"It Solidified My Position That I Should Be In Science": A Case Study On How Participating In A Stem Intervention Program Influences The Science Identity Development Of Low-Income Students In Stem At A Community College., Manuel Rodriguez

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Individuals coming from low-income backgrounds, particularly women and people of color, are disproportionately underrepresented in STEM fields. The low representation is often attributed to low enrollment and completion rates in STEM programs. Community colleges play a crucial role in increasing diversity in the workforce. However, there is not much information about how community college students’ experiences in STEM academic programs supports their science identity development. The purpose of this case study was to understand how participation in a STEM intervention program assisted low-income students in their science identity development. Science identity development has been used to understand how students’ interactions …

The Chemistry Laboratory Experience Of El Camino Students While In Emergency Remote Teaching Due To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Shaun A. Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Future college environments, including those in chemistry, will entail flexible formats. The pandemic spurred appreciation of the need, and though it has largely passed, adaptability to multiple formats in the future has been a critical part of planning for a rapidly changing future. Experiences during the pandemic will guide pedagogical changes and practices in the future. At El Camino College in Southern California, the chemistry department provided varied laboratory instruction to students during Emergency Remote Teaching. Understanding the experience students had during this extraordinary time is essential. Students who took courses that had an online laboratory course completed a mixed-methods …

Streamlining Time Spent In Alternative Developmental Mathematics Pathways: Increasing Access To College-Level Mathematics Courses By Altering Placement Procedures, Marla A. Sole

Publications and Research

Developmental mathematics, which is designed to prepare students for college-level mathematics courses, can be a barrier to students’ success. In the United States, the majority of students placed into developmental mathematics courses fail to complete the developmental sequence. Alternative mathematics pathways offer some benefits when integrated with “just-in- time support” or expedited instruction on specific prerequisite concepts needed solely for the current lesson. This study compares two statistics courses taught at a public community college: a complete course taught in one semester and a two-semester version with just-in-time developmental content integrated into the course. The study found that students placed …

Faculty Interactions With Black Male Students At Hbcus And Community Colleges As Predictors Of Academic Achievement In Stem, Antoine Gates

Dissertations

A myriad of studies in STEM education aim to identify the underlying reasons behind poor achievement of Black males in higher education. Research studies have indicated that HBCUs make significant advances in various desired outcomes such as graduation rates for Blacks, especially males. However, Black males at community colleges do not always fare similarly to their counterparts at HBCUs. There are limited studies on faculty interactions with Black males in STEM at community colleges. Therefore, the goal of this study was to identify whether significant differences existed in the interactions STEM faculty formed with Black males at community colleges and …

Predicting First-Year Mathematics Success At The Community College: Modifications On High School Grade Point Average And The Impact Of High School Quality, C. Caleb Marsh

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, student completion in the first-year college mathematics curriculum has become a significant barrier to student success and retention. Many states, such as North Carolina and Virginia, have been innovative in developing new strategies for placing students into an appropriate mathematics curriculum. A centerpiece of these strategies is to use student performance in high school, as measured by high school grade point average, as a predictor of course success and completion. However, in each system, what is largely absent from their placement models is an attempt to account for the quality of the institution that issued the …

Native And Community College Transfer Students In Biological Sciences At A Four-Year Institution: A Comparative Study, Nathanial Weber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between native and community college transfer students and identify factors that predicted upper-level biology course grade-point average and final overall grade-point average at a four-year institution in biological sciences. The results of this study indicated four-year institution persistence was not significantly related to gender, high school grade-point average, or ACT composite score. Persistence was significantly related to transfer status; whether the student was a native or community college transfer student with native students persisting at a higher rate at the four-year institution than community college transfer students. Furthermore, ACT composite score, …

Co-Enrolling Students In Math Remediation And College-Level Math In A Community College System, Peter Thomas Anderson

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to conduct a rigorous examination of co-enrollment of students in math remediation and college-level math. A quasi-experimental, posthoc design examined the outcomes and the relationships of two groups of students who participated in a pilot project the goal of which was to assess the co-enrolled model that is designed to provide students with mathematics support. One group of students enrolled in a traditional model of developmental mathematics. The second group of students co-enrolled in developmental and college-level math.

