Objective: Traditional-age students attending a rural community college in Kentucky's Appalachian region were interviewed, along with faculty members and administrators, to identify phenomena serving as sources of encouragement or as barriers to retention from the point of entry to the point of transfer. Method: Students' perspectives were…

This guide was developed to accompany a series of 16 seminars on parenting offered by the Brookhaven College Child Development Program to help meet the concerns and needs of working parents in a time of changing lifestyles and family patterns. In addition to providing an overview of each seminar topic, the guide contains informational essays…

The developmental program at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) has a stable core of teachers who value independence rather than conformity and who seek to transform deeply anxious students into students who love learning. The instructors' goals of improving basic skills, fostering independent thinking, and promoting greater knowledge and…

Descriptive and evaluative information is provided in this report on Project COMPAS (Consortium for Operating and Managing Programs for the Advancement of Skills), a cooperative effort between seven community colleges which developed cognitive skills programs for entry-level freshmen. Chapter I reviews the unique features of Project COMPAS,…

This study investigated the relative freshman-year cognitive impacts of five two-year and six four-year colleges and universities drawn from all sections of the United States. The overall sample was 2,685 freshmen students participating in a national longitudinal study and of these the final sample contained 811 students, 280 attending five…

Lists nine strategies that help students move from being an "unreflective thinker" to a "master thinker," discussing in detail the last five strategies: reshaping character; dealing with egocentrism; redefining the way to see things; getting in touch with emotions; and analyzing group influences on life. (PGS)

Both theory and organizational structure support the isolation of teaching faculty and counseling staff in most institutions of higher learning. At Oakton Community College (Illinois), a student-centered philosophy which contends that cognitive and affective growth are intimately related has lead to the integration of teachers and counselors. (NHM)

Enumerates six arguments against teaching developmental students thinking skills. Counterposes such arguments as "It takes too much time" and "Basic skills should take priority over thinking skills" with 12 attributes which, if developed, enhance students' ability to learn, choose, and act effectively, e.g., seeing relationships and analyzing…

Describes an instructional framework for teaching advanced cognitive skills in postsecondary education, highlighting specific teaching strategies that community and technical college educators may use to encourage critical thinking among students. Includes a description of content, teaching methodologies, and sequence of student development.…

Various student development theorists have postulated that the collegiate experience is a strong contributor toward cognitive development in college students. This essay examines Kitchener and King's (1981, 1985) reflective judgment model of cognitive development as both a metacognitive exercise and as a particular skill. The development of…

Teaching critical thinking is what employers ask of educators and what teachers expect from their students. This paper attempts to reestablish the importance of critical thinking and how Valencia Community College's (Florida) critical thinking competency can be developed using several teaching models. A discussion is provided on the background of…

The Bronx Community College's Department of Student Development has provided an array of developmental minicourses to help incoming freshmen acquire coping skills and a new social support system. These courses foster cognitive, affective, and interpersonal development. (TE)

Suggests that there are three ways of taking in information: internalizing inert information, forming activated ignorance, or achieving activated knowledge. Explains that only activated knowledge leads the learner, by implication, to more knowledge, and that seeking the logic of things can lead to discovery of activated knowledge. (NB)

In 1991, a study was conducted at Riverside City College (RCC), in California, to determine the development of science reasoning among students. A science reasoning test was administered at the beginning and again at the end of fall 1991 to two samples: a college-wide sample of 843 students enrolled in one of 55 courses, and a science-oriented…

The last two decades have witnessed a growing trend away from the traditional modes of instruction in physics courses at all levels, from high schools through universities. The reasons for this, as well as some commentary on several non-traditional styles of physics instruction, are presented in this paper. The article does not attempt to promote…