HIED 846: Discussion Posts

Introduction

Alright then. Let’s begin.

First things first. Do you have any interests or questions that you bring to the table regarding college students? Add each as a separate post interest and/or question in the subject line of the Discussion Forum below.

Second, and relatedly: To what extent will it matter/make a difference for you to [further] develop an informed, nuanced response to these (and other ) questions? Add this information to each of the interests or questions you created in the Discussion Forum. This information should make up the body of your post.

I consider this a very important question, and here’s why. In my view, any and all learning should make a difference in some way. To the point, if learning doesn’t really have implications for who we are, what we do, and why we do what we do, I wonder if we should bother! Radical, huh?

As regards this course in particular, I am hopeful that you come to the class wanting to learn something about college students and, more specifically, wanting to learn something about college students that will matter—that will really matter. Along the way, I hope that your curiosity also will be piqued by things that, as of right now, you may not even know that you have an interest in and/or could or should be concerned about! This is an important aspect of learning at its best as well—it invites; it enlightens; it takes one further and deeper.

How will COVID-19 affect the enrollment of international students this year?

Do the currently enrolled international students feel they are receiving adequate support from administration?

Will the uncertainty involved in visa status for these students affect their grades in the Fall 2020 semester?

Although the above are questions directly related to the current events of 2020, they may have lasting effects on the trust international students and parents of those students. International students make up 5.5% of the total U.S. higher education population, and they contribute $44.7 billion dollars to the U.S. economy in 2018 according the the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is a substantial contribution that could have lasting effects on American Higher Education Institutions. If international students are feeling supported, this could be a topic to focus on while recruiting potential students. Finally, especially in the beginning of this semester, if grades of international students are observed to be decreasing due to the unprecedented stresses of the 2020 academic year, assistance can be provided before the end of the semester.

Searching for the answers to these questions will certainly provoke more questions and hopefully some level of understanding. I hope to work with international students in the future, so any insight into the effect COVID-19 could have on international student’s higher education is very interesting to me.

Reference:
Number of International Students in the United States Hits All-Time High. (2019, November 18). Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://www.iie.org/Why-IIE/Announcements/2019/11/Number-of-International-Students-in-the-United-States-Hits-All-Time-High

Introducing Alexander Astin and the IEO Model

Dr. Alexander Astin is arguably the most famous, living higher education researcher in the United States. Though now officially retired, he has long been associated with UCLA, having founded the Higher Education Research Institute there which you may know because of the numerous national surveys that it produces, analyzes, and publishes. His spouse, Dr. Helen Astin, is also a very well-known higher education scholar, and also worked at UCLA for many years.

Take a moment and find some biographical information about Dr. Alexander Astin. You will be duly impressed!

Involvement Theory

Take a moment and find some information about “involvement theory.” In this discussion forum, write a brief description of something that you found that resonated with you (this need not be long at all; in fact, maybe it’s just a “site”).

As you will see, Astin has had a hand in many things over the years. But perhaps one of the phrases for which he is most known or cited is “involvement theory.”

In a nutshell, Astin’s involvement theory goes something like this: The extent to which students are involved in their college experience–both in and out of the classroom–is directly and positively correlated with both their success in college (i.e., academic achievement) and their satisfaction with college.

I found this blog entry interesting because it shows direct application of Astin’s Involvement Theory to assess the and “reflect on their strengths and weaknesses” of FYE students. Despite being a broad theory, the 5 postulates summarize key and measurable objectives. Clearly this is a theory that can be applied to any type of student to both assess their view of involvement and build a plan to further involve them if need be.

Ponder This 1

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), as its name indicates, collects and publishes all kinds of data. (You may also remember that in the first lesson, NCES was one of the resources that you were asked to examine). For example, take a look at this short report, having to do with various ways to consider graduation rates.

Now, here’s what I want you to do. Look at Figure 3 in this report. Look closely. It seems to suggest that the graduation rates of institutions that are least selective in the admissions process (i.e., “open admissions”) graduate a far smaller percentage of students in six years, compared to those institutions that are most selective in the admission process (i.e., accept less than 25% of those students who apply).

Here’s the IEO-like question to ask: Why does Figure 3 say what it says?

Is it because of Inputs? (i.e., Open admissions institutions accept students who have little chance to succeed in college, which drags their graduation rates down. Highly selective institutions accept students who have a high chance to succeed in college, which makes their graduation rates high.)

Is it because of Environment? (i.e., Open admissions institutions apparently aren’t doing much of anything to help their students succeed. And, highly selective institutions apparently are doing many things to help their students succeed.)

