Research Annotations

Records: 239

Leaving Late: Understanding the extent and predictors of college late departure

Z. Mabel     T. A. Britton

APA Citation

Mabel, Z., & Britton, T. A. (2018). Leaving late: Understanding the extent and predictors of college late departure. Social science research, 69, 34-51.

Annotation

The authors of this paper seek to study the extent of non-first year college students (sophomores, juniors, or seniors) dropping out. They find that a large portion of dropouts actually occur in later years of college, with one-third of dropouts earning three-fourths of the needed credits to graduate. This trend is especially prevalent at two-year community colleges and open enrollment college and among students who were not academically prepared for the challenges of college. The authors . . . suggest that four-year colleges that have introduced associate degrees have increased degree attainment and that targeted intervention programs could help retain more students.

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An Examination of Student Outcomes and Student Satisfaction in a Flipped Learning Environment: A quasi-experimental design

Angela Lee

Annotation

For this study, a two-by-two quasi-experimental design was established to examine the results by Learning Environment and Gender (grouping variables) on selected Dependent Variables. The purpose of this study was to explore the mean differences between Learning Environment and Gender based on the Dependent Variables, which was conducted in introductory sociology courses.111 participants, 58 female 44 male. Majority freshman and sophomores. Student outcome measures occurred in three different . . . ways: pretest and posttest
assessment, three lower-order learning quizzes, and a higher-ordered unit exam. Using a two-way MANOVA, the research question was answered. The research question was divided into three subquestions and analyzed through multivariate statistics. First, the interaction effects of Learning Environment by Gender on the Dependent Variables were reviewed from Pillai’s Trace. The results indicated that there were no
significant interaction effects. Then, the main effects for Gender on the Dependent
Variables was computed. No significant main effects were found. Finally, the effect of
Learning Environment was analyzed. The results revealed that differences did exist by
Learning Environment. Based upon the MANOVA findings, seven one-way ANOVA
tests were conducted. The subsequent post hoc tests exposed that there was a group
difference with Learning Environment as the grouping variable on the Dependent
Variables, Race/Ethnicity Quiz and the Higher-Ordered Unit Exam. Using a two-way MANOVA, the research question was answered. The research question was divided into three subquestions and analyzed through multivariate statistics.
First, the interaction effects of Learning Environment by Gender on the Dependent
Variables were reviewed from Pillai’s Trace. The results indicated that there were no
significant interaction effects. Then, the main effects for Gender on the Dependent
Variables was computed. No significant main effects were found. Finally, the effect of
Learning Environment was analyzed. The results revealed that differences did exist by
Learning Environment. Based upon the MANOVA findings, seven one-way ANOVA
tests were conducted. The subsequent post hoc tests exposed that there was a group
difference with Learning Environment as the grouping variable on the Dependent
Variables, Race/Ethnicity Quiz and the Higher-Ordered Unit Exam.

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Ed Undersecretary Shares Obama Administration’s Home Stretch Vision

J. Carter

APA Citation

Carter, J. (2016, July 11). Ed undersecretary shares Obama administration’s home stretch vision. Education Drive. Retrieved from: http://www.educationdive.com/news/ed-undersecretary-shares-obama-administrations-home-stretch-vision/422314/

Annotation

This 2016 news article looks at the Obama administrations educational plans for their final 200 days. Department of Education’s Undersecretary Ted Mitchell convened a conference to encourage policy makers, administrators, and educators to think about the new educational environment and demographic changes that higher education will increasingly see.
About half (13 million) college students attend community college. Several national education foundations, community college presidents, and . . . educational policy advocates say they hope to see changes in higher education that meet the current and future students’ needs. These include a more fluid ability to enter and exit the job market while attending college and greater internet access.

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Mapping Research Trends from 35 Years of Publications in Distance Education

Olaf Zawacki-Richter     Som Naidu

APA Citation

Zawacki-Richter, O., & Naidu, S. (2016). Mapping research trends from 35 years of publications in Distance Education. Distance Education, 37(3), 245-269.

