Reconsidering Academic Rigor: Posing and Supporting Rigorous Course Practices at Two Research Institutions

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Corbin M. Campbell ◽  
Deniece Dortch
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Academic Rigor ◽  
Responsive Teaching ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Urban Institution

Background/Context U.S. institutions of higher education have been criticized for providing limited learning gains and lacking rigor. Most understandings of academic rigor in higher education focus on how rigor manifests in students in terms of amount of work or approach to learning. Purpose/Objective This study examines rigor as posed by course practices. We define rigorous course practices as teaching practices and coursework that challenge learners to sustain a deep connection to the subject matter and to think in increasingly complex ways about the course content and its applications. The study sought to further the discourse on college academic rigor by describing rigor in coursework at two selective research institutions and examining which course contexts and teaching practices were associated with higher levels of rigor. Setting We studied two highly ranked, highly residential, selective, very highly research-oriented institutions on the East Coast of the United States: a mid-sized (< 5,000 undergraduates) private, urban institution and a large (∼15,000 undergraduates) public institution. Population/Participants We sampled 400 courses at each institution. Of the faculty who taught these courses, 31.4% agreed to participate. We conducted 150 class observations: 99 at Site 1 and 51 at Site 2. Research Design This study used a quantitative observational protocol. Data Collection and Analysis Data were collected during a week-long site visit, with observers using a structured rubric. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and OLS regression in blocks, partitioning the variance in academic rigor that can be explained by course characteristics (e.g., class size and discipline) and teaching practices (active learning, cognitively responsive teaching). Findings/Results Most courses in our sample focused on applying, and 85% of the courses achieved a higher-order level of cognitive complexity (analyzing, evaluating, or creating) at some point during the class session. Active learning and cognitively responsive teaching practices were associated with higher cognitive complexity and greater standards and expectations in the courses. Conclusions/Recommendations The discourse on academic rigor in higher education warrants further scrutiny and, could be balanced by studies that provide greater depth in the educational practices in classrooms. This study suggests that institutions and faculty may have a significant role in scaffolding rigor. Academic rigor is not simply about having bright, dedicated, and hard-working students but is also determined by classroom environments and processes that can be cultivated.

scholarly journals Preparation and The Real World of Education: How Prospective Teachers Grapple with Using Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices in the Age of Standardized Testing

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24
Author(s):  
Natasha Ramsay-Jordan
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Standardized Testing ◽  
Culturally Responsive Teaching ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Responsive Teaching ◽  
Elementary And Secondary Education ◽  
K 12

The most highlighted provision and consequence of the reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, is obsessive practices of assessing students across the United States (U.S.). Despite newly named policies, including Every Student Succeed Act (ESSA) of 2015, which governs current U.S. K-12 education standards, concerns over NCLB’s unprecedented fixation on high stakes testing remain acute for many school districts. This manuscript examines the struggles of four preservice secondary mathematics teachers (PMTs) who grappled with enacting culturally responsive teaching practices at schools that aimed to meet accountability standards.

Creating Campus Communities for Latin@s through Service Learning: Heritage Learners’ Broadcast University Spanish-Language Radio

2016 ◽  
pp. 382-404
Author(s):  
Carmen King de Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Culturally Responsive Teaching ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Language Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Responsive Teaching ◽  
Radio Programs

The historical exclusion of Latin@ students on university campuses is noted through the lack of diversity in higher education curricula, services, and organizations. The absence of appropriate support systems for Latin@ students is one of the main contributors to high attrition rates among this group as students often feel that they must choose between their cultural community and university community (Arellano & Padilla, 1996; Gloria & Pope-Davis, 1997). In order to remedy disparities between Latin@ students’ heritage culture and the European-based curricular structure of higher education in the United States, it has been suggested that educators build an academic community that is representative of diversity found in our community as a whole (Gloria, 1997; Pedraza & Rivera, 2006). To this end, educators must be engaged in culturally responsive teaching (Boykin, 1994; Gay, 2010) that acknowledges Latin@ students’ cultural background and reinforces their place in university settings (Diner, 1989; Pappamihiel & Moreno, 2011). Service-learning (SL) is an increasingly popular approach to second language education that can lead to culturally responsive teaching as it invites instructors to facilitate a democratic teaching process that allows students to use their past experiences and future goals to help design course curriculum (Abbott & Lear, 2010). However, most approaches to language-based SL focus on outsourcing L2 students to the same minority-language communities in which many HLs are reared (Barreneche & Ramos-Flores, 2013) and thus lose appeal for HL students. The current study provides an alternative to traditional language-based SL programs as it was designed to acquaint HLs with the academic communities from which they have been historically excluded. The SL project was part of an advanced Spanish for the Professions course that required students to create and broadcast campus radio programs. This initiative drew upon HLs’ familiarity with popular nationally-broadcasted Spanish radio programs and used said programs as a model to create/broadcast local Spanish-language radio programs for their campus community. Preliminary findings suggest that the HLs involved in the creation of the Spanish-language radio program experienced a greater sense of belonging in their academic community. The program became a platform from which Latin@ students could establish a presence on campus, voice immediate concerns, and learn skills that prepare them for a career in mass-media. Through this experience, HLs also began to understand their role in creating and maintaining spaces for underrepresented university members. Latin@ radio listeners expressed feelings of validation as topics related to their lives and experiences were broadcast in a university setting.

