Browsing by Subject "student engagement"

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2019 Postsecondary Peer Cooperative Learning Program Bibliography Overview [Video, 14:23]
(2020-03) Arendale, David
This video provides an overview of the 2020 Postsecondary Peer Cooperative Learning Program Bibliography. It contains 1,550+ publications and research studies on all the major national and international postsecondary peer assisted learning programs: Emerging Scholars Program, Peer-led Team Learning, Peer Assisted Learning Program, Structured Learning Assistance, Supplemental Instruction/PASS, and Video-based Supplemental Instruction. The website to download the document is https://z.umn.edu/peerbib
2021 Postsecondary Peer Cooperative Learning Programs: Annotated Bibliography
(2021-01-31) Arendale, David R
This annotated bibliography does not attempt to be inclusive of this broad field of literature concerning peer collaborative learning. Instead, it is focused intentionally on a subset of the educational practice that shares a common focus with increasing student persistence towards graduation. At the end of this overview, several suggestions are made for differentiating the models from each other and the level of institutional resources and resolve with implementing them. The seven student peer learning programs included in this bibliography meet the following characteristics: (a) implemented at the postsecondary or tertiary level; (b) clear set of systematic procedures for its implementation that could be replicated by another institution; (c) program evaluation studies have been conducted and are available for review; (d) intentionally embeds learning strategy practice along with review of the academic content material; (e) outcomes include increased content knowledge, higher final course grades, higher pass rates, and higher college persistence rates; and (f) the program has been replicated at another institution with similar positive student outcomes. From a review of the professional literature, six programs emerged: (a) Accelerated Learning Groups (ALGs), (b) Emerging Scholars Program (ESP), (c) Peer Assisted Learning (PAL), (d) Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), (e) Structured Learning Assistance (SLA), (f) Supplemental Instruction-PASS (SI-PASS), and (g) Video-based Supplemental Instruction (VSI). As will be described in the following narrative, some of the programs share common history and seek to improve upon previous practices. Other programs were developed independently.
Academic and personal growth by PAL participants
(New York College Learning Skills Association, 2014) Arendale, David R.; Hane, Amanda, R.
This qualitative study focused on observed and perceived changes in academic and personal attitudes and behaviors by student participants in the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) program at the University of Minnesota (UMN). The PAL model employs best practices from national peer learning models including Supplemental Instruction, Peer-led Team Learning, and Emerging Scholars Program. The PAL program provides regularly-scheduled study review sessions weekly to support students achieve higher final course grades and persistence rates. In most uses of the PAL model at UMN, participation is mandatory. Arthur Chickering’s Comprehensive Theory of Personal Change was used to analyze the data. Data were gathered by the PAL study group facilitators of observed or perceived changes of attitudes and behaviors by the participating students. Four themes emerged: higher academic engagement, higher confidence, increased interpersonal skills, and improved critical thinking skills. Higher engagement with the learning process was manifested through PAL participants talking more, displaying more comfort while speaking, and asking questions of the PAL facilitators and others in the group. Increased confidence was evidenced by reduction of frustration and fear and replaced with the display of new cognitive and metacognitive thinking, expressions of self-confidence in the ability to solve problems, and learn new academic content independently. Increased interpersonal skills were higher within the study group, helping others during small group activities and within the large group discussions, making friends with the participating students and the facilitator, and actively working with fellow students to solve problems rather than preferring self-reliance and working alone. The final theme of improved critical thinking was displayed by an increased ability to understand and explain the reasoning behind concepts. Several recommendations are offered: how study group programs could foster the academic and personal growth of study group participants and areas for further research.
Academic bridge programs
(Routledge, 2018) Arendale, David R.; Lee, Nue Lor
Bridge programs ease the transition of students from secondary education to postsecondary institutions. They are customized to assist a particular subpopulation of students to be successful. They were originally created for students with high rates of academic difficulty and withdrawal than the general student population. Then, the focus of most bridge programs was academic preparation for increased academic rigor of college. In recent years, a variety of purposes have been added: meet the needs of culturally diverse students who are underrepresented in college, increase student success in particular college degree programs, and increase the number of students who aspire and are prepared for college. Bridge programs range from an intensive program of coordinated courses and noncredit learning experiences to a single academic term course or a workshop lasting a day or two.
Course-based learning assistance guidelines overview [Video, 17:08]
(2020-03) Arendale, David
The 80+ page guidebook to best practices with postsecondary peer assisted learning programs provides field-tested and approved practices that can enhance any academic support program at a college that uses student-led study groups. This video provides a brief overview of the document. It can be downloaded at https://z.umn.edu/peerguide.
