This blog focuses on my scholarship in my five research projects: learning assistance and equity programs, student peer study group programs, learning technologies, Universal Design for Learning, and history simulations. And occasional observations about life.
Developing smartness: The lost mission of higher education
Headlines within the postsecondary press report morre frequently the "alarm" of students arriving at college that lack sufficient academic preparation and their subsequent need for enrollment in developmental-level courses. These are not new concerns. Higher education officials have been voicing them since the first college oppened in America four hundred years ago. Why are we surprised? Students go to college to learn what they don't already know and to do things that are yet to have the skills for.
The change in the dialogue is now that more policy makers want to stratify access and opportunity in higher education. Admit only those students who are already smart and skilled and send the rest to the community college. Even community colleges are increasingly voicing frustration over the burden and some call for entry level standards and elimination of open door admissions. Before proceeding with that conversation, they should review Dr. Astin's article on this subject.
Astin, A. W. (1998). Remedial education and civic responsibility. National Crosstalk, 6(2), 12-13. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://www.highereducation.org/crosstalk/pdf/ ctsummer98.pdf The author, director of the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, argues that remedial education is the most important problem in education today and providing instruction in this area would do more to alleviate more social and economic problems than any other activity. Astin discusses the history and stigma of remedial education and how higher education has become focused on "identifying smart students" rather than "developing smartness" in all its students. Astin argues that it is for the benefit of society that remedial education, affirmative action, and other programs be highly supported and valued.
It is easy for a college to take highly gifted students and help their reach even higher. It takes much more skill, commitment, and dedication to take students who have high desire, but have yet obtained a wide set of skills, experiences, and knowledge. But isn't that what the general public wants us to do? Identifying smart students and admitting them is easy. "Developing smartness" is much harder. And more satisfying.
New Internet Bookmarks for 2010-05-04
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12 Major Foundations Commit $506M to Education Innovation in Concxert with USDOE $650M “Invesitng in Innovation I3 Fund Leveraging their assets along with the $650M of USDOE, more than $1 billion devoted to K-12 innovation to scale up effective practices and build capacity to adopt nationally. (tags: grants best_practices innovation scale-up capacity_building)
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FIPSE'S Freefall from Innovative Leaders Continues - Inside Higher Ed FIPSE, a historic identifies of promising and validated best practices, continues to have its role eroded by legislative earmarks, under funding, and diminished support. (tags: FIPSE dissemination best_practices grants)
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Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook: The Online Option Promising models for online professional development opportunities for teachers, especially those that are place-bound. (tags: social_media Prof._Development_&_Resources Online_community)
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Sites Mimicking Social Networks Set Up for (Instructional) Staff Development Online learning communities models for professional development of teachers. While the examples in the article focus on K-12 education, this could be very helpful for postsecondary education, especially for reaching the growing number of adjunct instructors who have neither the time or institutional financial support to attend conferences, workshops, and other professional development events. (tags: social_media Prof._Development_&_Resources virtual_learning_communities)
New Internet Bookmarks for 2010-05-02
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The new book explores the reasons and consequences of so many entering college students needing to enroll in developmental-level courses.
The Community College and Remedial/Developmental Education
Recently the Gates Foundation announced a gift of over $100 million to support community colleges in identifying best practices to improve remedial and developmental-level courses and other services to support higher student achievement and graduation rates. The following interview forecast many of these recommendations by Robert McCabe a decade ago. Revisiting McCabe and reading his book provides best practices and case studies of success with increasing student success.
Callan, P. M. (2000, Fall). An interview: Robert McCabe. National Crosstalk, Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://www.highereducation.org/crosstalk/ct1000/interview1000.shtml
Robert McCabe, senior fellow with the League for Innovation in the Community College and former president of Miami-Dade Community College is the focus of this interview. Much of the interview revolves around McCabe's newest book, No One to Waste, a national study of community college remedial programs. McCabe employs a variety of arguments for the support and expansion of remedial education.
ERIC Database, ED448813, Title: No One To Waste: A Report to Public Decision-Makers and Community College Leaders. Authors: McCabe, Robert H. Abstract: Twenty-five community colleges participated in a study that tracked 71 percent of 592 students who successfully enrolled in a remedial program in 1990. Follow-up interviews of program completers gathered information about further education, employment, family, and facts about post-remedial life. A criminal justice search was also conducted on the entire study cohort. These data were the basis for this first comprehensive national study on community college remedial education students. The study found that most successfully remediated students perform well in standard college work, gravitate to occupational programs or direct employment, and become productively employed. While a majority of the remedial students were white non-Hispanic, ethnic minorities were overrepresented in the cohort and even more so in a seriously deficient student sub-cohort, confirming that remedial education is a significant issue for ethnic minorities. While community college remedial programs are cost effective, most colleges fail to use the substantial research concerning successful remedial education, and do not fund programs at a level necessary for successful results. Recommendations include: (1) giving remedial education higher priority and greater institutional and legislative support; (2) requiring assessment and placement of all entering students; and (3) developing a national guide to assist colleges in developing effective remedial education programs. (Contains 15 figures and tables, 45 references and 63 pages.)/p>
New Web Bookmarks for 2010-04-27
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The American Assoc. of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers annual conference is increasingly devoted to issues of student persistencd and best practices for intervention programs to increase ontime graduation of college students.
New web bookmarks for 2010-04-22
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Getting Real is the business, design, programming, and marketing philosophies of 37signals — a developer of web-based software used by over 1 million people and businesses in 70 countries. 37signals used the unconventional Getting Real process to launch five successful web-based applications (Basecamp, Campfire, Backpack, Writeboard, Ta-da List), and Ruby on Rails, an open-source web application framework, in just two years with no funding, no debt, and only 7 people.
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Sponsored by Innovative Educators, the web site provides free professional development content along with marketing of their fee-based services.
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