Annotation

Using a text-mining tool Leximancer, this article reports the research trends in Distance Education journal between 1980 and 2014. Titles and abstracts of 515 peer-reviewed articles are analyzed and core concepts (listed below) is extracted. Result of text mining indicates alternating waves of institutional (meso-level) and individual (micro-level) research focus.
Phase 1 Institutional focus: Professionalization and institutional consolidation (1980-1984), instructional design and educational . . . technology (1985-1989)
Phase 2 Individual focus: Quality assurance in distance education (1990-1994) Student support and early stages of online learning (1995-1999)
Phase 3 Institutional focus: The emergence of the virtual university (2000-2004) Collaborative learning and online interaction patterns (2005-2009) Interactive learning, MOOCs and OERs (2010-2014)
Capturing trends on topics and methods is essential for the advancement of research on distance education.

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Conducting Research in Online and Blended Learning Environments: New pedagogical frontiers.

C. Dzuiban     A. Picciano     C. Graham     P. Moskal

APA Citation

Dziuban, C. D., Picciano, A. G., Graham, C. R., & Moskal, P. D. (2015). Conducting research in online and blended learning environments: New pedagogical frontiers. Routledge.

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Decision Making for Student Success: Behavioral insights to improve college access and persistence

Benjamin L. Castleman     Saul Schwartz     Sandy Baum

APA Citation

Castleman, B. L., Schwartz, S., & Baum, S. (2015). Decision making for student success: Behavioral insights to improve college access and persistence. Routledge.

Annotation

To gain a thorough understanding of student success, researchers have to examine how students' choices and behaviors result in educational performance. This book provides insights of cognitive psychology and behavioral economics to better understand student behavior. In chapter 2, Charles Kurose takes a look at the relationship between higher education and workplace outcomes. In chapter 3, Sandy Baum and Saul Schwartz investigates influence of financial aid on students' choices. Chapter 4 . . . focuses on disadvantaged students who often face financial barriers. Chapter 5 address how institutions can better communicate with student in regards to costs and benefits of college education. Castleman underscores the importance of considering students' cognitive ability to process information. Chapter 6 addresses structure of decision-making process and argues that lack of the structure leads to suboptimal outcomes for students. Chapter 7 discusses cognitive bias or time-inconsistent decision makings. The final chapter focuses on low-cost strategies, arguing that minor institutional interventions help student academic outcomes.

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Defining a Research Agenda for Distance Education

R. Poulin

APA Citation

Poulin, R. (February 10, 2015). “Defining a Research Agenda for Distance Education.” Retrieved from https://wcetfrontiers.org/2015/02/10/deta2015/

Annotation

This blog post gives a brief overview of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s National Research Center for Distance Education and Technological Advancements (DETA). The research center, funded through the U.S. Department of Education and lead by Tanya Joosten, Ph.D., focuses on developing and conducting research for online and distance education. Further, the center seeks to create toolkits for other instructions to conduct replicability research in order to confirm research results across . . . institutions and environments. Ultimately, DETA seeks to: “Conduct rigorous, interdisciplinary, and standardized research to identify outcomes and influences on all students, including those with disabilities.”

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Essentials of Online Course Design: A standards-based guide

Marjorie Vai     Kristen Sosukski

APA Citation

Vai, M., & Sosulski, K. (2015). Essentials of online course design: A standards-based guide. Routledge.

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Flipped Learning in Higher Education Chemistry: Emerging trends and potential directions

Michael Seery

APA Citation

Seery, M. (2015). Flipped learning in higher education chemistry: emerging trends and potential directions. The Royal Society of Chemistry, 16, 758-768.

Annotation

Framed within cognitive load theory and constructivism, Seery (2015) provides a survey review of 12 articles in higher education chemistry. He specifically draws attention to recent reports indicating first-year chemistry as detached and being delivered in a fact-based and encyclopedic fashion. Moreover, he shows that most flipped learning approaches in the literature consist of providing screencasts of material in advance of class meetings that is often incentivised (e.g. quizzes, activites), . . . resulting in student viewing rates greater than 90 percent. During lecture time, he finds many of the studies report group work and presentation of pre-class material. Overall, students reported much higher favorability of this approach relative to other approaches they have experienced. In sum, Seery (2015) calls for the community to further develop the theoretical basis for implementing a flipped learning classroom.

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Learning Assessment Techniques: A handbook for college faculty

Elizabeth Barkley     Claire Major

APA Citation

Barkley, E. F., & Major, C. H. (2015). Learning assessment techniques: A handbook for college faculty. John Wiley & Sons.

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