Browsing by Subject "College"

Now showing 1 - 13 of 13
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    Bartleby Goes to College: A Pragmatist Critique of Writing in Schools
    (2012-06) Williams, Matthew Clark
    Writing instruction, particularly at the post-secondary level, stands at a crossroads. Since the attainment of some level of post-secondary education has become a near mandatory requirement for participation in the contemporary economy, students increasingly describe their decision to go to college as a foregone conclusion. The university level first-year writing course, itself a traditional gate-keeper to post-secondary education, thus occupies a critical space at the confluence of these powerful and interrelated forces. Further, because of this alignment to the economic demands of college preparedness, most if not all levels of writing instruction will be affected in various ways. Unfortunately, these elements enter into a dangerous contradiction when the economic growth everything is predicated upon falters--precisely what has occurred during the "Great Recession" that started in 2007.Based on fieldwork conducted in a high school level college preparation writing class, this dissertation explores the consequences of these contradictions. In particular, this project starts with an observed phenomenon in the classroom in which many students simply "preferred not to" work on their writing assignments. Using this "Bartleby Syndrome" as a mechanism of problematizing the field of post-secondary writing instruction, this project builds a philosophical critique of the relationship between human action and the social, political, and economic environment in which students write. Central to this task is a reconsideration of what American Pragmatism, specifically John Dewey's work, can offer the field of composition. In doing so, this study not only offers a different perspective on some of composition's most vexing challenges, but also builds on the Pragmatist tradition to suggest ways the field of writing instruction can retain and revitalize its long standing project of expanding democracy in the United States.
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    College students’ understanding of the particulate nature of matter across reaction the particulate nature of matter across reaction types.
    (2012-05) Nyachwaya, James Mochoge
    Research in chemical education has shown that while students (K-20) can perform well on tasks that require use of algorithmic and symbolic skills, they struggle with tasks that require conceptual understanding of chemistry. One area where such a trend has been observed is the Particulate Nature of Matter (PNM). A number of factors have been attributed to this struggle in developing conceptual understanding, for example, the abstract nature of the subject and concepts, the fact that most teaching and assessments focus on algorithmic understanding of content, and a missing connections to students' everyday lives. This semester-long grounded theory study examined college level general chemistry students' conceptual understanding of the particulate nature of matter across three different types of reactions. Students were asked to balance the chemical equations, and then draw particulate representations of the reactions. A sample of 10 participants was interviewed to probe for their understanding of underlying chemistry concepts represented by the equations and their particulate drawings. The study sought to compare students' understanding at the symbolic and particulate levels, look at trends across the different reactions, how the trends changed over the semester, and to reveal struggles with fundamental chemistry concepts. Analysis of the results shows that there is a gap between students' understanding at the particulate and symbolic levels, inconsistency in students' understanding across the three chemical reactions over the course of the semester, and struggles with fundamental chemistry concepts. This study reinforces the need to teach and assess for conceptual understanding, not just in chemistry, but in other subject areas as well. Suggestions for teaching and research are also made.
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    A comparison of academically-successful struggling adult readers' and academically-successful non-struggling adult readers' fluency skills: Implications for college reading instruction
    (2008-09) Willcutt, Jennifer Ruth
    Students who are struggling readers manage to succeed in college despite their difficulties. How do they manage to overcome their reading difficulties? This study addressed this research question both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative analysis of reading skill was necessary to measure and compare the fluency achievement of adult struggling readers who have succeeded in obtaining some postsecondary education with their typical adult reader peers. How fluent are these successful struggling readers, as measured by their grade level of word recognition, their reading rate and comprehension, and their performance on a lexical decision task? The qualitative survey and interviews were used to learn the reading, study, and social strategies that successful struggling readers have used to overcome their reading difficulties in college. Twenty-two self-identified adult struggling readers with some postsecondary education were compared to twenty-three typical adults readers enrolled in 4-year undergraduate and graduate school courses. One-way analysis of variance was used to test differences between the groups in reading fluency. Results indicate that there are no significant differences in word-recognition accuracy between typical and struggling readers on high-frequency real word identification; however, there are significant differences between typical and struggling groups on the recognition accuracy of non-words of 4, 5, and 6 letters in length. There are also significant differences between struggling and typical readers on 3, 4, and 5-letter, high-frequency word recognition latency, and 3, 4, 5, and 6-letter non-word recognition latency. Successful struggling readers report that they don't do a lot of reading, but when they do read, it takes them longer, they must take copious notes, and their reading is likely to be nonfiction that is related to their career goals. Academically-successful struggling readers also develop relationships with people who can help them succeed. College reading instructors can use these findings to help students choose appropriate materials and develop their reading fluency skills.
