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.

21st Century Practice, Policies David Arendale 21st Century Practice, Policies David Arendale

Too Many Students Trapped in the Blender of Developmental-Level Courses

Following is a report from City College (SF, CA) about the enormous time and resources spent by students with completing years of developmental-level course sequences before enrollment in college-level courses. Much of the students' Pell Grants will have been exhausted by the time the prerequisite course sequences are completed. It is no surprise of the dismal college graduation rates. Studies consistently report the number one reason for college drop outs is financial. Few investigate WHY the students are having the financial problems. It is easy to assume that it is simply "the economy" and pass it off as unavoidable. The following report identifies a courageous college trustee that weathers the wrath of the faculty when he proposes shortening the sequence to A YEAR rather than nearly TWO YEARS of prerequisite developmental-level courses.

The story at City College is not unusal. There are other college, too many, that also have extensive developmental-level course sequences. At some institutions, there are SEVEN levels of developmental Enlish or reading courses to complete. Is is a surprise that students drop out. They come to college with hopes and dreams of a college degree leading to a meaingful career with decent pay and stability. Instead, they are trapped by institutional policies and antiquated thinking by administrators and teachers using models from the 1950s for students living in the 21st century.

So what's to do? Here are several action steps:

  1. Continue the conversations, coordinations, and articulations between high school exit competencies and entrance skills needed for local colleges that receive many of those high-school graduates. Many college systems are doing this already, but more work is needed.
  2. Limit the developmental-level course sequence to no more than two semesters. The levels of these courses should be limited to two, maybe three.
  3. Provide intense summer learning experiences for students in need of developmental-level course work to increase their academic skills.
  4. Provide better assessment of student acadmeic skills and offer learning modules targeted for specific weak areas rather than requiring everyone to enroll in the same academic term-length course. Not all students need the same set of learnign modules within a course. Uncouple the course and create learning modules.
  5. For students with extremely low academic skills in reading, math, and English, experiment with partnerships with local GED centers. This provides a low cost alternative to chewing up the Pell grant funds of the college students in academic term length developmental level courses.
  6. Think outside the box. The current system is broken and we can not continue to waste another generation of students and their precious lives. They deserve better than this from us.

At City College, a Battle Over Remedial Classes for English and Math. By CAROL POGASH
At City College of San Francisco, one of the country's largest public universities, thousands of struggling students pour into remedial English and math classes - and then the vast majority disappear, never to receive a college degree.

When Steve Ngo, a 33-year-old college trustee, learned that many minority students, among others, faced two-and-a-half years, or five semesters, of remedial English classes and a year and a half of math at the two-year college, he was shocked into action. His campaign for a one-year sequence of remedial courses ignited a campus furor, with students and a few trustees on one side and faculty members, irate about the intrusion of trustees on academic turf, on the other.

Mr. Ngo's less-than-collegial campaign was expected to prevail. On Thursday night, Don Q. Griffin, the college's chancellor, was to present a proposal for a shortened remedial curriculum, designed to get students into college-level courses more quickly.

While the battle - which Hal Huntsman, the former president of the Academic Senate, likened to a civil war - was about trustees' dictating policies to professors, everyone agreed that the achievement gap, with blacks and Latinos on one side and whites and most Asians on the other, needed fixing.
Some 90 percent of new C.C.S.F. students who take the placement test are unprepared for introductory English 1A; 70 percent are not ready for basic math. There are more remedial math and English classes at the school than college-level classes, the chancellor said.

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Poor college-bound students making poor decisions?

Once again, poor students are blamed for making a foolish decision to pursue college when they could have went after a cheaper and shorter-term vocational training program. A report from the Gates Foundation, reported through the Chronicle of Higher Education, states too many poor students are unemployed after attending college. The report recommends they consider alternative options for less expensive postsecondary education. (See summary of report from the Chronicle). http://chronicle.com/article/Many-Young-Adults-in-Povert/65826/

Let's change the focus of the problem to include the institution. What did they do to support the poor students (or any of their students for that matter)? These issues are even more important for poor students who are most often first-generation in their families to go to college. They are often historically-underrepresented at the college as well. They lack the social capital and support that other students enjoy. 

  • Academic advisors: Did they provide quality academic advising for the student that did more than just help them schedule classes? How long did those advising sessions last? Did they explore why the student was pursuing a partitucle academic major and future career aspirations? Especially if they are faculty members, do the academic advisors receive any training to do their job?
  • Course instructors: Did they include anything in their courses on how to take what happened in class and help them interpret it for usefulness in the job market or did they just teach abstract concepts in class with no relevance?
  • Student affairs: How sufficient is the number of counselors and career advisors to serve the number of students? Do they provide services for undecided majors? Do they even have a center for career guidance? If so, does it offer seminars for interviewing skills, resume building, and the like. Are these services available when students need them like evenings and weekends?