David Arendale’s 2017 Guide to iPad Apps
(Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN., 2017) Arendale, David R.
This document provides an overview of the iPads apps I have found useful as an educator and in my personal life. Most of the apps were free, some cost a dollar or two. Only a few cost $9.99. Many thanks to my colleagues in my home academic department of Curriculum & Instruction as well as the College of Education and Human Development staff within the Office of Information Technology at the University of Minnesota. I received good recommendations from them reflected in this document.
Determinants of school completion: Student perceptions of success at an experiential learning high school
(2015-10) Hagen, Elizabeth
Although high schools in the United States use a wide range of interventions to increase school completion, a large number of students still drop out each year. Research has shown that, to be effective, interventions must facilitate engagement in learning and connectedness to school. The scale of the dropout crisis suggests that there is a significant population of students who may benefit from interventions that are more comprehensive than supplemental supports in a traditional school environment. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to develop an understanding of the experience of successful students at an experiential high school in order to examine experiential education as a whole school approach to facilitating school completion. The fourteen participants were students who enrolled at an experiential high school after becoming disengaged at other schools. According to these students, the structures of an experiential high school—notably, projects, expeditions, advising, and a close-knit community—created a school experience of meaningful academic learning and strong relationships that made them feel valued as individuals. Projects and expeditions provided the context for relevant and meaningful learning experiences and created opportunities for relationships to emerge and strengthen. Students associated feelings of being accepted, challenged, and supported with the format of the school, including membership in a close-knit community and the centrality of the advisory relationship. For participants in this study, these experiences were part of a progression that began when students recognized they wanted to leave previous schools and ended when students reflected back on successes as they approached graduation.
Directory of academic interventions and learning enrichment activities.
(Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 2006) Arendale, David R.
Selecting the appropriate academic intervention or making a change in institutional policies is contingent upon many factors. What is the unique academic and culture issues at the institution and which academic intervention is best fitted to meet those needs? Is there clear evidence that the intervention will contribute to higher academic achievement at a particular institution as opposed to its past success as the institution where it was first developed? What is the capacity of the institution to implement the intervention or policy regarding administrative support, faculty support, skill level of the intervention program, and the cost to implement and continue the program?
EOA best practices clearinghouse directory 2018 (4th ed.).
(Educational Opportunity Association and the University of Minnesota, 2018) Arendale, David R.
(Purpose) The purpose of this directory was to identify, describe, and evaluate evidence that the education practices improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. (Method) The sample for the directory was derived from TRIO and GEAR UP professionals located in the upper Midwest region that are affiliated with the Educational Opportunity Association (EOA). EOA and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota created a clearinghouse to disseminate evidence-based practical activities and approaches to improve success of students who are low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented in education. The administrative and education best practices in this publication have been reviewed and approved by multiple members of an external expert panel of qualified reviewers. Each practice has been approved as promising, validated, or exemplary based on the level of evidence supporting it. The rigorous standards applied during the review process are similar to previous national evaluation efforts by the U.S. Department of Education (Results) The approved education practices of this 353 page directory represent each of the five major federally-funded TRIO and GEAR UP programs: (a) Educational Talent Search, “Emergency Field Trip Contingency Plan”, “Program Policies and Procedures Handbook”, “Peer Coaching Handbook”, “Academic Improvement Plan”, “Middle School Summer Curriculum”, (b) Upward Bound, “Upward Bound Senior College Exploration”, “Study Hall Days at a College Campus”, “Podcasting Academic and Career Counseling”, “Academic Advising Management System”, and “Planning Effective Campus Visits”; (c) Educational Opportunity Centers, “Coaching TRIO Students”, “Right Start to College Seminar for Adults”, and “Post service Assessment Tool”; (d) Disability Services, “Access College Today Program”; (e) Student Support Services, “Creating Global Experiences for College Students”, “Advising Syllabus”, “Integrated Approach to the First Year Experience”, “Horizons Study Abroad Experience”, “Procedures for a Study Abroad Program”, “Evaluation Tools for a Study Abroad Program”, “Integrated Learning Course”, “Tutoring for Students with Disabilities”, and “Tutor Training and Professional Development”; (f) Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement, “McWrite: Developing Scholarly Writing Skills”; and (g) GEAR UP, “High School Financial Literacy Curriculum”. (Implications) Rather than looking to others for solutions, the federally-funded TRIO and GEAR-UP grant programs have the expertise needed to solve vexing problems with student success. These programs are incubators of best education practices that can be implemented elsewhere. Detailed information is provided about the education practice purposes, educational theories that guide it, curriculum outlines, resources needed for implementation, evaluation process, and contact information. Educators need to investigate these education practices to discover effective learning practices that can be adapted and adopted for use in supporting higher student achievement, closing the achievement gap, increasing persistence to graduation, and meeting the needs of culturally-diverse and historically-underrepresented students. (Additional Materials) Appended to the directory are: (1) Profiles of TRIO and GEAR UP Programs with Best Practices; (2) EOA Clearinghouse External Expert Panelists; and (3) Procedures for Evaluation of Submissions to the EOA Clearinghouse.
