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The Effects of Learning Communities for Students in DevelopmentalEducation: A Synthesis of Findings from Six Community Colleges. Executive Summary

Author : Mary G. Visher

Publisher :

Page : 11 pages

File Size : 21,25 MB

Release : 2012

Category :

ISBN :

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In 2006, the National Center for Postsecondary Research, of which is mdrc is a partner, launched a demonstration of one-semester learning community programs at six colleges; five of these programs focused on developmental education. This is the executive summary of the final report from the project and includes findings from analyses that pool data across these five programs as well as the results for developmental education students at a sixth program at Kingsborough Community College, operated earlier under the Opening Doors demonstration. Across the six programs, almost 7,000 students were randomly assigned, about half into 174 learning communities, and tracked for three semesters. Key findings suggest that when compared with business as usual, one-semester learning communities in developmental education, on average, lead to: (1) a modest (half-credit) estimated impact on credits earned in the targeted subject (English or mathematics) but no impact on credits earned outside the targeted subject; (2) a modest (half-credit) estimated impact on total credits earned; and (3) No impact on persistence in college. The developmental education students in the Kingsborough program, which had some different features from the other five programs, including enhanced support services, showed somewhat larger results than the other sites in credits earned in the targeted subject. An mdrc report on the overall Kingsborough learning communities program, which served both developmental and college-ready students, shows a positive impact on degree attainment after six years. The graduation effect was driven primarily by students who had placed into college-level English, although there is also evidence that the program had a positive impact on long-term outcomes for students with the greatest developmental needs in English. Together, these evaluations suggest that, while most typical one-semester learning communities for developmental education students are not likely to lead to large effects on students' outcomes, a program with additional supports can have longer-term impacts for developmental students. (Contains 2 figures and 8 footnotes.) [This paper was written with Jedediah Teres and Kelley Fong. For the full report, "The Effects of Learning Communities for Students in Developmental Education: a Synthesis of Findings from Six Community Colleges," see ed533825.].



The Effect of Learning Communities on the Success of Developmental Education Students

Author : Bonnie L. Humphrey

Publisher :

Page : 113 pages

File Size : 12,15 MB

Release : 2004

Category : Developmental studies programs

ISBN :

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Book Description

Private colleges depend on revenues from educational fees to fund academic programs. Countering enrollment declines is essential to the long-term viability of the college, with student retention a prime strategic target. The current study addresses this problem by examining the effects of learning communities on student success, a pre-condition of student retention. This study was a quasi-experimental post-test only with similar groups. The students in the treatment and comparison groups became part of those respective groups through the normal enrollment practices of the college. The subjects involved in this study were 308 freshmen students enrolled in a rural private liberal arts college in the Midwest with a total enrollment of 1425 students. 155 students represented the Fall 2001 group of freshmen and 153 students were from the Fall 2002 group of freshmen. It was hypothesized that the developmental students participating in the learning community would perform at a higher rate in all four dependent variables listed in the hypotheses: persistence, retention, motivation and course performance. The findings from this study did not support the hypothesized relationship between implementing a learning community and beneficial student outcomes. One possible explanation may be found in the degree or effectiveness of the learning community implementation. No data were collected to establish the degree to which the integrated coursework and approaches implementing the learning community were effective. Additional forms of examination are recommended to identify how the learning community structure influences teaching and learning actions.



Linked Learning Communities. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

Author : What Works Clearinghouse (ED)

Publisher :

Page : 35 pages

File Size : 19,99 MB

Release : 2014

Category :

ISBN :

