Remedial teaching

The primary purpose of the study was to explore the potential impact of voluntary remediation on success in ENC1101 and MAT1033 (gateway courses) and on minority or low-income students in Florida. The study was prompted in 2013 when the Florida Senate exempted most students entering the Florida College System from placement testing or developmental education regardless of their skill level. A quantitative design compared the gateway course success of 10,703 exempt students in 2014 and 2015 to the success of 8,644 students who would have been exempt had the law been in effect when they completed their gateway courses in 2012 and 2013. Data were collected from three FCS institutions. Using Astin and Astin's 1992 Input-Environment-Outcome model (Astin & Astin, 1992), independent variables included demographics, such as race and Pell grant eligibility, and prior academic performance, as well as enrollment status and remedial course decisions and perf ormance. The study found the policy to have a statistically significant (α = .05) negative effect on student success in the gateway courses. The voluntary remediation policy that was in part enacted to improve college completion rates threatens to have the opposite effect. The results show that fewer proportions of students were successful (grade of C or higher) in both courses once remediation became voluntary (12.8% decrease for English; 19.3% decrease in math). The study revealed a need for further research to investigate the degree of this impact on minority and low-income students. The results also suggested a need for more research to learn which students are likely to benefit, or not, by taking a remedial course. Of the students in the study who voluntarily took a placement test and scored below credit level, 11.3% chose remediation before taking ENC1101 and 24.5% chose remediation before taking MAT1033. Of those students, most who earned an A or B in the remedial course were successful in the credit courses; most who did not earn at least a B in the remedial course were unsuccessful at the credit level. Results were significant (α = .05), and effect sizes were moderate (.344 for English; .430 for math).

The purpose of this study is to determine if there
exist effective components in past and present curricula for
underprepared, black junior college students. The four
criteria of effectiveness used in this study include:
(1) attrition rate, (2) grade-point average, (J) student motivation,
and (4) faculty response. The method consists of
a survey of the literature on past and present remedial programs
and of analysis of selected programs to find successful
components and to determine the reasons for their effectiveness. A model remedial program composed of the preceding
four components is presented. Its purpose is to help
underprepared, black students in the junior colleges overcome
problems which are barriers to continuation in at least
junior college programs.
Now, it is necessary to apply and evaluate the model
for its effectiveness.

The purpose of this study was to examine the possibility of
diagnosing community college students' cognitive functioning abilities,
in social science content areas, by means of a Piagetian type clinical
diagnosis. In addition, analyses were made to determine the relationships
between isolated constructs of cognitive functioning and certain
demographic variables. The initial expectation was that factor analysis
would yield constructs aligned with constructs of cognitive functioning
delineated by Piaget. It was also expected that the diagnosis would
significantly distinguish between the three strata of subjects as the
strata were formed on the basis of the subjects' past levels of academic
performance. On the other hand, it was not expected that the diagnosis
would be discriminatory in reference to other demographic variables
studied. Observation of the results of the factor analysis confirmed
the expectations regarding the Piagetian aligned factor structure of the
diagnosis and offered a construct validity and reliability estimate of
approximately .86. Observation of the results of the relational studies
served to support the stated expectations except that measures related
to three of the constructs were discriminatory along the dimension of
sex.
Twelve factors or constructs aligned with Piaget's theory were
isolated. The constructs represented both a concrete operational and
an abstract operational level of cognitive functioning for most of the
cognitive tasks diagnosed. Seven of the factors discriminated significantly
(p<.001) between the strata and, in all cases, discriminated in
favor of stratum three, the stratum with highest past level of academic
performance. The subjects in the stratum with the lowest level of
academic performance, stratum one, and frequently stratum two subjects
were functioning at a concrete operational level during the diagnosis.
The important findings of this research necessitate
immediate and continuous research of Piagetian remediation approaches
based on the diagnosis and remediation of the learner's cognitive functioning
abilities.

Mathematics can be a difficult topic both to teach and to learn. Word problems specifically can be difficult for students with disabilities because they have to conceptualize what the problem is asking for, and they must perform the correct operation accurately. Current trends in mathematics instruction stem from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Principles and Standards for School Mathematics that call for an inquiry learning model (NCTM, 2000). Unfortunately, this model may not be sufficient to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Researchers are currently looking at what elements will assist students with disabilities to learn mathematics both conceptually and procedurally. Explicit direct instruction, modeling, guided and independent practice, and providing advanced organizers have been found to help students with disabilities to be successful. Results indicated that students with mild disabilities were able to use the strategy independently to accurately solve the training word problems using division or multiplication. Also, students were able to generalize both the strategy use as well as the word problem accuracy to the measurement of area problems. Additionally, two of the three students continued to use the strategy appropriately to accurately solve word problems in the 6-week follow-up phase. Suggestions for future studies are provided as well as educational implications.

Proficient reading is a necessary skill for a quality life. While educators would like to believe that most students master the art of reading and can understand what they read, national reports indicate that learning to read and becoming a skilled reader is not mastered by all (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001 ; NICHD, 2000a). One component of successful reading is the ability to read a text with appropriate speed, accuracy, and prosody. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (Pinnell et al., 1995) reported that 44% of the nation's fourth grade students were not able to read at an acceptable level of fluency that was considered necessary for comprehension. Since the publication of that report, research has shown that with direct instruction and remediation of fluency, students in the elementary grades can increase their reading rate. One of the most common fluency intervention techniques is repeated readings (Samuels,1979). However, most of the studies completed include ele mentary students and were focused on increasing their reading rate. Some students are arriving at the secondary level with reading problems which include fluency and comprehension. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of repeated readings on the rate, accuracy, and comprehension of students with disabilities at the secondary level. This study involved a total of 35 students with learning disabilities in grades 6-9. A quasi-experimental design was used for this study. The treatment group received a total of 20 sessions of repeated reading with immediate feedback., goal setting, and independent practice with graphing of reading rate. The comparison group continued their reading instruction with no fluency intervention.The results indicate that this combination of repeated readings had a significant influence on reading rate only.