EOA national best practices directory 2017 (3rd ed.)
(Educational Opportunity Association, 2017) Arendale, David R.
The EOA National Best Practice Center identifies, validates, and disseminates practical activities and approaches to improve success of students who are low-income, first-generation, and historically underrepresented in education. Rather than looking to others for solutions, the federally funded TRIO and GEAR-UP grant programs have the expertise needed. The key is sharing it more widely and comprehensively with each other. The co-sponsors for the Center are EOA and the University of Minnesota. The administrative and education best practices in this publication have been reviewed and approved by multiple members of an external expert panel of qualified reviewers. Each practice has been approved as promising, validated, or exemplary based on the level of evidence supporting it. The rigorous standards applied during the review process are similar to previous national evaluation efforts by the U.S. Department of Education. More information about the rigorous standards and the external expert panel is contained in Appendix B of this publication. The practices approved thus far by the EOA Center represent each of the five major TRIO grant programs: Educational Talent Search, Upward Bound, Educational Opportunity Centers, Student Support Services, and the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Programs. One practice is from a GEAR UP program. For readers unfamiliar with TRIO programs, a short history is provided on the following pages. While the education practices come from TRIO programs, they could be adapted for use with nearly any student academic support and student development program. TRIO and GEAR UP programs are incubators of best practices to serve the needs of historically underrepresented students and the general student population. Readers can use this publication as a guide for implementing the education practices contained within it. Detailed information about the education practices purposes, educational theories that guide the practice, curriculum outlines, resources needed for implementation, evaluation process, and contact information are provided by the submitters of the practice who have practical experience implementing the practices. You are encouraged to contact them for additional information.
Factors Influencing the Academic Engagement of Upper-Division Undergraduate International Students: A Case Study of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
(2015-08) O'Brien, Mary Katherine
The purpose of this study is to determine factors influencing the academic engagement of upper-division undergraduate international students at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UMTC). In keeping with the conceptualization of engagement as a "joint proposition"� (Davis & Murrell, 1993, p. 5), the research questions emphasize student-driven and institutional aspects of academic engagement. Bourdieu's (1986) forms of capital theory is employed to organize relevant literature and the study findings. The researcher utilized a mixed-methods research design. Data collection was primarily qualitative in nature and conducted via 20 semi-structured interviews; data were supplemented with the results from a quantitative on-line quantitative survey (n = 116) that provided broader coverage of the study themes. The researcher independently developed the survey instrument and the interview protocol. The study results are organized into individual and institutional factors affecting the academic engagement of upper-division undergraduate international students at UMTC. Key findings include the influence of campus-based relationships, including those among peers and with professors and teaching assistants, on students' academic engagement. Inductive coding of qualitative data also uncovered pedagogical supports for academic engagement including instructional clarity, opportunities for participatory and hands-on learning, guidance for group work, instructor feedback, and support for classroom inclusion and participation. Cultural factors and their relationship to international students' academic transitions are also included in the analysis and emerged as key factors influencing academic engagement of study participants.
Guide for Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) group facilitators.
(Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 2014) Arendale, David R.; Lilly, Mary
PAL programs focus on serving historically difficult college courses. These courses have a high rate of D or F final course grades or withdrawals. PAL does not focus on high-risk students, but rather on very difficult and challenging courses. These same courses are commonly listed across the U.S. by other PAL programs. To meet this need of students to achieve higher final course grades in these courses, the PAL program offers a regular schedule of out-of-class sessions that are facilitated by a fellow student. This student - called a facilitator - has often previously taken the same class by the instructor and earned a high final course grade and IS competent in the subject matter. The PAL sessions are offered throughout the academic term, beginning with the first or second week of class. The sessions occur in classrooms in the same area as where students attend the class. These sessions are free. While an attendance roster is gathered of those who participate, the course instructor does not necessarily know who attends and who does not.
Integrating best practices of developmental education in introductory history courses
(University of Minnesota, General College, Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, 2005) Arendale, David R.; Ghere, David
This chapter provides a practical model for social science teachers to integrate the best practices of developmental education within a course. The approach requires systemic changes in the learning environment that facilitate both higher educational outcomes and concurrent development of lifelong learning skills among all students. This new model stands in contrast with the traditional developmental education approach that identifies individual students within a class based on predictive measures and prescribes specific activities for them alone. This chapter’s narrative identifies practices used by the authors successfully with their college students in introductory courses in American history and world history.