Understanding the motivation and transformation of White culturally responsive professors

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-99
Author(s):  
China Jenkins ◽  
Mary Alfred
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Culturally Responsive Teaching ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Responsive Teaching ◽  
Moral Obligations ◽  
Primary Motivation ◽  
Moral Rightness ◽  
Transformational Experiences ◽  
White Professors

The purpose of this study was to examine the motivation for White professors in higher education to become culturally inclusive in their teaching practices and the transformational experiences that created this motivation and shaped their development. The findings revealed personal convictions that centred on moral obligations towards teaching was the primary motivation for the participants, that culturally responsive teaching requires complex consideration in its implementation, and there are a variety of challenges that impact culturally responsive professors. Above all, the participants believed in the moral rightness of their work and felt obligated to teach in a culturally responsive manner.

scholarly journals “Is This Class Hard?” Defining and Analyzing Academic Rigor from a Learner’s Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. ar59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara A. Wyse ◽  
Paula A. G. Soneral
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Academic Rigor ◽  
Faculty Support ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Course Work ◽  
High Workload ◽  
Education Academic ◽  
Active Pedagogy

Despite its value in higher education, academic rigor is a challenging construct to define for instructor and students alike. How do students perceive academic rigor in their biology course work? Using qualitative surveys, we asked students to identify “easy” or “hard” courses and define which aspects of these learning experiences contributed to their perceptions of academic rigor. The 100-level students defined hard courses primarily in affective terms, responding to stressors such as fast pacing, high workload, unclear relevance to their life or careers, and low faculty support. In contrast, 300-level students identified cognitive complexity as a contributor to course rigor, but course design elements—alignment between instruction and assessments, faculty support, active pedagogy—contributed to the ease of the learning process. Overwhelmingly, all students identified high faculty support, learner-centered course design, adequate prior knowledge, and active, well-scaffolded pedagogy as significant contributors to a course feeling easy. Active-learning courses in this study were identified as both easy and hard for the very reasons they are effective: they simultaneously challenge and support student learning. Implications for the design and instruction of rigorous active-learning college biology experiences are discussed.

Constructing fear in academia: neoliberal practices at a public college

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana-Ain Davis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
State University System ◽  
Public College ◽  
Liberal Politics ◽  
Western Civilisation ◽  
The Public Sphere

Neoliberal values and ideology, which have broadly undermined social justice ideals, have been inserted into a range of public spheres both in the U.S.A. and internationally. Public higher education institutions have increasingly acquiesced to neoliberal strategies, which restrict access to public services, commodify the public sphere and challenge the legitimacy of progressive and liberal politics. This article explores some neoliberal practices at one public institution of higher education in the United States. I present three incidents that took place between 2000 and 2006 at a college that is part of a public State University system: a shift to disparagement of 'activism' in a college that had prided itself on its activist traditions; a confusion over the profitable marketability of Global Black Studies, in a context where political pressures diminished 'minority' perspectives in the interest of reasserting homogeneous 'Western civilisation'; and a partnership between this public college and a prestigious private university. In each case I explore my own response in terms of faculty governance, and how I developed new courses and pedagogies to open up these aspects of the operation of neoliberalism to critical examination by students. These incidents show how neoliberal practices create fear and feelings of vulnerability among faculty, especially faculty members of colour; they also show the importance of developing critical pedagogies to expose their assaults on social justice and equity.

scholarly journals Active University Teaching and Engaged Student Learning: A Mixed Methods Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Celeste A. Wheat ◽  
Yan Sun ◽  
Jessica C. Wedgworth ◽  
Martha M. Hocutt
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
The United States ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Space Design ◽  
New Information

