Browsing by Subject "semantics"

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2020 Draft glossary of essential terms for learning assistance and developmental education (4th ed.)
(2020-01) Arendale, David
The purpose of this glossary was to identify and describe education practices that improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented college students. Keeping current with the rapid changes in the field of developmental education and learning assistance is essential. Words make a difference in policy discussions and the practical guidance of campus activities. The rapid changes in learning pedagogies, delivery systems for courses, and language use evoke strong emotions for many within the profession, including those involved with this glossary. It may not be our choice to change, but this glossary is our response to the rapidly–morphing landscape of postsecondary education, our field in particular, and the larger society in which we live. In this fourth edition of the glossary, one area that has been significantly expanded is vocabulary related to culturally sensitive pedagogies that emerged during the 1980s and 1990s. Examples of these include: critical literacy, critical pedagogy, cultural competence, cultural differences, cultural literacy, cultural sensitivity, culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally responsive pedagogy, culturally sustaining pedagogy, inclusion, inclusive pedagogy, multicultural developmental education, multicultural education, and social justice. The second new area in this edition are approaches for offering the curriculum other than the traditional academic term-length developmental-level course. Examples of these include accelerated developmental-level course, acceleration, acceleration through curricular redesign, acceleration through mainstreaming, college access, compensatory education, compressed developmental-level course (or skills instruction), contextualization or contextualized learning, co-requisite paired course, course redesign, differentiated placement, embedded academic support, emporium-style model, flipped classroom, gateway course, Gateways to Completion®, guided pathways, integrated reading and writing, modular instruction, non-course competency-based option (Texas), nontraditional model (Texas), stacked course, stretched course, and students as partners. The third area for glossary expansion are those related to academic integrity and intellectual property rights. These were written in a more accessible style than the formal definitions from law reference works. Technologies such as text scanners, photocopiers, printers, and downloadable files from the Internet have made it easier to make mistakes with use of copyrighted instructional materials both for use in the classroom as well as placement on the Internet for use by others. Examples of these terms include attribution of intellectual property, copyright, copyright infringement, Creative Commons licenses, ethical standards, inadvertent use of copyrighted material, instructional materials, intellectual property use copyright, liability exposure, literary property, literary property use copyright, plagiarism, professional liability coverage, open access, open educational resource (OER), and public domain. A fourth significant change for this edition is its scrupulous avoidance of deficit and less acceptable language to describe students. In this edition, asset-based language is used to reflect accurately our students and their capabilities. Throughout history, it is words and phrases have been replaced by newer ones. The older words become less acceptable since they can lead to misinterpretations or have become by today’s standards of usage as inaccurate or perceived by others as discriminatory or racist. This glossary does not make judgements of the authors using those terms. Popular and professional literature is filled with those phrases. However, we move forward with recommended language that is more accurate, affirms student capabilities, and avoids offense to others. Examples of these deficit and less acceptable language includes academically underprepared student, college-level student, developmental student, diverse student, high-risk student, majority or minority student, person/student of color, remedial student, and special population. (Method) The sample for the glossary is based on the previous three editions of the same glossary with new terms added with this document. The glossary terms have been reviewed and approved by multiple members of an external expert panel of qualified reviewers. All of them have served as administrators of their campus developmental education and learning assistance programs. Their practical experiences and keen insights have made this set of glossary terms invaluable in the rapidly changing nature of postsecondary and tertiary education. We owe much to the dedication and expertise of the authors, editors, and external review teams of the first three editions of this glossary. [This directory is a revised and expanded version of ED589760.]
Changing trends for administrative location of developmental education with an institution: A pilot study of NADE members
(Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, General College, University of Minnesota, 2005) Arendale, David R.
