Student success is one of the widely discussed topics in post-secondary institutions and is measured in terms of the graduation and retention rates of programs. The goal of an educational institution is to achieve maximum student success and, hence, high graduation and retention rates. There are multiple studies on factors affecting student success. One of the factors that contributes to student success is the "program curriculum." Unfortunately, the traditional program curricula at many higher education institutions were developed with a belief or assumption that all students possess equal expertise, skills, and follow a similar learning path. The traditional curricular development process neglects some specifics related to the characteristics of transfer and the First Time In College (FTIC) students and their time to graduation. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between the traditional program curricula and student degree mobility patterns to measure student success of transfer and FTIC students enrolled in Computer Science, Information Technology, and Computer Engineering undergraduate academic programs as well as how those relationships assist in the development and reform processes of curricula. This study was designed to understand the various aspects of program curricula, such as impacts of a program-specific factor, prerequisite, and post-requisite course requirements on time to graduation. This study leads to the development of Adaptive Curriculum Refinement, a novel approach based on institutional data analytics to assist higher education curriculum designers in the data-driven development of new curricula and data-driven revision of existing ones. The results of this study suggest a direct relationship between the curricular stringency and student time to graduation, whereas stringency was inversely related to the credit accumulation. The program-specific factor in the curriculum directly affects students' time to graduation. This study is significant because the results and the development of Adaptive Curriculum Refinement could inform higher education policymakers and assist curriculum designers about the need to reform program curricula based on a data-driven and evidence-based approach to improve student success.

The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore how international undergraduate students enrolled in a first-year seminar (FYS) course perceived and described their academic experiences in a large, public university in the southeastern region of the United States. Guided by Schlossberg's (1984) 4 S Transition Model, this qualitative investigation was conducted through in-depth interviews with 10 international undergraduate students representing different countries and academic majors. The participants' narratives revealed that the academic experiences of international first-year students enrolled in the FYS course can be described as challenging, especially in terms of a) understanding U.S. higher education, b) establishing relationships with American peers, c) navigating academic differences, and d) perceiving the lack of institutional understanding. At the same time, the stories of these 10 students demonstrated that participation in the FYS course had an overall positive impact on students' academic experiences during the first year, especially in terms of a) developing academic skills and competencies, b) developing transferable skills and competencies, c) increased use of campus resources, and d) overall adjustment within the first year. The findings are discussed in relation to the relevant literature and recommendations for practice and future research are provided.

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) often teach introductory lecture and laboratory sections in large, research intensive institutions. They are frequently left insufficiently supported inconsistent levels of professional development. Previous work using the TeachLivE mixed-reality teaching simulator showed that when GTAs rehearse teaching skills, they are able to transfer the practices to their own classes and continuously implement the new skills. International teaching assistants (ITAs), however, continued to report feeling under supported even with the simulator training. We then decided to interview ITAs about the skills that would be most impactful for them to practice, like asking and answering student questions and handling linguistic differences between themselves and their students. In this dissertation, I interview several ITAs to determine what teaching skills would be the most impactful for them to practice and then create mixed-reality simulator modules based on their requests. During individual interviews and use of newly created modules, a focus on anxiety emerged when ITAs reported anxiety when teaching. I adopted Anxiety-Uncertainty Management theory (AUM) to address anxiety related to communicating with students, and surveyed 191 GTAs. Statistically significant correlations between anxiety, uncertainty, and willingness to try various teaching techniques found in active learning were found. Using those correlations, I developed a five-week virtual community for teaching assistants who identify as having high teaching anxiety. During the community, we learned that discussing social and emotional needs allows for a more holistic approach to professional development. This work addresses needs of graduate students that are currently unsupported using traditional pedagogical trainings.

The purpose of this study was to determine the learning styles of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students and associate degree Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) students and identify any association between their learning styles and examine the association between gender and age by learning style. Participants included 337 DPT and PTA students attending CAPTE accredited institutions with doctoral DPT or associate PTA programs in Tennessee and southwest Virginia. The Felder (1996) and Soloman Index of Learning Styles (ILS) was used to determine learning style preferences within 4 learning style dimensions (active-reflective, sensing-intuitive, visual-verbal, and sequential-global). Demographics included program of study, gender, age, ethnicity, and highest level of education. Participants were 18-63 years (mean age 25.87, standard deviation 5.62, median age 24); 205 (60.8%) DPT students, 132 (39.2%) PTA students; 205 (60.8%) female, 132 (39.2%) male. Five research questions with 20 null hypotheses were evaluated using Cross-tabulated tables with frequency counts, percentages, and chi square tests. Statistical significance was established using an .05 alpha. Only 1 null hypothesis was rejected (Ho51: There is no difference in the active-reflective learning style among PTA students by age). There was no significant difference between the learning styles of DPT and PTA students. Participants were found to be balanced on the active-reflective dimension, sensing on the sensing-intuitive dimension, visual on the visual-verbal dimension, and balanced on the sequential-global dimension; preferences were toward the active, sensing, visual, and sequential learning styles. This study demonstrated that DPT and PTA students have a balanced learning style with a strong preference toward active, sensing, visual, and sequential. Therefore, teaching methods should provide an instructional environment that addresses these learning style preferences. The student’s awareness of his or her learning style will enable the learner to capitalize on strengths and develop areas of weakness. This ability to employ effective learning strategies will equip an individual for the challenges of his or her chosen profession and lifelong learning.