Is it because of Outcomes? (i.e., Open admissions institutions are committed to the outcome of access, not graduation. And, highly selective institutions are committed to graduating students, rather than access.)

Is it a combination of all of this together? If so, what do you mean?

What do you think? Again, why does Figure 3 say what it says? Do some writing on this question in this discussion forum (100 words or so, or more if you’d like), and review what all of your colleagues wrote as well.

Figure 3* says what it does due to a combination Inputs (I), Environments (E), and Outcomes (O). The data presented is strictly reflecting the “O”, and does not give concrete evidence to suggest the cause. As the 6-year graduation rates are similar (60% and 66%) at public institutions and private nonprofit institutions, my response is comparing these two types of institutions versus private for-profit institutions.

If an institution chooses to accept most who apply, it is likely they are accepting students who do not have adequate prerequisite skills and other “I” to succeed at the university. If the “O” of a university is simply access rather than graduation, it is also likely that the “E” will be focused on retaining students for several years rather than prioritizing their success.

The private for-profit institutions clearly value access over graduation rates, so it is also reasonable to believe that they accept most students who apply reflecting their standards for student’s “I”. It is likely that these institutions also foster an “E” that values outcomes of access over graduation. Overall, data suggests that these institutions value student quantity over student quality. Perhaps the IEO priorities of the private for-profit institutions are focused on the institutions financial success rather than their students’ post-graduation success.

*Figure 3 reports: the 6-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time undergraduates is: 60% at public institutions, 66% at private nonprofit institutions, 21% at private for-profit institutions, 31% at institutions with opens admissions policy, and 87% at institutions with acceptance rates < 25%.

Ponder This 2

How about another example? Take a look at this  brief article, particularly the actual list of the top 10 colleges that have the highest 4-year graduation rates.

You may not know much about many of the institutions on the list, but you can find out about them. Go ahead and explore a few of them online.

What did you learn about them that may give you insight about why they made this list? Or, in the context of IEO, did these institutions make this list mostly because of I, mostly because of E, mostly because of O, or mostly because of some combination?

Again, do some writing on this in this discussion forum (100 words or so, or more if you’d like), and review what all of your colleagues wrote as well).

These ten institutions made the list for highest 4-year graduation rates because of a combination of inputs “I”, environment “E”, and outcomes “O”. The institutions ranked 1-5 each have acceptance rates between 14% – 27%, and those ranked 6-10 have acceptances rates between 6% – 9%. These are all incredibly selective institutions valuing GPA, standardized test scores, and overall resume. They only allow students with the right “I” to enter their “E”.

Each institution on this list reports a student to faculty ration between 5:1 – 14:1. With the exception of Babson college and Boston college, 60.2% – 78.9% of classes have less than 20 students. These numbers reflect the institutions’ commitment to personal connection between students and faculty. Studies have shown that smaller class sizes often correlate to increased student success, but creating an environment that embodies this idea requires financial investment, large numbers of faculty, and access to adequate facilities. This being said, the yearly tuition of these 10 universities is high ranging from $53,890 – $60,202 with the exclusion of the Naval Academy which requires no tuition but instead a  5 year active duty service obligation. Students must be willing to invest in this environment.

Finally, these institutions obviously prioritize graduation as an outcome because they made this list, but they also prioritize freshmen retention rates with each school reporting 95% – 99%. This suggests there are yearly outcomes that the schools expect their students to meet.

Identity Discussion

OK then!

Now that you have completed your list, identifying the one word (or couple of words) that is most central to your identity, I would like for you to reflect on the experience. In the discussion forum below, provide the following:

  1. A Reflection of your experience –What was going through your mind as you went through each step of this exercise? Was this easy or difficult? Why or why not? To what extent did you agonize over your decisions? In retrospect, are you surprised that you eliminated things when you eliminated them? In retrospect, are there other words (or couple of words) that you wish that you would have included instead of the ones that you did include? Why or why? To what extent are you satisfied with selecting the one word (or couple of words) that remained? If you did this exercise again, to what extent would you be pleased that you would end with the one word (or couple of words) that remained? Can you think of an identity “category” (e.g., socio-economic status; disability status) that a colleague in the course may have included in his/her list that you did not include in your own?
  2. A summary of your list –For this section of your post, list all 10 words (or groups of words) then highlight the final word (or group of words) that remained on your list after you crossed out three words (or group of words), three times. Further, comment briefly (approximately 200 words) on the extent to which the word (or group of words) that remained for you reflects your current core identity.
  3. Responses to other’s posts – Respond briefly (100-200 words) to at least two of your colleagues’ posts in this regard (i.e., the extent to which the word [group of words] that remained reflects current core identity), commenting on their own analysis of their current core identities.

