Considers how students' texts are rituals that should both sanction existing truths and consecrate inventive freedom. Notes that in teaching writing, educators limit students' development by training them to practice only one kind of public ritual: the "official feast" of thesis-and-support writing. (SG)

A survey of 135 technical college teachers found that those persisting as teachers had higher commitment to teaching and more practical experience in the subject area. Leavers rated their first-year teaching experience more positively than persisters. Common reasons for leaving teaching included salary levels, institutional climate, classroom…

This paper reports the findings of a national survey on the use of dataloggers in secondary schools (grades 7-10) and junior colleges (grades 11-12). In particular, it explores the types of learning activities that teachers conduct using dataloggers, the support structures they deem necessary and the difficulties they face. Of the 593 respondents,…

This paper describes four key strategies to promote the strengthened classroom experiences that ultimately are requisite to both increased levels of college completion and deeper levels of learning. In this report, the term "classroom experiences" refers to any activity that takes place as part of a regularly scheduled course. The key strategies…

This Academic Year Report 2009-10 provides a snapshot of funding, facilities, staffing, and enrollments in community and technical colleges in the past academic year. The report also describes key measures of student outcomes and addresses the most frequently asked questions related to expenditures, personnel and students. Additional demographic…

Research in the area of student engagement has shown that the more engaged minority students are with faculty and staff, with other students, and with the subject matter they study, the more likely they are to learn and persist toward achieving their academic goals. Secondary data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE)…

In 1960, California developed a "master plan" for its already famed public higher education system. It was and continues to be arguably the single most influential effort to plan the future of a system of higher education in the annals of American higher education. Despite popular belief, however, the California Master Plan for Higher…

Learning assistance meets the demands of rigorous college courses through highly varied activities and approaches. The historic role of learning assistance in the larger scope of U.S. higher education is significant though sometimes low profile. Learning assistance bridges access for a more diverse student body. From students' perspectives, it…

In 1998, geographical information systems (GIS) were introduced to secondary schools in Singapore as a tool for teaching geography at the secondary and junior college levels. However, general observations and feedback from school teachers suggested that only a small number of secondary schools and junior colleges in Singapore were actually using…

A study was conducted at Laramie County Community College to assess the performance of developmental students and evaluate the effectiveness of the college's testing and placement system. The study tracked students entering in fall 1993 whose placement scores identified them as developmental to determine actual enrollment and performance in…

Science process skills include basic skills like observing, inferring, measuring, communicating, classifying, and predicting, as well as integrated skills like controlling variables, defining operationally, formulating hypotheses, interpreting data, experimenting, and formulating models. Recognition of the value of science process skills has…

A study was undertaken at Illinois' Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) to gather information on the course taking patterns, course completion rates, and retention rates between summer 1990 and spring 1993 for students who successfully completed one of eight remedial classes. Students in the sample began in one of three levels of remedial…

In October 1996, Illinois' Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) conducted a longitudinal study of the characteristics of and outcomes experienced by students who entered the college for the first time in fall 1993, gathering data on retention rates, average attempted and earned cumulative hours, and graduation rates over 3 years. Of the 3,146…

In 1984, Seattle Central Community College, in Washington, implemented the Coordinated Studies Program (CSP) in the humanities division of its transfer and liberal studies area. The CSP program involves interdisciplinary courses or seminars team taught by two to four faculty members from different areas of the college and involving an intense…

As part of a review of the Geography, History, and Political Science department, William Rainey Harper College (WRHC), in Illinois, conducted a study of students who had enrolled in three or more courses in the department from 1990 to 1995 and who were not enrolled in fall 1995. Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 300 students,…