Identifies six phases of developmental education in American history, each of which naturally interconnects with social history. States that each succeeding phase includes more student subpopulations, beginning in the mid-1600s with privileged white males, to the present, more diverse era. Explores first three phases--which focused on tutoring and…

Discusses Arthur Chickering's Seven Vectors of College Student Development in relation to the author's own growth as a freshman college student and to that of the first-year students she worked with as a developmental educator. Explains that Chickering's theory encompasses the intellectual, physical, and social growth of the student. (Contains 40…

Examines the effects of course-based reading strategy training--student application of reading strategies to their own college readings--on developmental college learners' reading comprehension skills. Explains that this study gave one group of students learning strategies instruction and gave no such instructions to a control group. Reports…

Discusses a study conducted at California State University, Dominguez Hills to develop data regarding the reading skills of a sample of upper-division students. Reports that 52-57% of those students who participated in all phases of the study presented reading skills below the expected college level. Recommends that more attention be paid to…

Examines the results of using the Phono-Graphix reading method, designed for students with reading disabilities, to teach nine prison inmates to read. Reports that inmates' average basic reading skills standard score gains were 17 points (more than one standard deviation) after 33 one-hour sessions, an average gain of 1.9 standard points per…

Presents results of study conducted with community college intermediate algebra students. Reports that students taught with Reform-Computer Assisted Instruction (R-CAI) significantly outperformed on the conceptual measure than students taught with Lecture-based Instruction (LBI). Adds that students in the R-CAI environment experienced significant…

Argues that retention statistics indicate that developmental students have the best chance for success when they attend four-year institutions. Discusses the data relative to a new and more successful model for developmental education that eliminates stand-alone remedial courses and instead embeds remedial education in core curriculum. (Contains…

Reports on study of 20 classes of developmental studies mathematics at Middle Tennessee State University. The experimental group received mid-term grade reports, while the control group did not. The study found no significant difference between experimental group and control group between midterm and final grade report averages. Posttest scores…

Reports on results of offering face-to-face discussions to students in a computer-based introductory psychology course. Authors found scant research on the inclusion of discussion in computer-based classes. Of 210 students registered in the class, only 17 indicated an interest in extra-credit discussion sessions. Participants' course outcomes…

Evaluates the effectiveness of calculator usage in the learning of basic skills by developmental mathematics students with respect to increasing mathematical performance, as measured by a "no calculator permitted" content specific test. Results show calculator usage neither positively nor negatively affected the attainment of basic skills.…

Reports on author's experiences using lower-division developmental education (DE) students as teaching assistants in developmental social science courses. Includes benefits, such as assisting in students' socialization and dispelling DE stigma, and drawbacks, such as tension created by authoritarian role. Also includes comments made by students…

Offers suggestions for using folk tales from around the world and story-telling for classroom instruction. Because folk tales are ultimately about communication and the way people in a society interact, a multi-cultural class can make good use of them. Offers examples for application to language arts and social science courses. (Contains 9…

Analyzes why it is important for developmental educators to keep up to date on recent court challenges to diversity. Argues that access to higher education for those who have not traditionally had access is a key element of the developmental education mission. Developmental education programs promote diversity by providing access to…

Argues that course syllabi and instructors' presentation of them set a tone for interaction with students. Relates incident in which a student in the author's class disrupted the class by regularly leaving to feed a parking meter. Student's behavior sparked discussions among colleagues regarding ways of presenting syllabi in relation to classroom…

Discusses seating arrangements in small developmental classes, suggesting that having students sit in a semi-circle or work in small groups can be effective ways to keep students from attempting to disappear in the back of the class. Also offers ways to deal with this issue in a computer classroom. (NB)