› › The Effects Of Learning Communities For Students In Developmentaleducation A Synthesis Of Findings From Six Community Colleges Executive Summary

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

Author : Mary G. Visher

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Page : 11 pages

File Size : 39,40 MB

Release : 2012

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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.].





Learning Communities for Developmental Education Students

Author : Michael J. Weiss

Publisher :

Page : 14 pages

File Size : 12,40 MB

Release : 2011

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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.).



Linked Learning Communities. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

Author : What Works Clearinghouse (ED)

Publisher :

Page : 35 pages

File Size : 24,46 MB

Release : 2014

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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.].



Mixed Results from Six Large Randomized Controlled Trials of Learning Communities in Community Colleges

Author : Alexander K. Mayer

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Page : 16 pages

File Size : 17,59 MB

Release : 2013

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This paper presents research that explores similarities and differences across six randomized controlled trials of learning communities in community colleges that were conducted by MDRC and the National Center for Postsecondary Research. Five of these studies track students' progress in the program semester and two follow-up semesters, and one study follows students for six years. These studies provide the most extensive evidence available on the promise and limitations of learning communities for improving the academic outcomes of students in community colleges. The present research examines several competing explanations for mixed findings and draws lessons to inform further research in the field. The following six community colleges were involved in the studies: (1) Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) in suburban Maryland; (2) Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida; (3) Houston Community College in Houston, Texas; (4) Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York; (5) Merced College in Merced, California; and (6) Queensborough Community College in Queens, New York. The learning communities each lasted for one semester, and consisted of four key components, although there was variation in their emphasis and implementation: (1) linked courses and student cohorts; (2) faculty collaboration; (3) instructional practices; and (4) student supports. More than 7,000 students were randomly assigned to either the program group or the control group. The researchers used several data sources: (1) the baseline information form; (2) operational site visits, field research, and instructor survey; and (3) student records. Results from the studies suggest the following: (1) One-semester learning communities can have a long-term impact and even boost graduation, as shown in the study of the Kingsborough program; and (2) The combined results of all six trials suggest that, on average, learning communities for developmental education students produce only a modest impact on credits earned in the targeted subject of English or mathematics. The research provides good tests of learning communities as they appear to be typically enacted, but not a test of the "ideal" or "advanced" learning communities described in the literature. Tables and figures are appended. [This report was written with Kelley Fong, Hannah Fresques, and Jedediah Teres.].



Promising and High-Impact Practices: Student Success Programs in the Community College Context

Author : Gloria Crisp

Publisher : John Wiley & Sons

Page : 120 pages

File Size : 14,34 MB

Release : 2016-09-19

Category : Education

ISBN : 1119319382

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Book Description

With calls for community colleges to play a greater role in increasing college completion, promising or high-impact practices (HIPs) are receiving attention as means to foster persistence, degree completion, and other desired academic outcomes. These include learning communities, orientation, first-year seminars, and supplemental instruction, among many others. This volume explores the latest research on: how student success program research is conceptualized and operationalized, evidence for ways in which interventions foster positive student outcomes, critical inquiry of how students themselves experience them, and challenges and guidance regarding program design, implementation and evaluation. This is the 175th volume of this Jossey-Bass quarterly report series. Essential to the professional libraries of presidents, vice presidents, deans, and other leaders in today's open-door institutions, New Directions for Community Colleges provides expert guidance in meeting the challenges of their distinctive and expanding educational mission.



Impact Studies at Merced College and the Community College of Baltimore County. NCPR Brief

Author : Evan Weissman

Publisher :

Page : 4 pages

File Size : 11,97 MB

Release : 2012

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The Learning Communities Demonstration is a national research project that is testing the effectiveness of learning communities in six community colleges across the United States: Merced College in California; The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) in Baltimore, Maryland; Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida; Houston Community College in Houston, Texas; Queensborough Community College in Queens, New York; and Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York. This report describes the findings from the programs at Merced and CCBC, which each offered learning communities for students in developmental English (including both developmental reading and developmental writing) with the goals articulated above in mind. Findings from the studies at the other four colleges can be found in previously published reports from the Learning Communities Demonstration (Visher, Schneider, Wathington, & Collado, 2010 details the early implementation experiences of the six colleges in the demonstration. The other impact studies from the demonstration can be found in Weiss, Visher, & Wathington, 2010; Weissman et al., 2011; Visher & Teres, 2011). Key findings from Merced and CCBC include: (1) Merced and CCBC had relatively ambitious goals for the implementation of advanced, semester-long, developmental English learning communities. In practice, a strong cohort experience was provided to students, and other aspects of the learning communities model were implemented with variation among the different links at each college. Overall, the colleges succeeded in providing the majority of program group students with an experience that was substantially different from that of their control group counterparts; (2) At Merced, learning communities students attempted and earned significantly more developmental English credits than students in the control group during the program semester. At the end of the subsequent semester, they had passed significantly more English courses than their control group counterparts; (3) At CCBC, there were no meaningful impacts on students' credit attempts or progress in developmental English; and (4) On average, neither college's learning communities program had an impact on college registration in the postprogram semester, or on cumulative credits earned. [This paper was written with Amanda Grossman. For "Learning Communities for Students in Developmental English: Impact Studies at Merced College and the Community College of Baltimore County," see ED529251.].



Student Success in Community Colleges

Author : Deborah J. Boroch

Publisher : John Wiley & Sons

Page : 200 pages

File Size : 14,87 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



Exploring the Impact of Learning Communities at a Community College

Author : Teri A. VonHandorf

Publisher :

Page : 112 pages

File Size : 21,43 MB

Release : 2012

Category : Dissertations, Academic

ISBN : 9781267279620

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The purpose of this mixed-methods participatory action research study was to explore the impact of learning communities on students enrolled in the lowest level of developmental math at a two-year college. The learning community consisted of twenty-three students who were enrolled in both a student success course (GEN102) and a developmental math course (MAT055). Quantitative data was collected ex post facto determine if there were differences in the success, retention, and persistence rates of students enrolled in the learning community section versus the non-learning community sections of developmental math. The study used both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics showed a positive difference between learning community participants and non-learning community participants along the dimensions of success and persistence, but a negative difference in retention. These differences were not found to be statistically significant. Qualitative data were analyzed from two independent sources: (1) a focus group interview conducted with 13 learning community participants at the end of the semester, and (2) the researcher's reflective journal. The themes that emerged from both qualitative data sources were used to deepen the understanding of the quantitative data and to inform the recommendations presented in this study to strengthen and scale up the institution's learning community program.