States that freshmen college students are not developmentally ready to demonstrate higher-level thinking skills, particularly evaluation. Describes the Perry Scheme of intellectual and ethical development and Chickering's seven vectors of college student development as they assist faculty in comprehending the challenges freshmen face when…

Evaluates the effectiveness of calculator usage in the learning of basic skills by developmental mathematics students with respect to increasing mathematical performance, as measured by a "no calculator permitted" content specific test. Results show calculator usage neither positively nor negatively affected the attainment of basic skills.…

States that initial impressions form student perception of the classroom environment and instructor's communication style. Uses the "Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire" (ICEQ) and the "Components of Communicative Competence Scale" (CCCS) to understand how students perceive their own communication abilities and…

Describes a study examining the effect of hand-held calculators on student achievement in college developmental mathematics classes. Finds no significant differences between control and treatment groups, indicating that students who used calculators scored slightly lower on posttests but achieved higher final course grades as a group than control…

Describes administration of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) to three groups of United States Military Academy students in order to evaluate changes in student performance as a result of taking a student-success course (RS101). LASSI measures students' affective growth upon completion of the RS101 course and their growth in…

States that second-language acquisition students enrolled in developmental courses share the problem of making the transition from the personal to the abstract in discussing and reading academic topics. Reports on the collaboration aimed at increasing students' understanding of complex sociological and anthropological concepts while at the same…

Asserts that almost all U.S. colleges and universities offer some form of developmental education, if one considers tutorial and learning assistance programs in addition to formal courses. Presents an historical analysis of developmental programs, stating that they, in some form, have been a part of postsecondary education since Harvard was…

Describes a study of student writing completed in one basic writing program. Measures the effectiveness of individual papers written in the program's two-course sequence by rating each against a modified "primary-trait" scoring scale. Finds that students made gains in the trait areas examined. (EMH)

Presents findings from a study entitled "Developmental Students' Perceptions of the Factors that Contribute to Academic Success." Focuses on the factors students identify as being significant in creating, nurturing, and maintaining commitment. Specifies the influence of role models, goals, personal circumstances, and the observation of the…

Presents findings from a study of 134 college students to determine differences in cognitive styles between developmental and regular admission students, focusing on the concept of field dependence and independence. Finds no significant differences, with 38% of the non-developmental and 40% of the developmental students being field independent.…

Suggests using weekly news magazines to help students develop reading and writing skills. Discusses classroom activities used by the author, such as free reading time, asking questions, writing exercises, maintaining portfolios, analyzing advertisements, tests based on articles, letter writing, and voter registration due to increased interest in…

Reports on author's experiences using lower-division developmental education (DE) students as teaching assistants in developmental social science courses. Includes benefits, such as assisting in students' socialization and dispelling DE stigma, and drawbacks, such as tension created by authoritarian role. Also includes comments made by students…

Discusses seating arrangements in small developmental classes, suggesting that having students sit in a semi-circle or work in small groups can be effective ways to keep students from attempting to disappear in the back of the class. Also offers ways to deal with this issue in a computer classroom. (NB)

Describes a dissertation model used in teaching a critical-thinking course for developmental freshmen. Students learned how to create knowledge by linking the five-chapter model with the elements and standards of critical thinking, and by writing and defending their own 10-page dissertations. Discusses course strengths and weaknesses. Contains 13…

Addresses the problems related to research design and the improper interpretation of survey results at the institutional level. Analyzes the validity of student opinion surveys. Discusses the importance of response rates. Encourages developmental educators to question results of surveys when outcomes are contrary to the findings of research…