Engaged service to the community is an integral part of my research, personal faith, and an extension of who I am as a connected member of society. Many of my service activities are directed related to increasing access and success of students in postsecondary education, especially those that are historically underrepresented. Part of my passion for serving students who are the first student in their families to attend college is that I am a first-generation college attendee and graduate. My parents were warmly supportive of my attending college. They did not have the financial resources to pay my board and tuition. Also, they could not provide mentoring for the rigors of college as neither of them had graduated from high school. As with many young people during the Great Depression, the model was to attend high school until 16, get a job, and then get married. I could not have asked for a better pair of parents who cultivated a love of learning and reading. Just as with my classroom experiences, community engagement is a critical grounding element of my research. It also becomes a venue to disseminate my research findings.
David Arendale's Five Research Projects
This is a short video of my five research projects that drive my publications and conference presentations.
Antiracist activities and policies for student-led study groups
Arendale, D. R., Abraham, N., Barber, D., Bekis, B., Claybourne, C., Edenfeld, K., Epps, K., Hutchinson, K, Jimenez, J., Killingbeck, K, Pokhrel, R., Schmauch, N., & Woodruff, R. (2022). Antiracist activities and policies for student-led study groups. Journal of College Academic Support Programs, 5(1), 12-29. https://doi.org/10.36896/5.1sc1 https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/16176
Issues of race and marginalization do not often intersect with publications related to developmental education and learning assistance. Too often, these issues have been ignored. This guide to antiracism policies and practices for student-led study groups is based on a careful review of scholarly articles, books, existing guides, practical experiences by the authors, and feedback from the study group administrators in the field. While much has been written about culturally-sensitive pedagogies for K-16 classroom instruction, little has emerged for guiding postsecondary peer study groups regarding antiracism practices. This guide helps address this gap in the literature and recommended practices. In addition to its application for academic study groups, this guide has value for faculty members to incorporate antiracism learning activities and pedagogies into their courses. Effective learning practices are identified in this article that can be adapted and adopted for supporting higher student achievement, closing the achievement gap, increasing persistence to graduation, and meeting the needs of culturally-diverse and historically-underrepresented students. This is an excerpt from a much-longer and detailed guide that will be published in the near future.
Creation, Conflict, and Survival: Life Lessons from a TRIO Program
“Creation, Conflict, and Survival” is a history story from several equity programs at the University of Minnesota that you might find useful. The co-authors are Bruce and Sharyn Schelske who directed a set of equity programs for over four decades that served historically-underrepresented and disadvantaged students. The story begins with the history of the Integrated Learning Course they created. The IL Course helped their students learn and practice learning strategies applied to a paired content course such as American History. In many ways, it operated as a mandatory SI-PASS-PAL program. But much more. Part two of the article is an extensive set of generic lessons from leading the IL course that could be used with any education program, not just the ones they led. My favorite is “Build your ark before the rain starts.” These life lessons are priceless.
You can download the article at https://hdl.handle.net/11299/241236 The original article that provides more description of the IL course and research studies that supported its effectiveness is available at https://hdl.handle.net/11299/200360
Best wishes to the start of another academic term.
Using podcasting for education: Anywhere, anytime
Arendale, D. R. (June 2021). [Video, 73:03]. Using podcasting for education: Anywhere, anytime. Online workshop delivered for the United Kingdom Academic Peer Learning Community. https://youtu.be/V2Egjr53wmc University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy https://hdl.handle.net/11299/228967
These are the topics: (a) podcasting described and why popular, (b) lessons and statistics about podcasting, (c) distributing podcasts widely, (d) how to begin podcasting (develop the podcast idea, recording software and hardware, selecting the podcast host, find a partner for the technical part of podcasting), (e) creating voice from text-to-voice software, (f) creating audiobooks, and (g) suggested next steps in the podcasting process. I shared this talk for the United Kingdom Academic Peer Learning Community with a focus on podcasting. I have been podcasting since 2005 as a companion to my global history course and also with other topics of my interest. It was a fast-moving talk and demonstration.
Best practices to strengthen academic relationships with students and a sense of belonging
Arendale, D. R. (April 2021). [Video, 38:28]. Best practices to strengthen academic relationships with students and a sense of belonging. CRLA Heartland Annual Conference, St. Joseph, MO. https://youtu.be/Xe5YTA93lF0 University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy https://hdl.handle.net/11299/228970
My talk had six sections: (a) the influence of campus culture on student persistence, (b) antiracism resources for peer study group programs, (c) selected definitions related to antiracism, (d) highlights from the guide for Course-based Learning Assistance, (e) sample of antiracism policies and practices, and (f) additional resources for peer study group programs. I shared this talk at the annual conference for the Heartland Region for College Reading and Learning Association.
Lessons Learned and Moving Forward: Antiracist policies and practices for peer learning programs
Arendale, D. R. (May 2021). [Video, 39:01]. Lessons Learned and Moving Forward: Antiracist policies and practices for peer learning programs. 10th Regional Supplemental Instruction Conference. Hosted by Texas A&M University. https://youtu.be/0Ll4AVwgKLs University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy https://hdl.handle.net/11299/228971
My talk had six sections: (a) the influence of campus culture on student persistence, (b) antiracism resources for peer study group programs, (c) selected definitions related to antiracism, (d) highlights from the guide for Course-based Learning Assistance, (e) sample of antiracism policies and practices, and (f) additional resources for peer study group programs. I shared this talk at a regional conference for Supplemental Instruction hosted by Texas A&M University.