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    Identity Development of Somali College Student
    (2017-08) Adam, Jamal
    While there has been a considerable research on college students’ experiences and identity development, there is a gap on literature on immigrant college students and their collegiate experiences. This scarcity of knowledge on immigrant students has deleterious effect on these students’ academic success and psychosocial wellbeing. This is particularly critical at a time when these students face multiple and intersecting marginalizations because of their racial, ethnic, religious identities. This dissertation examines the identity development of Somali college students and how its impacted by the overlapping contextual environments in which their lives are embedded. The dissertation project uses qualitative method. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews and grounded theory constructivist methodology, data collection and analyses were conducted in tandem. Findings suggest the presence of four salient dimensions of racial, ethnic, religious and gender identity as well as meanings associated with each dimension. Racial identity was associated with experiences of political subjectivities as Blacks struggling for equality in a racialized society whereas ethnic identity was associated solidarity and belonging informed by diasporic experiences of longing and memories of participants’ ancestral homeland, Somalia. Religious identity, owing to racialization of Islam in media and society, was associated with experiences that mirrored their racial identity while gender identity was associated sense of individual agency that challenged gender norms in Somali culture. These four dimensions of identity often intersected in ways that either amplified or erased an aspect of identity. In each of these dimensions, participants contrasted their experiences as second-generation immigrants with those of their first-generation parents.
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    The Influence of Social Media Use on Male College Students’ Gender Identity and Gendered Performance
    (2017-05) Potts, Lawrence
    To better understand the influence of social media use on male college students’ gender identity and male gendered performance, this research examined existing research on digital identity and social networking sites, male gender identity development, college student development theory, and the effects of living arrangements on college students. Using constructivist grounded theory, this study was guided by the following research question: How does the influence of social media use on male college students’ gender identity and gendered performance affect first-year students and graduating seniors? A total of 31 students at a private, liberal arts institution in the Midwestern United States participated in the study. Methods included individual interviews, synchronous ethnographic digital observations, and focus groups. The theory that emerged from this study was developed through analysis of students’ experiences and is a representation of the intersection and convergence of male gender identity development and digital identity development. Participants described changes that occur between the first year of college and the final year of college, both in the way that they define masculinity and the way that they describe their use social media. A shift occurs throughout time spent in college, evolving from pre-college expectations and assumptions to the intentional alignment of in-person and online values. Formative experiences and opportunities in college – including both in-classroom and out-of-classroom – provided the impetus for change that allowed the participants to better understand their identities and contexts and begin to understand how they engage with both the physical and digital world as men.
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    Listen
    (MinneTESOL - Minnesota Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2015) Smith, Jackie
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    Listening in context: incorporating strategy instruction in L2 listening practice
    (MinneTESOL - Minnesota Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2015) LaScotte, Darren K.
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    The NROTC Experience and College Student Persistence
    (2016-08) Altman, Charles
    Abstract This paper explores three scholarly perspectives of college student persistence and discusses the relevance of these perspectives in analysis of the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) experience on campus. The three perspectives vary in significance, but each has applicability informing on the issue of NROTC student persistence. Tinto (1973) provided theories and models that examine the college student experience in relation to persistence; whereas, others inform on pre-college attributes and student aid as they relate to persistence. There is much existing scholarly research on the topic of persistence with respect to traditional college students, but very little that applies these theories and perspectives to NROTC students. This paper presents analysis of each of these three perspectives as they inform on NROTC student persistence, and provides NROTC stakeholders a means of assessing influences on NROTC student persistence decisions within the college environment.
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    The persistence pyramid: factors related to persistence for low-income students in baccalaureate programs
    (2013-11) Opatz, Leslie Joseph
    Low-income students earn bachelor's degrees at significantly lower rates than their high-income peers. This qualitative study interviewed 21 Fall 2008 full-time first-year Pell Grant recipients in May 2012 when almost all were near the point of baccalaureate degree completion at a large urban doctoral-granting institution with very high research activity. The Persistence Pyramid was a conceptual framework created by the author to organize the previous persistence research into four thematic areas related to individual student factors that affect persistence, and four thematic areas related to campus-based environmental factors that affect persistence. The four student areas include economic, social, psychological, and academic factors. The four campus factor areas include educational and curricular support, support for diversity and community, involvement opportunities, and a caring culture. The Persistence Pyramid was employed as a lens to ascertain which factors have the greatest impact on persistence from the perspective of successful low-income students. The study utilized a case study approach to illustrate how various factors interacted with each other to enhance persistence, hinder persistence, or mute negative risk factors. The Persistence Pyramid was a useful framework for illuminating which themes were most salient to the persistence of low-income students. The persistence factors related to economics were the most prevalent and had the greatest effect, potentially negative, on students' persistence. These economic factors also interacted the most with other persistence factors, often preventing the full utilization of persistence enhancers that students could have employed to their advantage. Seven other factor areas in the Persistence Pyramid were found to be relevant and all had particular themes of persistence that illustrated factors that helped or hindered persistence for low-income students. Two particular themes emerged as especially helpful in students' ability to persist. Under the social area, relying on friends for emotional support and academic assistance was especially useful for these students. Under the involvement area, over three-fourths of students served as a mentor or tutor and most of these students indicated that this experience was one of the most beneficial in improving their ability to persist to degree completion. Employing a pragmatic perspective, this study has numerous implications for recommendations to improve the baccalaureate attainment rate for low-income students. Suggestions for increasing baccalaureate degree attainment for low-income students include: Institutions could provide low-income students with campus jobs that will build career-specific skills. Institutions could develop programs to ensure that all students have a mentor and serve as a mentor. Student-service personnel could develop ways for students to utilize campus resources and support services earlier in their college careers. Students could ensure that they take advantage of numerous involvement opportunities, especially serving as a mentor or tutor. Students could make an effort to establish deep friendships and provide emotional support and encouragement to each other. Students could spend time studying with friends and classmates and serving as academic resources for each other.