The sample for this study was students (N = 7616) from nine community colleges in …

The Engineering Admissions Partnership Program: A Navigation Strategy For Community College Students Seeking A Pathway Into Engineering, Marcia R. Laugerman, Mack C. Shelley, Steven K. Mickelson, Diane T. Rover

Diane Rover

This paper presents the evaluation of a program designed to improve transfer outcomes for community college students pursuing an engineering degree. The program, the Engineering Admissions Partnership Program (E-APP), was designed to improve the navigational success of community college transfer students through connections to the university. These connections include coordinated academic advising, peer-mentoring, campus visits, and online social and professional networks. The objective of the study is to determine the efficacy of the E-APP and its interventions, which will be measured by increased participation rates and increased university retention rates for E-APP participants. Outcome data for the students are analyzed …

An Exploration Of Success Factors From The Perspectives Of Developmental Mathematics Students, Stacy Atkinson

Educational Studies Dissertations

Students who enter college underprepared for college-level coursework face tremendous barriers, including referral to one or more levels of developmental education. However, the requirement to complete developmental mathematics often becomes a primary barrier for students ever being able to complete a degree. Students who enter underprepared for college-level coursework and also identify as first-generation face even larger barriers to realizing success. Given this reality, community colleges – where most developmental education programs are housed – are seeking ways to better support students needing remediation to increase their chances of success and completion. Using the recently implemented co-requisite model of instruction …

Entry-Level Cognitive Mathematics Skill And First-Semester Mathematics Performance As Correlates Of Fall-To-Fall Retention Of Community College Students, Stephen Tyler Corbin

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between first-semester mathematics performance and fall-to-fall retention for first-time-in-college, degree-seeking community college students. The study further refined the investigation by seeking to determine if the significance of this relationship was affected by student readiness for college-level mathematics as of the first semester of enrollment at the institution under study.

The sample chosen for this study consisted of 1518 first-time-in-college, degree-seeking students enrolled in fall semester 2011 at a large, multi-campus community college in Virginia. The dependent variable was fall-to-fall retention, a commonly applied student success metric in the Virginia Community …

The Effects Of Self-Regulated Learning On Community College Students' Metacognition And Achievement In Developmental Math Courses, Karen D. Y. Campbell

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The effects of training in self-regulation on metacognition and math achievement were investigated in this study. The moderator effect of gender, age and ethnicity on the relationships between training and the outcomes of metacognition and math achievement were also explored. The participants for this study were 116 community college students enrolled in developmental math courses during the spring semester. Teachers volunteered their classes for the study; there were a total of 16 classes participating in the study over two four-week terms. Classrooms were bifurcated and students were randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups. Participants in the treatment group …

The Use Of Non-Cognitives And Learning Strategies As A Predictor For Completion Of Developmental Mathematics At A Community College, Megan Healy

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

With a large global, national, state, and local drive for post-secondary credentials, higher education institutes are exploring new retention and graduation strategies to meet the needs of the employers and employees. Many students who are unprepared for college level work will enter a community college to take developmental courses. Developmental mathematics has been a large barrier to completion and success in community college.

The purpose of this study was to explore the ability of non-cognitive traits to predict persistence in completion of a developmental math sequence at a community college. Non-cognitive traits were identified from the three components of strategic …

The Impact Of Developmental Mathematics Courses And Age, Gender, And Race And Ethnicity On Persistence And Academic Performance In Virginia Community Colleges, James Dael Wolfle

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This research study examined the 2006 cohort of First-Time-in-College students from all 23 community colleges in Virginia. The goal was to examine the persistence of these students to the fall 2007 semester and the success of these students in their first college-level mathematics course. The main predictor variable was whether the first mathematics course taken was a developmental or college-level course. Other main predictor variables examined were the age, gender, and race and ethnicity of the student. Race and ethnicity was broken into the categories White, Black, and Other. Interaction variables were created to determine if age, race and ethnicity, …

Examining Retention And Academic Success Among Community College Developmental Algebra I Students, Patricia B. Huber

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

An increasing number of community college matriculants enter college needing remediation in mathematics. This study examined factors that may affect student retention and academic success in a developmental Algebra I course at a community college, including demographic variables, life demand variables, pre-enrollment academic characteristic, self-regulated learning characteristics, and instructional methodology.

The study ran for two consecutive semesters and included 154 participants. Self-report measures were used to gain demographic information and information about students' beliefs about math and their self-regulated learning characteristics at the beginning of the semester. An elementary algebra pre-test was administered at the beginning of the semester with …