The first two components will comprise your initial post. The third will serve as dialogue with your fellow students.

While completing this exercise I initially was thinking about myself as whole person. Visualizing a key aspect of myself in general, as a professional, as a teacher, as a student, as a family member, and as a partner. These six categories made the exercise easy to complete because I could picture the characteristic that I consciously focus on within each category. I did not agonize over my decisions or feel surprised about which items I eliminated. I am a person who wears many hats: I travel and often need to relate my cultural and individual values to my surroundings. I often overanalyze situations and am prone to anxiety, but consciously work on being present and calm. I am the only female foreign teacher at my place of work, so I must always be bold and prepared. I am an authority figure for my students and likely the only American woman who will influence them in their education before attending a foreign university. I am a student who is passionate about being a lifelong learner, but also tired of constantly studying to succeed. I am a member of a conservative family with non-conservative members. I am a partner to my fiancé and am lucky enough to support and nurture this relationship.  Each one of these hats has individual requirements, but they all require persistence. The only phrase I almost left was “attentive to my current situation”. I chose to remove it because in order to be present in a moment, one must first be committed to wearing each hat with excellence. This takes persistence. There are not words or phrases that I regretted including because the purpose of the exercise is to express my instinctual self view and I did not want to taint my instinct with critical analysis. Maybe I can look back on this list in five years and analyze if I regret defining myself as these things. Until my opinion of myself has changed, I shouldn’t, and don’t, regret my self-view. If I did this exercise again immediately, I would likely get the same results. If I did this exercise on a yearly basis, I would likely see the changes in myself.

I did not include identifiers within socio-economic status or disability status because these are factors that are out of my control. Disabilities are hurdles, and socio-economic status can change without warning. Although I experience these, I view challenges as a part of myself that serves to build and challenge my character rather than define what “I am”. Likely some peers will include ethnicity, sexual orientation, or general physical characteristics. Although I do not define myself by thing I cannot change, I do acknowledge the substantial impact they have on a person’s life and self-view.

Persistence is a foundation to my identity because being alive is a gift but it is not guaranteed to be easy. When life knocks you down or throws a curve ball, a person’s reaction is what defines them. I don’t want to go into details about difficult situations I have faced, but behind every challenge is the choice to persist or accept the pain. Persistence has many forms. It is the choice to finish a degree, complete physical therapy, or believe in emotional growth. It is the choice to always do your best, and it is the choice to accept that your best isn’t always good enough. Living with persistence is choosing to grow when I want to remain static and it’s the choice to invest in others when they have the potential to disappoint. I am proud of myself when I actively pursue the person I want to be, and although I wish it took less persistence, I’m proud that I always accept the challenge.

Dimensions of Student Development and the Role of Educators

  • Before we begin our exploration of theory, I would like to spend some time talking about student development and the role that educators play in their development. This discussion forum is designed to stimulate your thinking about these things.  Here are six questions to ponder:  

    1. To what extent do you think that students are aware that they are developing?
    2. To what extent do you think that students “control” their development?
    3. To what extent does human development occur without going to college?
    4. To what extent, if any, is human development linear?
    5. Are development and learning the same thing?  Why or why not?
    6. How might educators help students to become more conscious of their development during the college years?

    Here is what I want you to do:

    1. Write no less than 100 words on one of these questions
    2. Identify and use at least one literary resource, cited properly, in your response.
    3. Take a look at your colleagues’ responses, and respond to at least one of them in no less than 100 words.

Response to Question 4:

Human development is biologically linear in that a human’s cells and DNA age at a consistent and unstoppable rate. The timeline of education in the U.S. is also linear: Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd….12th grade. Each grade has a set of objectives that students must master to some degree before advancing to the next. Educators serve to facilitate learning in this traditional setting, and there is a fair amount of consistency regarding the information portrayed within each stage.

This of course is referring to educators as being exclusively teachers in a educational setting, but educators can be pastors, parents, friends, siblings, or even a cashier at the store. Any human who has taught an individual something has influenced that individual’s development. This is in agreement with Patricia King (1993) when she proposed:

It may be helpful to think of a student’s growth and development as a kaleidoscope or mosaic of changing skills, attitudes, beliefs, and understandings, acknowledging that each student represents a slightly different set of shapes, colors, and textures that constitute his or her own personal kaleidoscope, each with its own specific set of developmental attributes. (Jones, S.R. and Abes, 21).

Every human encounters a unique combination of external influences that interact with their biological, psychological, and sociological development. Therefore, there is not a single linear pathway starting with point A, the beginning of development, and ending with point B, the end of human development. Our goal as educators is to take a linear system of education and adapt it to a kaleidoscope of students who experience nonlinear development.

