This study focused on student achievement in remedial math through online and traditional delivery modes at Northwest Mississippi Community College. Student participants were interviewed through a semi-structured interview process to determine perceived influences and challenges that affected success in remedial math courses. The perceived…

This study explored how faculty members implemented constructivist teaching methods after training. The student-centered teaching methods were interactions and collaborations, authentic learning and real-world experiences, linking material to previously learned information, and using technology in the classroom. Seven faculty members trained in…

This study focused on the instructional competency needs of new dental hygiene educators. The purpose of this qualitative and phenomenological study was twofold: (a) to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of 14 dental hygiene educators who have transitioned from clinical practice into the California Community College education system to…

The purpose of this short article is to review the findings from an instrumental case study that examines how a college president used what this article refers to as "frame alignment processes" to mobilize internal and external support for a college initiative--one that achieved success under the current president. Specifically, I…

Three community college faculty members used improvement science techniques to design, develop, and refine contextualized developmental mathematics lessons, where language and literacy pedagogy and related supports figured prominently in these instructional materials. This article reports on the role that their design experiences played in…

Nontraditional students bring to the classroom diversity in age, culture, experience, knowledge, and preparedness. The risk factors that circumstantially define nontraditional students outside the classroom result in transferrable challenges within the classroom. The purpose of this single descriptive case study was to explore and understand…

Adopting a qualitative case study methodology, the present study illuminates how two multilingual students enrolled in a U.S. community college ESL class negotiated the sociocultural norms valued in their multiple communities to make investment in learning English in college. Drawing on Gee's theory of Discourse and identity (1996) and Norton's…

The importance of developing the communicative needs of English language majors has been found a fundamental concern of Buraydah Community college in Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study has been to identify English language speaking skill needs of English language majors and investigate the impact of using Open Discussion…

This dissertation describes the process of creating a guidebook that developmental education administrators can use to build their capacity as leaders, learners, and program planners. The guidebook is the product of a qualitative study designed to better understand how community college administrators who have program planning responsibilities for…

The purpose of the qualitative descriptive study is to engage community college faculty in systematic reflection of their perceptions of the impact of redesigned accelerated developmental education courses on their pedagogy and student success. Study participants include twenty-six English, Mathematics, and Reading faculty who have experience…

In researching how adult numeracy teachers actively motivate and enable learners to apply the numeracy skills they learn to their own real life practices, a case study of two adult numeracy teachers and their learner groups was undertaken. This paper compares the teachers' contrasting personal experiences of mathematics learning to consider how…

This qualitative case study was designed to explore students' perceptions of online learning at a small rural community college to understand what factors impacted their persistence in coursework. The research problem dealt with retention rates in online courses, which were lower than in face-to-face courses. Despite extensive quantitative…

Over the past decade there have been several national reform movements focused on increasing the completion rates of community college students, yet those rates have remained at about 38%. If community colleges are to be reformed, much of this reform must focus on the faculty, their classroom practices, their perspectives on teaching and learning,…

Designers-by-assignment, or subject matter experts (SMEs) who are pressed into training service, have become common in the workplace. A review of more than 24 studies on expert and novice instructional designers, however, revealed that little is known about how designers-by-assignment think about design and make design decisions in the field. A…

The community college system is based on an open-door mission and serves to provide access to students of diverse backgrounds. Online learning is one of the fastest growing segments of community college offerings. If the community college system embraces its open-door mission, it must also embrace new ways of providing multicultural experiences…