"Remedial Trap." "Bridge to Nowhere." "Completion Divide." Such language used to describe the field of Developmental Education (DE), especially by those outside the field, is undeniably deficit oriented. In this manuscript, we initiate a dialog that critiques such portrayals of DE, particularly those that appear in…

This study explores the effect of developmental courses on labor market outcomes and baccalaureate degree attainment using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:02; Ingels et al., 2014). Unlike previous research that only compares those needing developmental coursework to college peers who do not need coursework, this study is…

The low success rate of developmental (or remedial) mathematics courses has been a great concern at the higher education level. In this research, student success is considered in terms of final grade, D/F percentage, and withdrawal percentage. The study examines student success at a Midwestern university as it relates to instructional delivery…

This paper analyzes how weekly study plans can increase student achievement in developmental mathematics courses at a four-year public institution of higher education. Quantitative data were collected regarding student completion of weekly study plans through an experimental methodology. Results show that students in the experimental group earned…

Universities have been forced to confront the increasing placement of students into developmental courses and the subsequent lack of success students encounter. In an effort to better understand how students' attitudes and dispositions towards mathematics impact this trend, we explored the differences in nine characteristics between students in…

In the Emporium Model (EM), students work toward mastery thresholds using commercial instructional software in a computer lab staffed with instructors. This qualitative case study uses classroom observations and interviews to describe instruction and student behavior in EM classrooms for developmental mathematics at one college in the Virginia…

Erin Severs believes that meeting the needs of underprepared students and supporting the faculty who do this work can only continue to be more central to the success of higher education in this country. With more and more students testing into developmental courses, and an unfortunately low completion rate for these students (25% complete a degree…

Developmental education has been examined from the perspective of students, college instructors, administrators, and policy-makers. However, the perspectives of one important stakeholder group--high school teachers--has not been included in the research literature on this topic. The purpose of this study was to allow teachers to be heard on the…

Using portions of the findings of a qualitative study, this article examines how students described their writing experiences across the curriculum after completing a developmental writing class. The course was purposefully designed to help students become aware that they were developing knowledge about writing that was applicable to other…

In a higher education career that has spanned over four decades Hunter Boylan has served as a gang control worker, a TRIO Program Director, a community college and university instructor, a learning center director, and an academic advisor and counselor, just to name a few of his roles. He is the author of 7 books and over 100 articles, book…

Generation 1 learners are multilingual, adult-arrival, immigrant students who begin their U.S. education in adult ESL. With their nontraditional academic backgrounds, these learners often require support when beginning postsecondary education; however, postsecondary learning assistance professionals may not understand these learners' unique needs…

Developmental courses help academically underprepared students to succeed in college. Classroom learning community programs aid intellectual growth through academic and social support. The current study examined whether developmental students in classroom learning communities differed with respect to college GPA and retention from their peers not…

In this article, the authors describe an approach for embedding service learning into developmental reading and writing curricula to assist new college students in overcoming reluctance to write. The authors first present an overview of literature pertaining to the interrelated nature of motivation, reflection, and opportunities for student choice…

Colleges and universities across the United States are still enrolling students who are underprepared for college-level courses of study. Tinto (1998) stated at the Conference on Replacing Remediation in Higher Education: "Students are entering college with no more than a sixth-grade education in basic skills such as reading, writing, and…

The purpose of this study was to assess whether Facebook (FB), as an LMS (Learning Management System) may be used in a developmental writing course, may build a community of learners in ENG*K012, and may enhance the presence of a supportive shared community to build confidence in students' writing and/or sharing their writing. An additional…