 

Reference:

Jones, S.R. and Abes, E.S. (2013). Identity development of college students: Advancing frameworks for multiple dimensions of college students. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

MMDI and Ecological Theory Discussion Model for Multiple Dimensions of Identity (MMDI)

Let’s start with MMDI. To get a feel for it, please read Chapter 4 from the Jones and Abes book.

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory

Now, let’s check out ecological theory via Urie Bronfenbrenner. Watch this brief YouTube video about it. (By the way, maybe the video got you interested in ecological theory such that you decided to do some more exploring on it. If so, Bravo!)

Urie Bronfenbrenner Ecological Theory Transcript.docx

Consider the chapter and video and respond to the question below.

  • How might these theories be useful in understanding students and contributing to their learning and development?

Your inital response should be a minimum of 150 words. Following your post, respond to at least one of your colleagues’ posts (no less than 100 words).

 

The Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity (MMDI) and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory share an overlapping analysis of identity being the results of multiple influences unique to each individual. MMDI focuses on the key elements of, “the core, multiple social identities, relationship of social identities to the core and identity salience, and contextual influences” (Jones and Abes, 77). While the Ecological Theory focuses on an individual’s microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. The overlap lies in the effect these systems and identities have on a person’s core. The core is influenced by culture, race, religion, gender, class, context, sexual orientation, and many other aspects according to MMDI. Whereas, according to Ecological Theory different parts of a person’s environments will influence their responses and their development.

As educational administrators, it is necessary for us to be able to identify the student’s input and position them towards resources, courses of study, and experiences that will emphasize positive aspects of their identity. These theories are also useful in understanding what environmental and developmental aspects could shape a student’s core and provide insight on how to create a higher education exosystem and microsystem that will positively influence a student’s development.

Viewing students through an MMDI lens will allow faculty to identify the role they play in providing contextual influences and work towards building an environment where students can express salience of a particular social identity in a way that is empowering for the student and hopefully assists the student in reaching their goal of graduation (Jones and Abes, 89).

With increasing diversity in students attending higher education, understanding the complexities of development are vital to providing an environment that will yield the output that universities hope to achieve. These two theories build on Astin’s IEO theory and other theories we have been discussing altogether emphasizing the importance of understanding student development and the influence it has on shaping their identity.

What Is A Student Subpopulation?

I think that it is probably fair to say that every population is comprised of at least a few subpopulations, and sometimes even many subpopulations. For example, of all of the fans that may be gathered at a Penn State football game, you are likely to have Penn State fans (qua subpopulation), fans of the team that Penn State is playing (qua subpopulation), women (qua subpopulation), men (qua subpopulation), those who are engrossed in the game (qua subpopulation), those who don’t like football at all (qua subpopulation), and on and on.

Or, another example: China is comprised of more than 50 identifiable ethnic groups. That is, China has a population that includes more than 50 subpopulations based on perceivable, historic ethnic identities.

So, a subpopulation may be viewed simply as a portion of a larger group that is recognizable because of some common characteristic. Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone in a subpopulation is exactly the same. Rather, it means that a subpopulation exists insofar as members of the subset hold something or somethings in common.

As applied, then, to US higher education, the population called US college students is comprised of various subpopulations: international students; varsity athletes; low-income students; honors students; returning adult students; Black students; students with learning disabilities; and, the list goes on. Further, it may be that larger institutions have more identifiable student subpopulations. This isn’t to suggest that smaller institutions don’t have plenty of student subpopulations; it’s just that many of the student subpopulations at smaller institutions may have fewer “members.” 

Now, let’s take some time to compile (corporately) a list of student subpopulations on our campuses. Then, after we do that, let’s have some asynchronous “chat” around the following questions (just jump in on any one of them, or more than one if you like; also, if you don’t currently have a “your campus,” maybe just respond to a colleague or two!):

  1. Are there any student subpopulations on your campus that your institution has made a special effort to attract, or support?
  2. Are there any student subpopulations on your campus that are particularly visible or “noticeable” for any reason, any why?
  3. Are there any student subpopulations on your campus that go largely unnoticed?
  4. Are there any student subpopulations on your campus that, from your perspective, are marginalized? If so, what does such marginalization look like, and why does it exist?
  5. Are certain student subpopulations on your campus more/less successful academically compared to other student subpopulations?
  6. To what extent might student subpopulations be positive (or negative) “forces” on campus?

