Bridglall, B: Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

By Beatrice L. Bridglall - Contributions by Freeman A. Hrabowski III; Kenneth I. Maton; Susan Layden and Sheldon Solomon

Concerns with how students are taught, and whether and how they learn, has become particularly salient in higher education. This is evident in growing awareness of increases in time-to-degree and declines in attainment rates for many students, including those who are underrepresented, in our nation's community and public and private colleges and universities. It is also demonstrated vis-à-vis recent findings that more than a third of college students evinced no noticeable improvement in critical thinking, writing, and complex reasoning skills after four years as an undergraduate. These findings suggest that while a focus on access to and participation in the nation's colleges and universities remain a prominent goal, it is no longer sufficient given persistent disparities in post secondary student learning.There are a few models however, from which we can distill a set of strategies for promoting not only high achievement, but also retention and completion rates. This book examines three such models in higher education - the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; the Opportunity Programs at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York; and the Premedical Program at Xavier University in New Orleans - with a proven record of student achievement and completion.

Part I: Persistent Underperformance & UnderrepresentationChapter 1: Current Issues and Trends in Higher EducationChapter 2: Creating Effective Social and Intellectual Communities/Environments in Higher Education: A Theoretical PerspectivePart II: Contemporary exemplars of excellenceIntroducing Chapter 3: Student Underrepresentation in STEMChapter 3: Preparing Students for Research Careers: The Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyBeatrice L. Bridglall, Freeman A. Hrabowski III, and Kenneth MatonIntroducing Chapter 4: The Benefits of High Attainment/Completion Rates in ContextChapter 4: Creating Opportunities to Learn: The Opportunity Programs at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NYSusan Layden, Beatrice L. Bridglall, and Sheldon SolomonIntroducing Chapter 5: A Brief Historical Overview of Medical EducationChapter 5: A Model for Increasing Access to Medical School: The Premedical Program at Xavier University in New OrleansPart III: Research and Policy ImplicationsChapter 6: Recommendations & Policy ImplicationsAppendix A: Overview of the Study