With this limited pilot study, conclusions about the data are carefully restrained. However, a couple of interesting observations can be made. Not surprisingly, the most common name of the departmental unit for NADE members is developmental education. The surprise was observing that the regular academic departments of mathematics, English, and humanities occur with such a high frequency. Boylan (2002) indicated that some shifting away from centralized developmental education units may be occurring. This preliminary study seems to confirm that among the top ten departmental names that NADE members receive their mail, only two have the words developmental education explicitly listed in their titles. It appears that centralized developmental education administrative units are becoming rare. As a pilot study, it suggests that further investigation is warranted. Some possible directions could be a more careful analysis of the original data set. Similar studies could be conducted with other professional associations in the field (e.g., College Reading and Learning Association, National College Learning Center Association). Follow-up interviews with a stratified sample of members could probe for the historic choices made concerning departmental names and whether changes have occurred in the intervening years.
Creating a new vision for the future: A report from the Blue Ribbon Commission
(American Council of Developmental Education Associations, 2006) Arendale, David R.; Boylan, Hunter R.; Bonham, Barbara; Borstein, Nancy; Carpenter, Kathy; Chambers, Michael; Drewes, S; Dvorak, Johanna; Harris, Jackie; Lusk, S; McGrath, Jane; Muse, V; Nikopoulos, B; Norton, Jan; Symons, L; Valkenberg, Jim; Williams, L
Many opportunities have been presented to coordinate, collaborate, and to create new activities, services, and structures to better meet the needs of current and potential members. Rather than attempting to evaluate the merits of each of these three avenues in this report, the goal is foster an informed conversation about the future. The choices made by the organizations may include a combination of activities among these three categories. The critical next step is for a wider conversation among members of the organizations to take place concerning the future of the profession.
The developmental education model in the United Kingdom: Access programs
(Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, General College, University of Minnesota, 2006) Arendale, David R.
A review of programs with similarities to developmental education in the U.K. provides a different perspective which they call access programs. Higher education in the U.K. is coordinated, funded, and evaluated by the national government. Two organizations that are resources in the field of access programs are the European Access Network (2004) and the Institute for Access Studies (2003). Rather than using the U.S. term of developmental education, the U.K. approach of access program focuses on widening participation in higher education by historically-underrepresented student groups. In addition to similar concern for academically-underprepared students, the U.K. access program scope includes older students, students returning to education, displaced workers, and other demographic groups who whom college has not been common.
Effect of administrative placement and fidelity of implementation of the model on effectiveness of Supplemental Instruction programs
(University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2001) Arendale, David R.
This research investigated variables that may influence the effectiveness of the Supplemental Instruction learning assistance and enrichment program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and other U.S. postsecondary institutions. Study number one analyzed variables related to academic performance of University of Missouri-Kansas City students (mean final course grades, the rate of course withdrawal, and rate of persistence). Study number two investigated variables at 735 U.S. postsecondary institutions related to the academic performance of students and satisfaction level with the campus Supplemental Instruction program. Independent variables included: administrative placement of the SI program unit (academic affairs, student affairs, or other), age of the SI program, fidelity of the program to SI program activity constructs (SI Supervisor involvement, SI Leader involvement, SI Leader training, institutional involvement), and four dependent variables (mean final course grades, mean percent of D and F final course grades and course withdrawals, mean percentage of students who participate in the program, and satisfaction level with the program). Besides the quantitative studies, an extensive review of the literature regarding the history of developmental education and learning assistance programs in the United States produced six discernable historical phases. Supplemental Instruction was placed within this social context in American history. The appendix includes an extensive annotated bibliography of 450 publications and other media types published by authors worldwide related to Supplemental Instruction. Study number one found a positive correlation between higher academic achievement and persistence rates with the independent variables of SI attendance and measures of precollegiate academic achievement. The entire known population of 735 Supplemental Instruction programs within the United States was selected for study number two. There were statistically significant positive correlations with three of the four program activity constructs (SI Supervisor Involvement, SI Leader Involvement, and SI Leader training) and the effectiveness of the program regarding improved student outcomes and higher satisfaction ratings by the campus administrators who supervised the program. There were no statistically significant differences between the different program administrative placement locations and the dependent variables. Implications from this research include identification of key activities within the program that should be observed to maximize program effectiveness for the institution and participating students.