I do not currently have a higher education student subpopulation, but I do work at a high school and can identify some subpopulations there. The honors students are particularly visible on campus because these students are actively recruited by the school, and their projects and achievements are clearly displayed within the school for faculty and students to see. Their achievements are also publicly displayed outside of the campus for pedestrians to observe. In contrast, the non-honors students are often hidden because they are viewed as a dark mark on the school’s reputation. This is a common practice in Chinese private schools because the honors students serve to advertise the school and increase their prestige. Often a school is equated to their strongest students rather than being held responsible for their weaker students.

Another subpopulation that is largely hidden is the students with learning disabilities. Officially, learning disabilities are not recognized in Chinese schools. Often, this creates many hurdles for teachers and supporting staff when they must handle a student’s “misbehaviors” that might show symptoms of a learning disability but are instead treated as the student choosing to break the rules. I, and many of my coworkers, believe this is a largely marginalized community, and we are working on educating ourselves about possible disabilities so we can silently identify them and subtly teach coping skills to these students. Because students are not diagnosed with disabilities, the responsibility to identify possible disabilities and provide unprompted understanding and accommodations falls on the teachers. As teachers are not qualified to identify disabilities, many students fall through the cracks and probably do not get the attention they need.

Naturally, the students who have disabilities that are not diagnosed are likely to be less successful academically in comparison to those who do not have disabilities. Also to be expected, the honors students are more academically successful than other students, but their social skills and emotional well being are often lacking due to the pressure to present a strong appearance of themselves and the school.  Both of these groups of students are “forces” on campus. The honors students lead by example and provide aspirational goals, and the students with (potential) disabilities often act as the class clown or are regrettably bullied. There is certainly improvement needed in order to support both of these subpopulations more thoroughly.

Below are two articles that show a larger view of these two populations outside of the high school arena.

http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006271 (Links to an external site.)

http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006296

The Third Book - Presentation

You will remember from the syllabus that one of the assignments was choosing, reading, and reporting on “a third book.” I chose this assignment because I wanted you to be able to select a book that may have particular usefulness for you in your professional role and/or with your particular interests in mind. For example, if you are working with first-year students, perhaps you will want to consider a book that specifically focuses on this subpopulation of students. Or, if you are a conduct officer, perhaps you will want to consider a book that specifically focuses on one or some of the issues that lands students in your office, such as alcohol use and abuse.

To be clear, the books that I included in the syllabus, from which I would like you to choose, are ALSO books that I think can be understood, at least in part, through the IEO lens. This is as it should be from my perspective because I have used the IEO as a frame for the course. Thus, this assignment continues to build upon the scaffolding (remember that!) that has already been assembled. I am certainly open to you selecting a book that is not on the list. But I would like it to be a book that can, in some way, connect to IEO components in some way. Accordingly, I would like ALL of you to retrieve my approval for this third book before you begin this assignment.

One final comment before giving you the actual assignment. This lesson is divided into two weeks because my intention is that you will take one week to do “the third book” and that you will take one week to complete the IEO assignment. This is ample time (I think) to get each of these assignments completed and submitted. However, may I simply encourage you to fulfill each of these assignments with one, reflective eye looking back towards previous features of this course, and with one, reflective eye considering your current context and ways in which these final two assignments can and should “matter” to it. Doing so will require far more time, including time into the future, than a week’s worth of work for an online course commonly includes…and that’s just as it should be!

Alright then…the actual assignment. Here goes:

Identify and read a third book that I approve and then…

Develop a presentation on the book that you could actually deliver, using a medium of your choosing (e.g., PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.). I am not requiring that you actually GIVE the presentation, but I would certainly encourage you to do so in the spirit of your own and others’ professional development. Please include the following elements in your presentation:

  1. A concise (yet complete) summary of the content of the book. What is the author’s purpose in writing the book? How does the author go about presenting this purpose in the book? In this section, you should include specific material from the book that “shows” how the author expresses the purpose of the book and how the purpose is developed in the book.
  2. Your response/reaction/analysis to/of the book. What did you find important/noteworthy? To what extent was the book effective/persuasive/compelling? To what extent did the book enlighten or enhance your understanding of the topic of the book?
  3. A brief consideration of what audience(s) may benefit from this book. Did the author indicate particular audiences for whom the book was written? How might higher education professionals (including particular ones) benefit from this book?
  4. Two or three questions that arise from your reading/analysis of the book and with some aspect of the IEO model in mind.

In terms of length, the presentation that you develop should be built to last for approximately 15-20 minutes, whether you actually give the presentation or not.

So that others in the class may have the opportunity to examine this resource and your take on it more closely, please post your presentation to the Discussion Forum.

You can view my presentation here: