Objective: Quantway is a Carnegie Math Pathways initiative, which redesigns the content, pedagogy, and structure of traditional developmental mathematics courses to simultaneously tackle traditional barriers to student success and support a broad range of developmental students in achieving their mathematics potential. Specifically, Quantway is a…

This investigation explored the extent to which a newly constructed instrument, the CLASS Action Survey (CLAS), was able to accurately measure the qualities of a specialized course, the Crystallized Learning and Academic Study System (CLASS) and its stated goals: (1) to increase college students' academic mindedness, (2) to challenge…

The thoughtful utilization of student course evaluation data has been documented in the literature as a way to significantly improve student learning outcomes and the overall quality of instruction. However, at many community colleges, course evaluations continue to be used only for summative purposes or as a generic measure of instructor…

Recently in Ontario, Canada, the College Math Project brought to light startling data on the achievement of students in Ontario's College of Applied Arts and Technology System related to their performance in first-year mathematics courses: one-third of the students had failed their first-year mathematics course or were at risk of not completing…

Less than half of the students in the United States graduate from high school and are ready to take college-level math courses. Many years and varieties of remedial math programs have failed to dramatically improve outcomes, especially at scale. The question we face is whether technology in general, and open educational resources in particular,…

The roster of developmental programs available to students in community colleges is expanding, though remedial education itself does remain a marginal aspect of higher education. The programs are usually under-funded, segregated from "regular" offerings, and taught by part-timers. This report suggests that the colleges are sending signals that…

The report discusses the findings of a study on the reading and writing demands of college-level courses at Maryland's Charles County Community College (College of Southern Maryland as of July 1, 2000). The Language and Literature Department wanted to determine whether its developmental courses were actually preparing students for the reading and…

The roster of developmental programs available to students in community colleges is expanding, though remedial education itself does remain a marginal aspect of higher education. The programs are usually under-funded, segregated from "regular" offerings, and taught by part-timers. This report suggests that the colleges are sending signals that…

Describes a study evaluating the effectiveness of a Reading and Study Skills course at Edinboro University (Pennsylvania), based on student grades and retention after three semesters. Indicates that students taking the course had higher grades and retention rates and earned more credit hours than those not taking the course. (16 citations) (MAB)

Southern College of Technology (SCT) is the only institution in the University of Georgia system to offer a developmental physics course to give students with no previous physics coursework the conceptual background and vocabulary needed to complete SCT's physics requirements. The eight sections of the developmental course focus on: (1) literal…

The proceedings of a conference for administrators, faculty, and staff of developmental education programs are summarized. An introductory section outlines the history, development, and definition of developmental education in the United States and gives statistics on the number and percentage of various institution types reporting developmental…

During 1908-81, the final year of a 3-year institutional development project, Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) focused on increasing participation in and the services of its developmental studies program; developing the college's library into a fully functioning learning resources center; and implementing computer-assisted instruction…

Examines the effectiveness of two writing-to-learn formats in helping developmental students master biological information and in decreasing writing anxiety. Objective measures showed a small but significant decrease in writing anxiety over the quarter, unrelated to writing format. Writing format also had little effect on content knowledge, based…

The Virginia STEPS (Student/Teacher Education Planning System) was developed to enable adult basic education (ABE) students to become independent learners responsible for planning, carrying out, evaluating, and making adjustments in their education. ABE instructors at Blackhawk Technical College in Wisconsin have adapted the STEPS model to make…

This paper addresses the methodological issues encountered when attempting to evaluate a college course's effectiveness by determining whether students who enroll in it perform at higher levels than students who did not enroll. The paper identifies resource people who may be helpful in the evaluation, and offers guidelines for the research…