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This study examined the notion of respect in the college classroom. While pedagogical researchers had previously studied the phenomenon, each found challenges in defining it. Moreover, communication scholars do not examine respect as a primary pedagogical factor with learning implications. Focus groups provided venues for topic-specific discussion necessary for better understanding the diversity of students' worldviews regarding respect in the college classroom. Grounded theory allowed for searching theoretical relevance of the phenomenon through constant comparison with categorical identification. The most practical contributions of this research identifies as several major notions including, the importance of relationships within the process, student self-esteem, and global-classroom respect. In addition, implications emerged from the data as learning, motivation, and environment. One other practical contribution exists as a respect communication model for the college classroom. Further, examining students' worldviews of respect in the classroom provides benefits for pedagogical scholars, students, and instructors.

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Though referred to as "non-traditional students", older students have, in fact, become prevalent in university classrooms, and the number of non-traditional students is expected to continue increasing (Bishop-Clark & Lynch, 1993). Yet, stereotypes that students of different ages hold towards each other may interfere with creating an optimal learning environment for all. This study explores age-based stereotypes students may have of each other. Undergraduate students were randomly assigned to review a scenario about a college student who was described as either traditional (20 years old) or non-traditional (40 years). Participants rated the student in the scenario using the Reysen Likeability, Expertise, and Honesty Scales, the Academic Motivation Scale, and a Student Behavior Questionnaire. Both traditional and non-traditional participants rated the traditional student in the scenario as more likeable. All participants rated traditional students higher in traditional-based stereotypes and the non-traditional student higher in the nontraditional based stereotypes. Evidence of the existence and nature of such stereotyping can be a step toward addressing and alleviating tensions within the mixed-age classroom and working towards support and understanding.

Unpacking Voice and Silence: A Phenomenological Study of Black Women and Latinas in College Classrooms

An increase in nontraditional student enrollment continues in community colleges nationwide. Little is known about the interactions between mixed-age groups of students. This qualitative collective case study explored the academic and social influences of non-traditional students on their traditional peers in the community college classroom at a large, midwestern 2-year college. Tinto's interactionalist theory framed the study. Purposeful sampling was used to select 30 participants (13 traditional students, 13 non-traditional students, and 4 instructors) who represented the college population in terms of gender and racial and ethnic diversity. Interview questions were guided by the research questions, and data were also analyzed through inductive analysis. Data were hand-coded and a constant comparative method was used to categorize data into common themes. Findings indicated that non-traditional students play a positive role in community college classrooms. They serve as mentors to their traditional classmates, building relationships and sharing life and work experiences, as well as positive behaviors that contribute to traditional students' overall success. The positive influences the data revealed from interactions between nontraditional and traditional students included improvement in learning, retention, engagement, and confidence. Findings contributed to social change as nontraditional students' influence on traditional students could serve as a catalyst for practices that will benefit all community college students.

The purpose of this study is to use a constructivism as a referent to investigate how students learn physics in a Taiwanese career college classroom. Forty-nine first year, engineering major first students participated in this study of teaching and learning in my college level classroom. The theoretical framework for the study was based on the five dimensions of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) (Taylor & Fraser, 1991: Taylor, Fraser & White, 1994; Taylor, Fraser & Fisher, 1997), namely Personal Relevance, Student Negotiation, Shared Control, Critical Voice, and Uncertainty. These dimensions were employed as analytic themes to examine the qualitative data. / A total of six lessons were observed: two lecture classes, two laboratory practice sessions, and two group discussion sessions. My qualitative observations, supplemented by video- and audio-recordings, of these six lessons were used to produce six classroom narratives. These six narratives were analyzed individually and then comparatively using a cross case analysis whereby the five dimensions of the CLES were employed as analytic themes. The CLES questionnaire was administered at the commencement of the semester and again at the end of the semester in order to determine any quantitative changes in students’ perceptions of their classroom environment. The various analyses were used to make several propositions about the constructivist nature of my classroom. I conclude the study with a discussion of the implications of the study and my reflections on the thesis experience. / The study found that, in my Taiwanese career college physics classroom, (a) the teacher plays a central role in establishing the overall classroom learning environment, (b) student group dynamics are important in the classroom learning environment, (c) the central role of content often works against the establishment of a constructivist classroom, (d) cultural factors play a large role in determining the constructivist nature of the classroom, (e) language plays an important role in the construction of the learning environment, and (f) the students’ learning attitude affected the classroom environment.