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    Personal, social, and institutional factors influencing college transition and adaptation experiences for students with psychiatric disabilities.
    (2009-12) Kampsen, Amy
    The number of students with psychiatric disabilities attending institutions of higher education is on the rise. The increase in the number of students reporting psychiatric disabilities poses many challenges for college administrators in attempting to serve these students as they transition and adapt to college. The developmental processes typical of individuals transitioning and adapting to college may be disrupted for students with psychiatric disabilities due to the effects of their disability, which may impair or delay social and emotional development at a time when significant changes typically occur. The purpose of the study was to explore the personal, social, and institutional factors influencing the college transition and adaptation experiences for students with psychiatric disabilities. A qualitative interview approach was used to explore the factors in depth through data gathered from interviews with 9 students with psychiatric disabilities, interviews with 4 university staff members, and the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ). A conceptual model that emerged from the literature was modified and used as a guide for describing the factors associated with the college transition and adaptation experiences of the student participants. The study concluded with implications for administrators and service providers to consider, and recommendations for future research.
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    Sport and Scholarship: A New Approach to College Affordability at the University of Minnesota
    (2013-05-31) Gale, Molly
    Rising tuition costs and college affordability issues are teetering on the precipice of a catastrophe. At the University of Minnesota, tuition rates continue to rise as public funding from the state continues to decline, despite inflation and growing need for student aid. Higher education must look to new ideas and methods for resolving the affordability crisis. Using sports-related principles, innovation theory, and social identity concepts, this paper offers a unique and proactive approach for combating this crisis at the University of Minnesota.
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    Teaching common rhetorical patters of academic prose
    (MinneTESOL - Minnesota Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2014) Smith, Maureen M.
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    Where All May Meet on Common Ground: Elements of College Unions Evident in Campus Community
    (2016-06) Smyth, Corbin
    The college union, having served as a thriving community center on college campuses for more than 100 years, is a compelling venue to discuss physical space and community. The purpose of this study is to understand how highly rated unions make meaning of community, to identify common elements of college unions that are evident in campus community, and to provide a framework that practitioners can use when building or developing facilities that are purposefully community-centered. Despite the existing scholarship regarding community on campus, very little formal research can be found regarding community and its relationship with the college union (DeSawal and Yakaboski, 2013). Understanding this gap, the research presented in this paper aims to offer new insight into the connection between community and the college union. The research questions developed for this study are: 1) How do students attending colleges with highly rated union facilities make meaning of community?, and 2) What elements of highly rated unions contribute to the development of community on college campuses? The research questions were addressed by employing action research methods as described by Herr and Anderson (2005). Briefly explained, this process entails identifying the problem at hand, inserting oneself (the researcher) into the subject, investigating what is already occurring/not occurring, and developing an action plan to improve upon the existing process. This qualitative study researched three college union cases, each located on public regional campuses in the upper Midwest. Multiple site visits of the college unions were conducted over the course of this study, which included semi-structured interviews with facility managers/directors, focus groups with users of the facilities, a review of documents related to the design and construction of those facilities, and researcher observations. The college unions selected as case studies are: Porter Memorial Union (PMU) – the central hub of activity at Alliance State University; C. Shaw Student Center (CSSC) – a focal point of community on the campus of State University–Concord; and Shirley Bird Student Union (SBSU) – which sits at the center of the Hearthstone State University campus. Following the collection and subsequent distillation of data into patterns and relationships, five key elements of community emerged. The discovered common elements that are evident in campus community among the three college union cases are: 1) Student-Centered, 2) Dynamic Spaces, 3) Pathways to Success, 4) College is a Conversation, and 5) House of Serendipity. When taken together, the elements presented in this study offer a well-considered plan for college union leaders, designers, and university administrators to employ when moving forward with college union renovation or construction projects.