The purpose of this research was to examine how learning space design and implementation of an active learning pedagogy based on the 5E Instructional Model influence university faculty’s teaching practices and students’ engagement. Faculty Fellows were recruited from a public, medium-sized university in the United States to teach courses, typically taught in a traditional classroom setting, in a new Active Learning Center (ALC) classroom.  The classroom was funded by a Steelcase® Education Active Learning Center Grant that provided innovative and dynamic classroom furnishings and technology that allowed mobility and flexibility for both instructors and students.  Quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently in this study.  The quantitative analysis results indicated that the ALC learning experience significantly improved students’ class participation and cognitive attentiveness, but had no effect on improving their meaningful processing of new information.  The qualitative analysis results, while providing new insights into the quantitative findings, revealed the faculty fellows’ changes and weaknesses in teaching practices and the mechanism of the ALC in supporting active learning. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. 

Risks and Rewards

2011 ◽  
pp. 128-142
Author(s):  
Scott R. Sechrist ◽  
Dorothy E. Finnegan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
State University ◽  
Eastern Area ◽  
College Mission ◽  
Direct Training ◽  
Good Citizenship

One of the more often cited objectives found in university and college mission statements is the goal of promoting future good citizenship among students. Indeed, American higher education institutions have been improving society by educating its community leaders since the founding of Harvard in the early seventeenth century. Beyond the direct training of future leaders, college administrators also have recognized the societal need for volunteers to fill gaps that community resources cannot cover. Volunteers enable organizations to thrive beyond their means and their members to receive otherwise unavailable benefits. This case study describes the role of good citizenship that is performed by two technologically proficient faculty (techno-profs) who are approaching crucial career evaluations at Suburban State University (SSU), a public institution in the mid-eastern area of the United States. It explores the conundrum that faced the SSU Dean of the College of Arts and Letters as she speculated about the outcome of the evaluation of these two faculty members as a result of the existing promotion and tenure criteria. The case also considers the impact of the incorporation of technology into the contemporary role of faculty in a situation in which necessary resources are not provided by those who mandate changes in the existing reward structures in higher education. And, finally, this case study illustrates the existing and potential impact of these mandates on the careers of two techno-profs who act as good citizens for their organizations.

Thomas Jefferson’s Role in Transforming Higher Education Curriculum in the United States

Public Voices ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Stephanie Newbold
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
The United States ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Institutional Legitimacy ◽  
Higher Education Curriculum

For decades, public administrative scholars and historians have maintained that while Thomas Jefferson had an extraordinary substantive mind, he was not a formative figure within the intellectual, institutional, and constitutional development of public administration theory and practice. Thoroughly investigating Jefferson’s early political career does reveal that he was not interested in the daily operations of government, but as time progressed his lengthy career in public service began to transform his opinions on the relationship between good government and good administration and how sound administrative practice complemented many of the republican values espoused in The Federalist. Upon a careful examination of Jefferson’s retirement years, when he dedicated the remainder of his life to establishing the University of Virginia, the administrative genius of his mind takes center stage. In this role, Jefferson not only created Virginia’s first public institution for higher education but also dramatically reformed liberal arts curriculum standards for colleges and universities across the nation. Twenty-first century public administration scholars and practitioners should welcome this exceptional contribution to the intellectual history of American public administration with openness and with a renewed commitment to the institutional legitimacy of our field.

scholarly journals Editorial

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. v-vii
Author(s):  
Penny Welch ◽  
Susan Wright
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Social Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social

In this issue of Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences, authors from Denmark, the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom analyse serendipity in anthropology teaching, the use of lecture videos in political science, peer dialogue in education studies, polarisation anxiety among social science students and active learning in criminology.

Religion and Spirituality in Public Higher Education

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Waggoner
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Religion And Spirituality ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Protestant Christianity ◽  
Conscious Attention

The place of religion and spirituality in public higher education in the United States continues to grow due to the evolving interpretation of religion and the Constitution. What began as a singular entity comingling public and private resources and religion is now a public institution with more carefully delineated legal parameters governing the use of public funds for religious purposes. Three themes may be traced throughout the history of religion in US public institutions. First is the accommodation of increasing religious diversity and the concomitant dilution of the exclusive dominance of Protestant Christianity and its associated privilege within the public square generally and public higher education particularly. Second is the conscious attention to religion and, more recently, spirituality, and their respective places in the academic and co-curricular life of public higher education. Third is the continuing evolution of US law relating to the use of public resources by religious groups.

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