Education Commons^™

Analyzing Motivation And Sense Of Belonging Belonging In Cs1 Review Sessions, Cory Longenecker

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The Computer Science Department at James Madison University has a Teaching Assistant program which aims to help students succeed in early-level Computer Science courses. Part of this program is a review session, the Fourth Hour, which provides students extra help on the concepts taught each week in class. Historically, attendance at this review session has been low. Because of this, the study aimed to increase attendance by motivating students through interventions, primarily offering quiz retakes to students who attended. Additionally, this study looked at the reported sense of belonging for participants who attended.

We made three conclusions from survey data …

Equitable Counselor Education: Promoting A Sense Of Belonging In Master's Counseling Students, Jessica E. Mastrangelo

Dissertations, 2020-current

The discrepancies in racial and ethnic demographics between counselors, counselor educators, and the clients they seek to serve are prominent (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs [CACREP], 2018). Mental health counseling and the field of psychology have a traditionally Eurocentric value system that has positioned the White population to benefit from services and to become clinicians. As such, the centering of the White experience has perpetuated a lack of diversity in the field. As the demographics of the United States population continues to diversify, counseling needs to produce a greater number of racially and ethnically minoritized counselors …

The “New” Normal: A Mixed Methods Study Of The Effect Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On College Student Sense Of Belonging, Hunter Swanson

Dissertations, 2020-current

This mixed-methods study used the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) model to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college student sense of belonging. The purpose of this study was to explore how environmental changes related to the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may have altered students’ sense of belonging to their institution. The results revealed a strong relationship between the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) engagement indicators and sense of belonging. Furthermore, the results suggest that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic altered how students experienced the CECE indicators. The implications for change leaders in higher education …

A Pilot Study On The Impact Of Teaching Assistant Led Cs1 Study Sessions Using Peer Instruction, Megan E. Gilbert

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

James Madison University’s Computer Science program strives to be a student-centered learning environment with a focus on creating a community for undergraduate success. National data reveals computer science has the lowest student retention rate compared to other STEM majors. The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) has compiled a list of ways to retain students in Computer Science. In particular, NCWIT calls for collaboration indicate that “a sense of belonging, or a feeling of fit, is important for supporting student interest and persistence.” One aspect of creating community is the department’s longstanding commitment to provide undergraduate teaching assistants …