"Discussion of constructivist learning environments and the instructor's role focuses on interaction in electronic learning (e-learning) environments. Highlights include learning-centered environments; situated learning; pre-learning activities; active learning; interactive learning; interaction with content, peers, and instructor; feedback and evaluation; and reflection."

"Describes five significant challenges to implementing inquiry-based learning. Presents strategies for addressing them through the design of technology and curriculum."

"Describes a qualitative study of student and tutor perspectives on the assessment of an innovative undergraduate course at the Open University (United Kingdom), which has employed an activity-based approach. Discusses the relationship between assessment, student participation, and the development of skills, and outlines the priorities for the design of assessment."

"This paper takes up the issue of whether the skill of critical thinking in university education is best thought of as a broad universal generic skill or rather as only a loose category taking in a variety of modes of thought. Through the linguistic analysis of some sample texts, I argue that the discourse of general thinking programs should not be thought of as a generalist discourse at all, but in fact a quite specific one. The implications both for the teaching and testing of critical thinking are considered in the light of this position."

"Through a review of relevant literature and research, highlighting problems in theory, and an analysis of examples of active learning in practice, the article addresses a number of issues raised by previous attempts to promote active learning. It argues, in conclusion, that while promoting active learning is generally a good thing, the success of an active learning methodology depends not on methodology alone but, ultimately, on the constantly-evolving, dialectical relationship between methodology and learners, mediated by the educator."

"This study examined the influence of scaffolding on the development of critical thinking skills in an online course on Instructional Design. Data were collected through interviews and document artifacts from five participants of the online course. Findings indicated that participants' critical thinking moved through three stages from mirroring, to distortion, to re-construction. Engagement in critical thinking was affected by reflection, feedback, project context, self-perceptions as learners, and prior knowledge."

"Critical thinking is a highly valued outcome of university study, although its nature is difficult to define. Most students are not directly taught critical thinking, but are expected to display it in at least some of their assignments. We do not know much about student perceptions of their development as critical thinkers in their degree programs. This paper presents research into student perceptions of instruction in critical thinking and aspects of its development as they study in an undergraduate degree program in agriculture. Twenty-one students across four years of study were interviewed. They received direct instruction in critical thinking only in the first year of study, and the literature review emerged as a key genre in which critical thinking was perceived to be important by later-year students. The final sections highlight the importance of considering the disciplinary contexts in which students develop their critical thinking, and of preparing them for transfer to post-study contexts"

"Describes two projects that incorporated inquiry into urban educational settings. Offers practical considerations for employing technology-enhanced inquiry in the classroom and discusses broader theoretical issues related to the contribution of technology to literacy learning and motivation when students ask their own significant learning questions, which, in the long run, lead to more questions."

Declining by Degrees

Part of the discussion at this year's forum will be in response to a documentary entitled "Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk" produced by Learning Matters Inc. and aired on PBS. The following articles highlight the documentary.

Connecting to Students Outside the Classroom

“Describes Missouri Southern State College's assessment of its study abroad program as an example of how one institution has attempted to trace the effects that the program has had on student.”

“Discusses why liberal and professional education must be reinvented to include socially responsive knowledge as a key component of every college student's education. Describes faculty attitudes toward civic engagement and faculty initiatives at Portland State University.”

“Explains the merits and liabilities of student exchange programs and examines the factors needed to establish successful programs.”

“The Duke TIP Leadership Institute was developed specifically for a 2-week summer experience; however, the model can be applied to today's high school classroom. Through a combination of fundamental leadership skills and guided service learning, students identify important unmet needs within their community and begin working to address them. This authentic learning experience aids students in personal development and fulfills curricular objectives by connecting the school and the greater community.”

“Service-learning evaluation rarely compares different cohorts of students, so it is difficult to determine whether the findings are reliable. This study compared attitudinal change in five successive cohorts of intergenerational service-learning students (n=59) enrolled in an introductory gerontology course at a major Midwestern university. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to investigate the attitudes of students. Results indicated that only Cohorts 1 and 2 showed significant positive change at posttest in overall attitude toward the elderly. Additionally, only Cohort 1 showed significant positive change at posttest in overall attitude toward working with elders and on an "I fear getting really old" item. Content analysis of open-ended questions indicated that Cohort 1 had the highest proportion of students with positive attitudes toward their own aging at the end of the service-learning. Possible explanations for these findings and implications for evaluation of intergenerational service-learning programs are discussed.”

“This study examined faculty and student conceptualizations and distinctively communicative practices of mentoring in the academy. The study included three phases: (1) open-ended surveys conducted with faculty and students via e-mail, (2) focus groups conducted with faculty and students to elaborate on findings from the e-mail interviews, and (3) focus groups conducted with faculty and students to corroborate findings that emerged from Phases 1 and 2. The Cloning Model, Nurturing Model, and Friendship Model were the primary classifications of mentoring arising from these data. A fourth model, the Apprentice Model, emerged in the final phase. These four models are characterized by varying levels of interpersonal hierarchy and goals. In practice, most mentoring relationships are hybrids of these four basic models. The Cloning Model is in disfavor and appears to be falling into relative disuse.”

