College students do not study in isolated environments; rather, they encounter obstacles as they complete academic tasks. Using a qualitative approach, the present study explored the distractions and underlying causes students face as well as the strategies they use to control these distractions. Our findings suggested that students' distractions,…

Learning frameworks courses represent a recent manifestation of higher education's effort to support undergraduate students' learning success. These courses offer students the theoretical underpinnings of human learning and the application of learning strategies. This qualitative investigation at a 4-year university in the southwestern United…

This research documents educator responses while learning and implementing a new pedagogy. In our analysis of our own written reflections, we found the ten LASSI scales, normally used to look at student learning, became, for us, themes that emerged from faculty learning as well. The value of peer support for learning, and the balance of skill,…

Both community colleges and four-year institutions offer Student Success Courses (SSCs) to promote student engagement (self-regulated learning, SRL) and performance (grades, retention, and graduation). However, little work has been done to examine the holistic impact of SSC interventions or to determine which aspects of course curriculum most…

The Learning Center (TLC) at Mississippi State University (MSU) is an academic support unit designed to help students improve their academic performance. One of the programs offered by TLC is the Learning Skills Support Program (LSSP), which is designed for academically suspended students. The Center has traditionally used the Learning and Study…

The purpose of this study was to develop a way to measure students' abilities to think critically about concepts covered during academic support sessions. Tutors trained in a College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA)-certified program at the University of Louisville used a rubric based on the Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Model in order to…

The purpose of the present experiment was to determine whether using an active learning technique, electronic highlighting, can eliminate the negative effects of pre-existing, poor highlighting on reading comprehension. Participants read passages containing no highlighting, appropriate highlighting, or inappropriate highlighting. We hypothesized…

Notes that in order to help students with the rigors of the first year of college, many postsecondary institutions offer some form of academic assistance. Describes a program evaluation study, which aimed to determine if students changed in their personal beliefs about an academic discipline and if they changed in the strategic behavior they…

Finds that students in a comprehensive developmental studies program (study skills course and required attendance of tutoring sessions) exceeded their predicted grade point average significantly more than the comparison groups, and that instructors reported a greater number of positive behaviors on the part of these students in their classes.…

Investigates effectiveness of three training programs for English as a Foreign Language university students in reading and listening comprehension. Finds that: students who learned rhetorical patterns of written expository texts and text mapping strategies demonstrated better comprehension of lectures than students who performed other activities;…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between academic self-regulation, self-efficacy, and two student self-belief systems, identity style and stage of change, for 210 college students enrolled at a private research university. High scores on the informational identity, contemplation stage, and action stage subscales and low…

This study examined self-monitoring strategies used by both developmental and non-developmental college students. Students were asked to describe how they know when they have completed a reading assignment, have studied enough for a quiz, and have studied enough for an examination. It was anticipated that at the beginning of the semester, the…