<p> Community colleges nationwide struggle with retention and completion of students. The role of two-year institutions is further complicated by the multigenerational diversity of learners. Community college instructors should be prepared to educate students ranging from the traditional-age digital native to a life-long learner 80 or more years in age. Creating a learning environment inclusive of generational learners is central to the mission of the community college. This quantitative study was grounded in two theoretical frameworks. First, Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive learning theory provided an understanding for student learning in the social environment. Second, Schön’s (1973) organizational learning theory provided an understanding of how educators and administrators use prior experiences to change and improve the learning environment. Five research questions guided this study. The data for these questions were collected from an immediate content recognition task and student engagement survey following a weeklong teaching demonstration. During the demonstration, two groups were taught identical material, one group in a tradition lecture format and the other received in an active learning format. Weeks later, both groups completed a delayed content recognition task to determine retention of information. The results indicated no statistically significance difference when comparing scores of the passive lecture group. However, the results indicated a statistically significance difference for active learners when analyzing overall retention. Scores for active learners decreased on the delayed content task when compared to the immediate task. The findings of this study may be used to assist two-year colleges in determining effective uses of active learning for the multigenerational classroom.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10172995 |
| Date | 17 December 2016 |
| Creators | Zweigle, Zachary John |
| Publisher | Lindenwood University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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