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Book Description

Linked learning communities in postsecondary education are programs defined by having social and curricular linkages that provide undergraduate students with intentional integration of the themes and concepts that they are learning. The theory behind these programs is that active learning in a community-based setting can improve academic outcomes by increasing social as well as academic integration. The WWC identified six studies of linked learning communities and their impacts on the enrollment and achievement of postsecondary students in developmental education. All six studies meet WWC standards without reservations and included about 7,400 undergraduate students across six community colleges. Overall, the effects of linked learning communities on academic achievement, degree attainment, postsecondary enrollment, credit accumulation, and progress in developmental education for postsecondary students were neither statistically significant nor large enough to be considered to be substantively important. Therefore, the WWC considers linked learning communities to have no discernible effects on these outcomes for community college students in developmental education. Appendices include: (1) Research details for Sommo et al. (2012); (2) Research details for Weiss et al. (2010); (3) Research details for Weissman et al. (2011) [Houston]; (4) Research details for Weissman et al. (2011) [Queensborough]; (5) Research details for Weissman et al. (2012) [Baltimore]; (6) Research details for Weissman et al. (2012) [Merced]; (7) Outcome measures for each domain; (8) Findings included in the rating for the academic achievement domain; (9) Findings included in the rating for the degree attainment domain; (10) Findings included in the rating for the postsecondary enrollment domain; (11) Findings included in the rating for the credit accumulation domain; (12) Findings included in the rating for the progress in developmental education domain; (13) Summary of subgroup findings for the academic achievement domain; (14) Summary of subgroup findings for the postsecondary enrollment domain; (15) Summary of subgroup findings for the credit accumulation domain; and (16) Summary of subgroup findings for the progress in developmental education domain. [Three of the studies examined in this intervention report can be found in ERIC: (1) Weiss, M. J., Visher, M. G., & Wathington, M. (2010). "Learning communities for students in developmental reading: An impact study at Hillsborough Community College", see ED510961; (2) Weissman, E., Butcher, K. F., Schneider, E., Teres, J., Collado, H., Greenberg, D., & Welbeck, R. (2011). "Learning communities for students in developmental math: Impact studies at Queensborough and Houston Community Colleges", see ED516646; and (3) Weissman, E., Cullinan, D., Cerna, O., Safran, S., & Richman, P. (2012). "Learning communities for students in developmental English: Impact studies at Merced College and the Community College of Baltimore County", see ED529251.].



Student Learning Communities

Author : Douglas Fisher

Publisher : ASCD

Page : 173 pages

File Size : 45,32 MB

Release : 2020-11-25

Category : Education

ISBN : 141662967X

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Book Description

Student learning communities (SLCs) are more than just a different way of doing group work. Like the professional learning communities they resemble, SLCs provide students with a structured way to solve problems, share insight, and help one another continually develop new skills and expertise. With the right planning and support, dynamic collaborative learning can thrive everywhere. In this book, educators Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Almarode explain how to create and sustain student learning communities by - Designing group experiences and tasks that encourage dialogue; - Fostering the relational conditions that advance academic, social, and emotional development; - Providing explicit instruction on goal setting and opportunities to practice progress monitoring; - Using thoughtful teaming practices to build cognitive, metacognitive, and emotional regulation skills; - Teaching students to seek, give, and receive feedback that amplifies their own and others' learning; and - Developing the specific leadership skills and strategies that promote individual and group success. Examples from face-to-face and virtual K–12 classrooms help to illustrate what SLCs are, and teacher voices testify to what they can achieve. No more hoping the group work you're assigning will be good enough—or that collaboration will be its own reward. No more crossing your fingers for productive outcomes or struggling to keep order, assess individual student contributions, and ensure fairness. Student Learning Communities shows you how to equip your students with what they need to learn in a way that is truly collective, makes them smarter together than they would be alone, creates a more positive classroom culture, and enables continuous academic and social-emotional growth.



Learning Communities for Developmental Education Students

Author : Michael J. Weiss

Publisher :

Page : 14 pages

File Size : 27,38 MB

Release : 2011

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ISBN :

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Book Description

This paper presents results from a rigorous random assignment study of Learning Communities programs operated at three of six community colleges participating in the National Center for Postsecondary Research's (NCPR) Learning Communities Demonstration. The demonstration's focus is on determining whether Learning Communities are an effective strategy for helping students who have been referred to developmental education. The setting of this research is Hillsborough Community College, Queensborough Community College and Houston Community College. Findings from these three Learning Communities Demonstration sites are as follows: (1) Hillsborough's fairly basic Learning Communities' model did not have a meaningful impact on students' academic success (in terms of likelihood of completing developmental reading, average total credits attempted/earned, and rates of persistence); (2) Both Houston's and Queensborough's Learning Communities programs showed evidence of helping students progress through the developmental math sequence more quickly; and (3) Houston's and Queensborough's Learning Communities programs both did not show evidence of lasting impacts on credit accumulation or retention. (Contains 2 tables.).