Enhancing credibility, gaining recognition, and eliminating any stigmas associated with developmental education
(Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, General College, University of Minnesota, 2000) Arendale, David R.; Barefoot, Betsy; O'Hear, Michael; Thomas, P; Williams, L
One distinct obstacle faced by most developmental educators is the ongoing challenge made from a variety of sources about the credibility of this work in higher education. Despite strong histories and demonstrations of success by many programs, we continue to deal with the negative stereotypes and stigma related to our students, our mission, and the appropriateness of our role in institutions of higher education. Additionally, these issues of credibility are fueled by very real and complex circumstances—reports on student retention, achievement on standardized testing, and a changing society in terms of workforce needs and social demographics. It is important to work toward increasing the recognition of positive work being done in developmental education, particularly that which eliminates stigmas and stereotypes informing many of the attitudes that can be counterproductive and misleading.
A glossary of developmental education and learning assistance terms
(College Reading and Learning Association, 2007) Arendale, David R.
It is critical to periodically undergo a rigorous reexamination of the basic language used within a profession. Language is a reflection of past and current practice, it also guides for the future. As the practice advances and changes, so must the language to describe it. This reexamination of basic terms used in developmental education and learning assistance provides an opportunity to transform its work, expand borders, and redefine its essential role within postsecondary education. The glossary is grounded in both the previous version of it as well as extensive review by practitioners and leaders in the field. The complexity of the language has increased as well as its connection with other fields within education. This glossary is offered to help guides practices and programs to better meet institutional and student needs.
The Royal Road to Semantic Cognition: Untangling Semantic Components in Temporal Lobe
(2015-06) Hoversten, Shane
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research into semantic cognition has returned highly variable results, especially in anterior temporal regions. One likely reason for this variability is that tasks used to investigate this topic are believed to engage only shallow semantic processing. Another reason is that certain classes of stimuli (particularly abstract words) are often confounded by un-modeled social or emotional content; many researchers believe that it is this social and emotional information, rather than general semantic information per se, that elicits response in ATL. Our experiments use a task designed to elicit deep semantic processing (the triads task) along with explicit investigation into the social and emotional content of semantic stimuli to try to pry these factors apart and characterize the temporal lobes in general, and the ATLs in particular, with regard to their involvement in semantic cognition. We find that, contrary to some reports, the ATL is highly involved in semantic processing even in its most anterior aspects; that counter to prominent theories this involvement is not (or is not always) due to the inclusion of social or emotional content in the stimuli; and that a semantic task that engages deep semantic processing has an activation signature that closely resembles the signature of full-sentence processing, despite the seeming un-structured nature of the processing required by the triads task. We propose a general role for ATL as semantic integrator to characterize these disparate findings.
Terms of endearment: Words that help define and guide developmental education
(College Reading and Learning Association, 2005) Arendale, David R.
Remedial education, compensatory education, learning assistance, and developmental education are four of the most common terms used to describe the wide field of our profession. Each has specific meanings and sometimes evokes different perceptions. New descriptive phrases will be developed to identify work accomplished by our colleagues, especially if the form and range of services change.
Transitions in developmental education: Interviews with Hunter Boylan and David Arendale
(National Association for Developmental Education, 1998) Stratton, Cheryl B; Arendale, David R.; Boylan, Hunter R.
Developmental education programs permit professors teaching college-level courses to maintain high academic standards since students can develop the requisite skills needed in a separate developmental course or an adjunct academic support activity that is paired with the college-level course. Without such learning services colleges would admit the same students, and professors would be forced to teach classes with a much wider range of abilities represented but without any resources for students needing extra help. This in turn would lower the quality of education offered to the entire student body.
Words make a difference: The influence of language on public perception
(Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, General College, University of Minnesota, 2007) Arendale, David R.
Can a nuanced change of words make a difference to students, parents, and policymakers? Changing public perception with any concept or idea is difficult. Inaccurate prior information, memories, and prejudices are difficult challenges to overcome. The struggles within U.S. society concerning racial stereotyping, religious strife, and bigotry continue. As a historian, I see positive results for society when the majority becomes intolerant of language that categorizes and demeans people. The language usage changes described in the new glossary for developmental education and learning assistance provide another step to building a better and more productive society for all citizens.

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