This study focused on a redesigned reading program that integrated project-based activities through the contextualization of reading and information literacy strategies using library databases. Students completing the new reading curriculum were compared to students who had completed a traditional reading curriculum to assess for differences in…

This study compares two instructional methodologies: extensive reading plus output activity and intensive reading plus grammar-translation with regard to improvement of non-English major EFL learners' reading comprehension and fluency development in a Japanese junior college. It identifies the minimum number of words an individual should read for…

Students enroll each year into post-secondary education institutions underprepared to meet college reading demands. This lack of knowledge places students at a disadvantage as they attempt to prepare for both college and career success. The purpose of this evaluation study was to ascertain the usefulness of the Reading Plus Program (RP) Adaptive…

Reading comprehension and fluency issues are the most significant challenges facing adult, developmental reading students in community colleges. While a great deal of focus has been on improving developmental reading instruction, there is a lack of attention, and research, on how to best improve students' actual reading. Self-selected reading…

As part of a study (Armstrong, Stahl, & Kantner, 2015a, 2015b, 2016) of curricular alignment between developmental reading (DR) and introductory-level general education (GE) at one community college, we asked faculty participants about the DR coursework at their own institution. Throughout data analysis, we became interested in how non-DR…

Developmental courses are offered at most two year and four year colleges and universities in order to meet the instructional needs of students who have shown skill deficiencies based upon test scores in the areas of reading, English, or mathematics. The purpose of developmental reading courses at the postsecondary level is to increase students'…

Sauk Valley Community College (SVCC) has returned to the Pathways to Results (PTR) process to analyze and improve a new pathway each year for the last five years. They have become so invested in PTR that they have institutionalized its use into their approach to program review and continuous improvement, creating an institutional PTR team…

Developmental education students make up almost half of the community college population in the United States (Bettinger & Long, 2005). Approximately 42% of first-time freshmen at community colleges must enroll in at least one developmental education course in English, reading and/or math (NCES, 2010). Many developmental education students are…

While community college instructors are experts in their academic or technical fields, most do not have training to help adults build postsecondary literacy skills. Researchers with WestEd's Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) sought to change that. Building on SLI's popular and proven Reading Apprenticeship model for middle and high school…

The nature and role of developmental education classes are under tremendous scrutiny across the nation today. Specifically, students are entering community college and four-year institutions of higher education unprepared to understand and apply much of the reading material presented to them in college-level classes. This article describes the…

This mixed methods study examines 126 community college students enrolled in developmental reading courses at a mid-sized Southwestern community college. These students participated in a survey-based study regarding their reading experiences and practices, social influence upon those practices, reading sponsorship, and reading self-efficacy. The…

Over the last four decades, community colleges have played an increasingly important role in higher education. Today, community colleges enroll more than one in every three undergraduates nationally. Unfortunately, among students who enroll in community colleges with the intent to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year institution, only 51…

To truly impact sustainability practices, campuses need to influence the overall campus culture, including that which is fostered through first-year programs. Institutions of higher education have made a commitment to make a difference for sustainability, not only by changing curriculum, but by changing the entire institutional culture. This…

For the past three decades, American higher education has paid increasing attention to the beginning college experience--to ensuring that entering students make a successful transition to college. Yet, much of the extant research and practice literature focuses on the experience of first-year students entering four-year colleges and universities.…

Library involvement with Campus Reading Experiences (CRE) at two community colleges and two 4-year institutions are described. Each chosen case study reflects a strong library presence in institutional level program planning and instructional development for deeper student learning related to the CRE. In particular, the case studies highlight the…