Student Success in Community Colleges

Author : Deborah J. Boroch

Publisher : John Wiley & Sons

Page : 198 pages

File Size : 47,29 MB

Release : 2010-02-22

Category : Education

ISBN : 0470606614

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Book Description

Student Success in Community Colleges As more and more underprepared students enroll in college, basic skills education is an increasing concern for all higher education institutions. Student Success in Community Colleges offers education leaders, administrators, faculty, and staff an essential resource for helping these students succeed and advance in college. By applying the book's self-assessment instrument, colleges can pinpoint how their current activities align with the most effective proven practices. Once the gaps are identified, community college leaders can determine the best strategic direction for improvement. Drawing on a broad knowledge base and illustrative examples from the most current literature, the authors cover organizational, administrative, and instructional practices; program components; student support services and strategies; and professional learning and development. Designed to help engage community college leadership and practitioners in addressing the practices, structures, and obstacles that enhance or impede the success of basic skills students, the book's strategies can be tailored to various institutional levels, showing how to unite faculty, staff, and administrators in a cooperative effort to effect institutional change. Finally, Student Success in Community Colleges reveals how investing in a comprehensive basic skills infrastructure can be a financially sustainable model for the institution as well as substantially beneficial to students and society. "This is a most unusual and valuable book; it is packed with careful analysis and practical suggestions for improving basic skills programs in community colleges. Compiled by a team of practicing professionals in teaching, administration, and research, it is knowledgeable about what has been done and imaginative and practical about what can be done to improve the access and success of community college students." K. Patricia Cross, professor of higher education, emerita, University of California, Berkeley "For its first hundred years the community college was committed primarily to access; in its second hundred years the commitment has changed dramatically to success. This book provides the best road map to date on how community colleges can reach that goal." Terry O'Banion, president emeritus, League for Innovation, and director, Community College Leadership Program, Walden University "This guide is the most comprehensive source of information about all facets of basic skills or developmental education. It will be invaluable not just to community college educators across the nation, but also to those in high schools and four-year colleges who share similar problems." W. Norton Grubb, David Gardner Chair in Higher Education, University of California, Berkeley



Learning Communities In Practice

Author : Anastasia Samaras

Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media

Page : 254 pages

File Size : 37,84 MB

Release : 2008-10-26

Category : Education

ISBN : 1402087888

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Book Description

Most would agree that a learning community of practice cultivates social and intellectual development in educational settings but what are the other benefits and what does a learning community actually look like in practice? This book explores such questions as: “Are learning communities essential in education?” “How are they designed and developed?” “What difference do they make in learning?” The book contains contributions of educators who share their research and practice in designing and implementing learning communities in school, university, and professional network settings. It presents their experiences, and the “how to” of these educators who are passionate about building and sustaining learning communities to make a real difference for students, teachers, faculty, and communities. Combining scholarly and practitioner research, the book offers practical information to teachers, school and university administrators, teacher educators, and community educators.



Learning Communities from Start to Finish

Author : Mimi Benjamin

Publisher : John Wiley & Sons

Page : 112 pages

File Size : 38,78 MB

Release : 2015-03-23

Category : Education

ISBN : 1119065119

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Book Description

While the phrase “learning communities” has various definitions, at the heart of all programs is the goal of enhancing the student learning experience in the community of others. This volume provides valuable information about learning communities--from start to finish--including: • historical and theoretical foundations that guide these programs, • structures of learning communities that provide varied opportunities for student participation, with a focus on specific student populations who may benefit from learning community experiences, and • elements of staffing and assessment, as well as an annotated bibliography of recent learning community literature. The authors consider critical elements of learning community programs and offer recommendations and options for faculty and staff who work with, or hope to work with, this particular curricular and cocurricular learning structure. This the 149th volume of this Jossey-Bass higher education quarterly series. An indispensable resource for vice presidents of student affairs, deans of students, student counselors, and other student services professionals, New Directions for Student Services offers guidelines and programs for aiding students in their total development: emotional, social, physical, and intellectual.



Living-Learning Communities That Work

Author : Karen Kurotsuchi Inkelas

Publisher : Taylor & Francis

Page : 165 pages

File Size : 32,65 MB

Release : 2023-07-03

Category : Education

ISBN : 1000979660

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Book Description

Co-published with In 2007, the American Association of Colleges and Universities named learning communities a high-impact practice because of the potential of these communities to provide coherence to and ultimately improve undergraduate education. Institutional leaders have demonstrated a commitment to providing LLCs, but they currently do so primarily with anecdotal information to guide their work. As a result, there is substantial variation in organizational structure, collaboration, academic and social environments, programmatic integration, student outcomes, and overall quality related to LLC participation. To establish a stronger, more unified basis for designing and delivering effective LLCs, the authors of Living-Learning Communities that Work collaborated on the development of a comprehensive empirical framework for achieving the integrating potential of LLCs. This framework is designed to help practitioners guide the design, delivery, and assessment of LLCs. This book thoughtfully combines research and field-tested practice to document the essential components for best practices in living learning communities and presents them as a clear blueprint – the LLC best practices model – for LLC design. Practitioners, researchers, and institutional leaders can use the book as a guide to more effectively allocate resources to create and sustain LLCs and to realize the potential of these communities to improve undergraduate education.