Like anything, the answers are always more complex. Students have a part in this, but the institution has an even bigger responsibility to support their students (and alumni) with life time success.

From the Chroncile of Higher Education:  Many Young Adults in Poverty Have a College Degree, Report Says By Sara Lipka  http://chronicle.com/article/Many-Young-Adults-in-Povert/65826/

Increasing proportions of low-income young adults are pursuing higher education, but some remain poor even with a postsecondary degree, according to a new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy. In 2008, among Americans ages 18 to 26 whose total household income was near or below the federal poverty level, 47 percent were or had been enrolled in college, compared with 42 percent in 2000. Eleven percent of them had earned a degree, a proportion roughly equivalent to that eight years ago, according to the report, which is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The institute is a nonprofit group in Washington that conducts public-policy research to encourage access and success in higher education.

In introducing its report, the group called into question President Obama's declaration in his State of the Union address in January that "the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education." Poor students go to college academically unprepared, the report says, and, amid competing family and work obligations, they accumulate debt "that could have been avoided by pursuing a different type of degree or a credential."

None of the 11 percent of low-income graduates should remain in poverty, said Gregory S. Kienzl, director of research and evaluation at the Institute for Higher Education Policy. "If you have a degree, you should no longer be poor," he said. Across all racial and ethnic groups, greater proportions of low-income young adults were or had been enrolled in college in 2008, compared with 2000. Hispanic students showed the largest percentage-point increase, to 37 percent from 29 percent. Low-income Asian and Pacific Islander and white students enrolled at the highest rates in 2008, 62 percent and 51 percent, respectively; the greatest proportions of low-income degree holders were also from those groups.

The report, "A Portrait of Low-Income Young Adults in Education," is the first in a series financed in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The next report will focus on attendance and enrollment patterns among low-income students, Mr. Kienzl said, including that black and Hispanic women more often attend for-profit institutions than public four-year colleges.

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21st Century Practice, Best Practices, Culture, Educaction Access, Educational Theories, Learning Assistance David Arendale 21st Century Practice, Best Practices, Culture, Educaction Access, Educational Theories, Learning Assistance David Arendale

Learning Assistance Often Ignores Impact of Culture on Learning of Students

Too often learning assistance and developmental education conferences and publications treat the issue of cultural and ethnic diversity as only an issue of demographics and not of pedagogy. Decades ago it was believed that sensitivity in this area was observing and honoring cultural events and including people of various cultures in class materials. This was a good start after that the previous focus only on dominant culture examples.The next step is required in learning assistance, teach multiculturally. WHile this has been widely adopted in education, the learning assistance community is far behind. Following is a good reader to illustrate practical ways to meaningfully engage students of different cultures in the classroom, honor their expertise, and make the classroom a richer and more productive environment for students of all cultures and backgrounds.

Higbee, J. L., Lundell, D. B., & Duranczyk, I. M. (Eds.) (2003). Multiculturalism in developmental education. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Research on Developmental Education, General College, University of Minnesota. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://tinyurl.com/2e5wa23

The first three chapters of this monograph provide models for integrating multiculturalism in developmental education. The remaining chapters focus on conversations related to multiculturalism in developmental education, reported by our colleagues in the General College of the University of Minnesota. The work of these authors reflects the General College's efforts to implement its multicultural mission. The following chapters are included in this monograph: The Centrality of Multiculturalism in Developmental Education (Karen L. Miksch, Patrick L. Bruch, Jeanne L. Higbee, Rashné R. Jehangir, and Dana Britt Lundell); Walking the Talk: Using Learning-Centered Strategies to Close Performance Gaps (Donna McKusick and Irving Pressley McPhail); Creating Access Through Universal Instructional Design (Karen S. Kalivoda); Multicultural Legacies for the 21st Century: A Conversation with James A. Banks (Patrick L. Bruch, Jeanne L. Higbee, and Dana Britt Lundell); Is there a Role for Academic Achievement Tests in Multicultural Developmental Education? (Thomas Brothen and Cathrine Wambach); The Triumphs and Tribulations of a Multicultural Concerns Committee (David L. Ghere); MultiCultural Development Center (MCDC): Sharing Diversity (Ghafar A. Lakanwal and Holly Choon Hyang Pettman); Summary Report on the Third National Meeting on Future Directions in Developmental Education: Grants, Research, Diversity, and Multiculturalism (Dana Britt Lundell); Report of the Future Directions Meeting Multicultural Themes Track (Jeanne L. Higbee and Holly Choon Hyang Pettman); and appendices.

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