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―reading skills,‖ ―negative attitude toward reading,‖
―amount of reading,‖ and ―laboratory work‖ for half of
their 40% of the non-persistence-related challenges in
completing reading course successfully.
Additional non-persistence issues identified by students
in reading courses include ―level/intensity of work,‖
―instructor/instructor policy concerns,‖ ―study skills,‖
―computers,‖ and ―focus.‖
Math Intervention
Campus focus groups have been completed for students
and the results will be analyzed and presented to math
faculty in spring 2010.
Campus focus groups for faculty and staff are in progress and will be completed, analyzed, and presented
to math faculty in spring 2010.
African American Male Intervention
Campus focus groups have been completed for students
and will be analyzed and presented to the African
American Male Intervention Team in spring 2010
Campus focus groups for staff and faculty will be conducted during the spring 2010 semester.
Implications of Current Research Findings for TCC
Note that when we consider the current findings from
our student, staff, and faculty populations, persistence
barriers emerge as the most challenging obstacles for
college success, as well as for completion of a specific
course; therefore, outcomes for our courses must move
beyond mastery of specific course content and incorporate strategies for overcoming persistence barriers that
tend to be common for the applicable course. For example, for students to be successful in course work such
as math, reading, writing, psychology, or nursing, the
student persistence issues (particularly those identified
by students at TCC) must also be addressed within the
classroom.
What are some classroom implications for TCC?
Classroom instruction should include strategies for understanding the course material along with strategies
for coping with the stresses that are inherent in dealing
with the course material.
For example, in a reading class, a student should be
taught reading strategies to comprehend, along with
being taught coping strategies in handling the anxiety
related to having to read several pages in many classes
in a short time frame.
Also, in a math class, a student must be taught math formulas to solve equations, along with being taught coping strategies for handling the stress related to having
to retain and recall the varied formulas that must be
applied in the equations presented in a math course.
Another example, for psychology classes, involves having students understand theories and case studies, along
with teaching students coping strategies in distinguishing
between the varied constructs of psychological concepts
and theories.
In the classrooms, instructors can consider the same issues
that the college, Achieving the Dream, and the nation
are considering. Such questions include, ―How can I use
my class instruction to help students make meaning of
their life goals?‖ ―How can I help my students anticipate and prepare for barriers that will occur within the
semester while taking the class?‖ ―What instructional
strategies are most effective for students in the types of
course I’m teaching?‖ ―If community college national research suggests that in-class peer collaboration, frequent one-on-one staff/faculty interaction, and required writing assignments (across all disciplines) point
to increased student engagement and success, how have
I set up my class to line up with these research findings?‖
What can TCC do outside of the classroom? How do
the current research findings relate to the academic
support areas of the college? Each area of the college
has a connection to the overall success of students. And
any effort that promotes the type of factors that positively influence persistence are appropriate interventions that are needed when the student is outside of the
classroom.
Following are some examples of how the current research could be applied within the overall college support areas:
For ―adjusting to college‖ as a barrier, student support
areas can provide workshops, flyers, guest speakers/
community leaders, student panels, and peer mentoring
opportunities that facilitate students seeing how they
should adjust their studying, work, and home life from
how they managed things in high school to the now college setting. Some of these efforts can be done while
students are in high school, while others can be done
during the first year of the college experience.
For ―balancing school and life,‖ in addition to the afore-