“Creating opportunities for international education, both at home and abroad as well as through virtual means, is an important challenge in higher education today. This article presents some strategies for expanding students' options for learning abroad. A new model for learning abroad that aids in promoting a global perspective is discussed.”

“Focuses on what liberal arts students should learn, given the future they face, and how educational experiences can provide opportunities for that learning to take place. Suggests mentoring as one important means by which a faculty member can promote effective learning.”

Connecting to Teaching Excellence

“Considers how institutions can define and refine their missions so that they enable productive work in times of change. Presents a systems model of what it takes to do good work in any context. Current studies are addressing the application of this model to excellent, ethical, and personally rewarding work in academia.”

“Analyzes excellence in teaching, expertise in teaching, and the scholarship of teaching according to the nature and sources of knowledge construction underlying each. Illustrates the differences with practical examples. Asserts that excellence in teaching and the scholarship of teaching are both important but should be recognized and rewarded in their own right.”

General

“An increasing amount of research now relates to students who work part-time during third level study. The advantages and disadvantages of this situation have been widely discussed in the literature and positive aspects of part-time work relating to graduate employment are given in several recent reports. Almost nothing has been done, however, to view part-time working as a preparation for placement, either from a student or employer perspective. This paper attempts to rectify this failing and reports on surveys of pre- and post-placement students in the academic year 2002-2003. In addition, many of the employer partners who take our placement students were questioned about their attitude to part-time work appearing on curriculum vitae and their comments have proved both interesting and revealing.”

“Studied the perceptions of students and supervisors about application in the workplace of skills and concepts learned in distance education university courses offered by interactive audio/video. Findings from interviews with 18 students and their supervisors suggest that the individual and the organization benefited from the transfer of knowledge and skills to the working environment.”

“This study examined the way part-time students cope with fitting in study on top of other demands on their time. To measure the deployment of coping mechanisms, an instrument was developed based on previous qualitative work. The earlier work had identified three coping mechanisms--sacrifice, support, and negotiation of arrangements--operating in four domains of the self--work, family, and social lives. A measure for the sense of belonging to college was also developed. The combined measures were completed by a sample of 208 adult students enrolled in part-time courses in an open university. Analysis by structural equation modelling showed that there were significant relationships between the employment of coping mechanisms and the development of a sense of belonging to the college. Students were more likely to exhibit a strong sense of belonging if: they had negotiated with their family a time to study: they had established regular study routines; they reported high levels of social support; and they declared themselves high in personal self-determination. In addition, high levels of sacrifice were reported, most notably within the domain of the self.”

“The present paper provides an analysis of the relationship between attitudes toward debt and mental health among university undergraduates. Data were collected from the same cohort of students across their three years of university, with responses from 2146, 1360 and 1391 first, second and third year students, respectively. Mental health was measured using the General Population version of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (GP-CORE). Attitudes toward debt were measured using items that tapped current financial concerns and worry about debt on leaving university. Results showed that students become more concerned about their finances as they progress through university, that there was no relationship between anticipated debt and mental health and that attitudes toward debt were related to mental health levels. Students who were identified as having high financial concerns possessed significantly worse CORE-GP scores than students with low financial concern in all three years of university. In all three years students with high financial concerns felt more 'tense, anxious or nervous', more 'criticised by other people' and found it more 'difficult getting to sleep or staying asleep' than students with low financial concerns. There was also evidence that students with high worry about their debt anticipated leaving university with higher amounts of debt than low debt worry students. These findings are discussed in relation to the pattern of increased student debt in UK higher education.”

“The experience of community college transfer students at four-year institutions has been well documented by studies characterizing their adjustment process as "transfer shock." A popular paradigm, the transfer shock concept only describes the cognitive outcome of students' academic adjustment as measured by GPA. Numerous researchers have utilized various instruments to collect data from transfer students to assess their experiences at four-year institutions. Many of these studies have focused on traditional outcome measures such as levels of engagement, involvement with faculty and campus life, and satisfaction. Only recently have researchers been interested in attempting to uncover the psychosocial experiences of transfer students at four-year institutions. The objective of this article is to add to the literature by describing the Laanan-Transfer Students' Questionnaire (L-TSQ)[C] , which can be utilized as a data collection tool to better understand transfer students' adjustment process at four-year institutions. The purpose of this article is three-fold: (1) to provide the theoretical framework guiding the development and design of the L-TSQ; (2) to discuss the instrumentation and psychometric properties of the L-TSQ; and (3) to articulate the benefits of the L-TSQ with respect to research and policy implications. The goal of this article is to provide new ways of studying transfer students at four-year institutions. With the increasing diversity among transfer students, assessment of their experiences would yield valuable benefits to researchers, student affairs professionals, faculty, and administrators at both the two- and four-year environments.”

“Describes the phenomenon of multiple-institution attendance, outlining the primary patterns of student behavior and discussing the implications of these patterns for higher education. Raises the issue of maintaining a proper balance between the integrity and coherence of academic programs and growing demand among consumers and policy makers for easing transfer and other forms of student mobility.”

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