This monograph examines the nature of active learning at the higher education level, the empirical research on its use, the common obstacles and barriers that give rise to faculty resistance, and how faculty and staff can implement active learning techniques. A preliminary section defines active learning and looks at the current climate surrounding the concept. A second section, entitled "The Modified Lecture" offers ways that teachers can incorporate active learning into their most frequently used format: the lecture. The following section on classroom discussion explains the conditions and techniques needed for the most useful type of exchange. Other ways to promote active learning are also described including: visual learning, writing in class, problem solving, computer-based instruction, cooperative learning, debates, drama, role playing, simulations, games, and peer teaching. A section on obstacles to implementing active learning techniques leads naturally to the final section, "Conclusions and Recommendations," which outlines the roles that each group within the university can play in order to encourage the implementation of active learning strategies. The text includes over 200 references and an index. (JB)
E-assessments of students profoundly influence their motivation and play a key role in the educational process. Adapting assessment techniques to current technological advancements allows for effective pedagogical practices, learning processes, and student engagement. The Handbook of Research on E-Assessment in Higher Education provides emerging perspectives on the theoretical and practical aspects of digital assessment techniques and applications within educational settings. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as competency assessment, adaptive courseware, and learning performance, this publication is ideally designed for educational administrators, educational professionals, teachers and professors, researchers, and graduate-level students seeking current research on comparative studies and the pedagogical issues of online assessment in academic institutions.
Student departure is a long-standing problem to colleges and universities. Approximately 45 percent of students enrolled in two-year colleges depart during their first year, and approximately one out of four students departs from a four-year college or university. The authors advance a serious revision of Tinto's popular interactionalist theory to account for student departure, and they postulate a theory of student departure in commuter colleges and universities. This volume delves into the literature to describe exemplary campus-based programs designed to reduce student departure. It emphasizes the importance of addressing student departure through a multidisciplinary approach, engaging the whole campus. It proposes new models for nonresidential students and students from diverse backgrounds, and suggests directions for further research. Academic and student affairs administrators seeking research-based approaches to understanding and reducing student departure will profit from reading this volume. Scholars of the college student experience will also find it valuable in defining new thrusts in research on the student departure process.
Weidman addresses both curricular and dispositional aspects of the graduate and professional students' experiences in higher education as well as processes through which individual students are socialized. This report provides historical background on the study of professional socialization, compares and contrasts models of professional preparation, and addresses implications for the organization and administration of graduate and professional education programs.
The "virtual campus" is a metaphor for the electronic teaching, learning, and research environment created by the convergence of several relatively new technologies including, but not restricted to, the Internet, World Wide Web, computer-mediated communication, video conferencing, multi-media, groupware, video-on-demand, desktop publishing, intelligent tutoring systems, and virtual reality. The focus of this monograph is of necessity limited to changes occurring in higher education institutions that are committed to reform via technology. A survey of the literature finds reform characterized by changes in teaching, learning, research and scholarly activity, organizational culture, and governance and finance. Section 2 takes up teaching on the virtual campus and how institutional variables influence adoption of information technologies according to their particular missions and goals. Section 3, on classroom learning, contrasts traditional and virtual classrooms and describes the interface capabilities of various technologies. Section 4 explores recent reconceptualizations of scholarship as well as new computer-based technologies that are beginning to influence both the methods and substance of research. Section 5 depicts efforts to reform both the bureaucratic and academic spheres of higher education institutions by applying principles of Total Quality Management. Section 6 delineates some of the important new responsibilities of governing boards, including monitoring regulatory legislation, establishing a telecommunications policy, and shepherding resources for technology. The final section draws conclusions from the literature and makes recommendations for institutional planning and research. Specifically the seven conclusions are: (1) a paradigm shift can occur only in institutions committed to comprehensive reform; (2) attempts to change the classroom focus from "the sage on the stage" to collaborative learning are likely to fail without a substantial commitment to professional development; (3) higher education will continue to be market driven, requiring redoubled efforts to define academic productivity; (4) new constituencies appear to be well served by a variety of available distance learning venues; (5) the TQM movement has made impressive inroads in higher education administration; however, very little penetration has occurred when it most matters--on the academic side of the institution; (6) even as instructional use of technology rises, institutional support for applications development has been dilatory; and (7) the historic commitment to core values in traditional undergraduate education has wavered; the same vacillation threatens to undermine general education requirements in electronically delivered certificate and degree programs. Seven recommendations for beginning this process of integration include: (1) create a venue where key stakeholders can analyze major technology issues and purchases; (2) assert the value of technology-based learning from a variety of research perspectives; (3) establish quality standards for certificate and degree programs; (4) avoid pitting traditionalists against technology enthusiasts; (5) make "collaboration" and "cooperation," not "reengineering" and "restructuring" the new institutional buzz-words; (6) retain a strong commitment to adequate library staffing and funding; and (7) prepare for success by creating the necessary support structures. A glossary of terms is appended. (Contains 228 references.) (AA).
There is a widespread discontent with the quality of education and levels of college student achievement, particularly for undergraduates preparing for the professions. This report examines the educational challenges in preparing professionals, reviews the specific types of curriculum innovations that faculty and administrators have created or significantly revised to strengthen college graduates' abilities, and focuses on the societal changes and expectations produced by the acceleration in technology.
This monograph is focused on educating faculty and administrators about the developmental issues faced by students from different racial, ethnic, or other social groupings as they attempt to define themselves during the college years and the ways this information can enhance campus classrooms, programs, and policies. Although there is a growing body of work on how various racial, ethnic, gender and other social groups develop their identity, there has been limited synthesis or application of this literature to the practice of professionals in higher education. The authors have higher education administrative backgrounds, so their recommendations are grounded in experience, and each also has a solid record of scholarship in identity development. The combined scholarly and administrative experience of the three authors enhances the contribution of this book.
Enrollment management is discussed with focus on the expanding role of admissions professions and their increasing impact on institutional policymaking. Enrollment management influences the size, shape, and characteristics of a student body by directing student marketing and recruitment as well as pricing and financial aid. Attention is also directed to reasons why enrollment managers need to exert a strong influence on academic and career advising, academic assistance programs, institutional research, orientation, retention programs, and student services. Chapters cover the following topics: the demand for higher education, college choice, the effects of pricing and financial aid on attendance, recruiting high school graduates, retaining students, current research on the impact of college on students' cognitive and noncognitive growth, the impact of different kinds of colleges, the outcomes of higher education, and the future of enrollment management. The following educational outcomes are considered: the significance of higher education over a lifetime, economic and noneconomic benefits of higher education, and consumptive benefits. One chapter was contributed by Terry E. Williams: "Recruiting Graduates: Understanding Student-Institution Fit." A bibliography is included. (SW)
