First-generation students, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, have low persistence rates. Research shows that one of the barriers to their low persistence is a need for a student-centered pedagogical approach. Research has shown that if an instructor incorporates a pause technique during a standard lecture,…

"Teacher-Powered Practices: How teacher teams collaboratively lead and create student-centered schools" focuses on how innovative teachers are radically changing the ways schools are designed and run. The how here are the common practices, structures, and processes teacher-powered teams design and use daily. The guide identifies nine…

Opportunity America received a grant from Lumina Foundation to conduct a national research study of community colleges' credit and noncredit occupational education programs and their relationships with employers. Opportunity America contracted with Wilder Research to manage data collection and analysis for the study. The purpose of this study was…

Public schools are often faced, when engaged in the task of developing annual goals, with the necessity of soliciting public input. To gather reliable input from the school community has been haphazard and uneven. Consolidated High School District 230 (Palos Hills, Illinois) employed the Public Opinion Laboratory, a professional survey firm, to…

The Minnesota Dialogue on Education project was a comprehensive statewide survey of public opinion on educational issues conducted by the Minnesota Department of Education from September 1983 through February 1984. The project involved dissemination of 250,000 copies of a Dialogue on Education Study Guide with a questionnaire attached, followed by…

A random digit dialing procedure was used to administer a telephone survey to 335 adult residents of Community School District 22 in Brooklyn, New York. An interview schedule was developed to measure respondents' awareness of substance abuse in their neighborhoods and of local facilities for dealing with such problems. Respondents (N=125) whose…

One of a series of reports resulting from a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education project to improve planning and evaluation in community colleges, this report explains how colleges can use census data to assess the characteristics and educational requirements of individuals in their service areas. The report begins with a…

A study was conducted to investigate the teaching methods used by full-time faculty at Brookdale Community College (BCC). The study sought to collect relevant demographic data; survey the teaching methods used in an average semester and the factors influencing the selection of teaching methods; identify changes in teaching methods; and survey…

Designed for use by college administrators and staff, as well as by boards of trustees and legislators, this seven-part report outlines an approach to assessing institutional effectiveness which utilizes mission-based, student-centered indicators of success. Resources to assist practitioners in conducting such an assessment are also identified.…

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the life values of community college faculty and selected demographic variables (i.e., college location, age, teaching experience, highest degree held, and other employment). A stratified random sample of 984 Oregon community college instructors was asked to identify "guiding…

This paper describes the evaluation of the 4-H youth program (serving ages 9 through 19) in Yolo County, California. The paper concentrates on the first component of the evaluation plan, a telephone survey of community needs and perceptions regarding services for youth which was conducted in November, 1984. The originally perceived questions…

When conducting a two-year college program review, there are several advantages to supplementing the standard quantitative research approach with qualitative measures. Qualitative research does not depend on a large number of random samples, it uses a flexible design which can be refined as the research is executed, and it generates findings in a…

A study was conducted by the Student Development Center of the University of Hawaii at Hilo to develop a writing placement procedure in a community college setting which would be practical, reliable, and valid. The key to this procedure was an English composition placement device that could help readers rate, holistically, writing samples written…

A study was conducted at Brookdale Community College to determine which staff members were conducting research, under what conditions they would continue to do so, and the types of assistance the college's Center for Educational Research could provide to the staff. Questionnaires were sent to all college faculty, staff, and administrators,…

Nineteen families participated in a telephone survey concerning how schools can better serve students with behavioral needs, including students with behavior disorders, attention deficit disorders, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, mental disabilities, and pervasive developmental disorders. This report summarizes parent comments, with excerpts…