Classroom-based projects are insufficient, in of themselves, when preparing students for positions in the digital media field today. David Kolb and Roger Fry argue that effective learning entails the possession of four different abilities: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation.2 Encouraging students to participate in community-based projects outside the classroom can help build the necessary skill sets in learning how to work in a real-world environment. Community-based learning teaches the student on three distinct levels: intellectually, socially, and emotionally including feelings, values, and meanings. Digital Media students should involve themselves in community projects to exercise their skills and broaden their experience. Working on community-based projects allows them to build their portfolio while affording the opportunity to start working under the constraints of actual projects with timelines and budgets. Students learn what an individual’s time is worth, what mistakes can cost, and how to deal with a client. Students also learn how to manage a real world project with deadlines. This paper describes our approach in having students come together to enhance their digital media skills by contributing in the development of a community-based animation festival. This paper also addresses how students learned to plan and manage a festival event while working with a community-based organization.

This is an exploratory study, using quantitative and qualitative tools, studying younger adult students (aged 18 to 25) at a college in Ontario and proposes that younger adult notions of possible selves are strengthened through engaging with models for possible selves by conducting informational interviews with them. Research was conducted in the classroom and outside of the classroom (but on campus) using a methodological framework informed by the scholarship of teaching and learning. Anticipated outcomes include a further understanding of the researcher’s own practice in order to improve it, a further grounding of the researcher’s personal theory of practice, and useful data for other researchers interested in using possible selves as a lens to understand their teaching. The results of the study indicate that there are other issues and concerns related to notions of possible selves, including goal-setting and a sense of having choice and control over one’s fate. Implications for practice include recommendations that more opportunities and tools for the development of possible selves be offered to students and that these opportunities can be found in existing courses and programs. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2011-04-06 14:36:02.109

College student engagement is an important factor that contributes to student success. This study is one of the first to explore student engagement in undergraduate social work education by examining engagement levels among at-risk social work students. In this study, two types of at-risk student groups were studied: First Generation College Students (FGCS) and transfer students. A cross sectional research design was used. Secondary analysis was performed on data gathered by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) from five accredited, Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) programs in one southeast state. A sample of 135 BSW seniors were included in this study and their levels of engagement were measured using four engagement types (peer to peer, student with faculty, student with university, and student with profession). Univariate and bivariate statistical procedures were used to examine the data and describe the sample. Hierarchical and logistic regression were used to test whether membership in an at-risk group could predict student engagement. There was a moderate to strong relationship between the four types of student engagement. Together, they indicated a good measure of BSW student engagement. FGCS had statistically significant lower levels of student engagement in three out of the four engagement types (peer to peer, student with faculty, and student with profession) than their non-FGCS counterparts. Practice implications for BSW programs to address low student engagement for FGCS through specific programming were provided. Transfer students had no statistically significant differences in any of the four types of student engagement compared to their non-transfer counterparts. Two explanations were posited for these findings; that social work programs are small in size and facilitate targeted student engagement that act as engagement “protective factors” and, by the time transfer students completed this survey they had already adopted the academic and cultural expectations requisite for success. Lastly, membership in an at-risk group, specifically FGCS, may predict lower levels of engagement in certain engagement types. The overall findings identify areas of low student engagement which afford BSW programs opportunities to create tailored programming to address it, especially among FGCS. Suggestions for future studies are also discussed.

In order to enhance teaching it is important to understand how students learn. The aim of this study was to discover the interventions needed to enhance the support offered by teachers and tutors in a Business Accounting programme to develop in students an intrinsic motivation and deep learning strategy which could be used later in life in other areas of study. The data came from a number of sources, including the Biggs’ revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire: R-SPQ-2F, administered to students. The second source was tutors’ responses to a set of questions, and the third source was an interview held with an experienced tutor. In the main, the data was analysed using phenomenographic methodology. The study yielded valuable insights into the tutorial context and tutors’ perceptions of the factors that hinder or enhance student learning.

Every year thousands of students graduate from high school and move on to higher education, but many of them are not yet prepared for college level courses. The Tennessee Board of Regents does not currently allow 4-year institutions to teach courses that are below college level, so many institutions are using programs such as learning support courses to assist a growing population of underprepared students. The purpose of this study was to determine if the 1-term and 2-term retention rates for students with the same ACT mathematics subsection scores were different between students who took a regular section of Probability and Statistics and students who took a learning support section of the course. The subjects of this study were students who enrolled in a Probability and Statistics class (either regular sections or learning support sections) at a 4-year institution from the 2013 summer semester through the 2014 fall semester. The criteria used for selecting subjects included: (1) enrolled in a section of Probability and Statistics, (2) had a valid ACT mathematics subsection score on file with the institution, and (3) recorded a final grade in the course. Students were then grouped by ACT mathematics subsection score and type of course (learning support or regular). When students were grouped by matching ACT mathematics subscores there were no real significant differences in 1-term retention, 2-term retention, or final course grade between students who took a 4-hour learning support section of probability and statistics and students who opted to take a regular 3-hour version of the same course, with one exception. Of students who scored a 17 on the ACT mathematics subsection, the students enrolled in a regular course had a 1-term retention rate that was significantly higher than the learning support course.

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