Laptop Initiative Evaluation Report
(Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2008-11) Ingram, Debra; Willcutt, Jennifer; Jordan, Kelly
The Minnesota Children, Youth and Families At Risk Project: Impact Report 2009
(University of Minnesota Extension, 2009) Skuza, Jennifer; Tzenis, Joanna; Sheldon, Timothy
The Minnesota CYFAR Sustainable Communities Project is focused on strengthening the ability of middle school aged youth to set and achieve short and long-term educational goals by using an innovative and organic afterschool program model that is highly experiential. The aim of the program is to help youth own their learning by igniting their interest in education and to work with parents and guardians to support them in their role as their child's first educator. This impact report describes the program model and the educational resources we used to develop it. It also highlights some of the promising early results, along with the resources developed during the project’s first year. There are also find descriptions of the communities, youth, and parents this project serves.
The Minnesota Children, Youth, and Familes at Risk Project: Impact Report 2010
(Regents of the University of Minnesota, 2010) Skuza, Jennifer; Sheldon, Timothy; Sheehan, Trish; Tzenis, Joanna
The Minnesota CYFAR Sustainable Communities Project is focused on strengthening the ability of middle school aged youth to set and achieve short and long-term educational goals by using an innovative and organic afterschool program model that is highly experiential. The aim of the program is to help youth own their learning by igniting their interest in education to to work with parents and guardians to support them in their role as their child's first educator. This reports features the impact from the second year of the project whereby sixty-nine youth and seventy-one parents and guardians participated.
The Minnesota Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Project: Impact Report 2011
(University of Minnesota Extension, 2011) Skuza, Jennifer; Tzenis, Joanna; Sheldon, Timothy; Pierson Russo, Jessica
The Minnesota CYFAR Sustainable Communities Project is focused on strengthening the ability of middle school aged youth to set and achieve short and long-term educational goals by using an innovative and organic afterschool program model that is highly experiential. The aim of the program is to help youth own their learning by igniting their interest in education to to work with parents and guardians to support them in their role as their child's first educator. This reports presents the evaluation results and demonstrates the impact that the Minnesota CYFAR Sustainable Communities Project has had on youth participants during its third year.
Minutes: Senate Committee on Educational Policy: January 21, 2004
(University of Minnesota, 2004-01-21) University of Minnesota: Senate Committee on Educational Policy
Peer educators in learning assistance programs: Best practices for new programs
(Jossey-Bass, 2011) Wilson, Wendy; Arendale, David R.
Peer educators have a critical role to play in the delivery of a wide variety of important programs on college campuses. Nowhere is this more evident than in learning assistance programs. These programs, typically housed in a learning center or learning assistance office, include tutoring and mentoring and often take the form of individual and group support in study skills, note-taking, writing and math skills. There has also been a growing use of peer educators in collaborative learning programs, such as Supplemental Instruction. These programs bring students together to learn course content with one another. While any group of students can meet together to study for an exam, results are much higher when the groups are focused and structured (Arendale, 2005). A good first step in beginning a program is examining the major peer learning programs that are used by colleges across the U.S. There are four commonly implemented and well-validated peer learning programs in higher education in the U.S., with both unique features and common operating principles: Emerging Scholars Program, Peer-led Team Learning, Structured Learning Assistance, and Supplemental Instruction.
Postsecondary peer cooperative learning programs
(National College Learning Center Association, 2018) Arendale, David R.
Peer collaborative learning has been historically embedded in education. As both pedagogy and learning strategy, it has been adopted and adapted for a wide range of academic content areas at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels due to its benefits. The professional literature is filled with reports of individual instructors integrating this approach into postsecondary classrooms in diverse ways. This is due to claims by some programs that following their specific protocols increase student academic performance, persistence rates, and bolstering institutional revenues as a result. Rather than attempting to cover the entire range of collaborative learning practices, this section is focused on four national peer learning models. The four student peer learning programs selected for this chapter were the only ones that met the following characteristics: (a) implemented at the postsecondary or tertiary level; (b) clear set of systematic procedures for implementation to replicate by another institution; (c) evaluation studies have been conducted and available for review; (d) intentionally embeds learning strategy practice along with a review of academic content material; (e) outcomes include increased content knowledge, higher final course grades, higher course pass rates, and higher college persistence rates; and (f) replicated at another institution with similar positive student outcomes. The following programs met these seven characteristics: (a) Emerging Scholars Program (ESP), (b) Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), (c) Structured Learning Assistance (SLA), and (d) Supplemental Instruction (SI).

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