coconutg's blog
Facing Identity Conflicts, Black Students Fall Behind
NPR addresses some of the identity issues that middle-class black and Latino teenagers face, thus resulting in lower overall performance and attendance than their Asian or white peers.
Are social networks making students more narcissistic?
Is it narcissism or "a celebration of individuality"? USA TODAY discusses the results of a recent social networking survey administered to college students.
Online Learning, at a Pace
A recent Inside Higher Ed article discusses a new trend in learning—SpacedEd.com—which involves interaction via email and RSS feed. The research behind SpacedEd, developed by B. Price Kerfoot, an associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, indicates that students were able to boost their knowledge based on the frequency they encountered the information.
The Engineering Dropout Myth
Findings from a 17-year study, based on the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Development, found that engineering retention isn't lower than other fields. Inside Higher Ed details the findings of Matthew Ohland's, associate professor of engineering education at Purdue University, research of 70,000 engineering students.
Taking Notes Beyond the Classroom
Open source note sharing programs continue to grow in popularity for college courses. Starting with MIT's OpenCourseWare in 2001, it continues to gain momentun, despite the controversy surrounding it.
Inside Higher Ed article, Taking Notes Beyond the Classroom, talks about the "questionable factuality," the blurred lines between cheating vs.
sharing, and the rights of professors' intellectual property.
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Cut Student Services? Think Again
Inside Higher Ed article, Cut Student Services? Think Again, talks about the forthcoming research by Cornell University student, Douglas Webber, and the director of the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute, Ronald Ehrenberg, which shows that "graduation and persistence rates are linked to greater expenditures on student services," more so than expenditures on instructional or research. read more »
Education Dept. Plan Would Make It Easier to Apply for Student Aid
A plan to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is on the verge of being revealed by Education Secretary Arne Duncan. They are taking three main steps to see this plan into fruition: read more »
Colleges Should Start Planning Now for 'Net Price' Calculators, Experts Say
It is more than simply posting the price of tuition and a meal plan to their website. Colleges all over the nation need to start thinking about the actual cost to attend their institution. A recent federal requirement mandates that within two years all institutions need to post the net price of attending their school to their website. read more »
States Plan to Spend Most Stimulus Money on Education Swiftly
The $54-billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, a piece of the $787-billion economic recovery package (February 2009), will more than likely run out the first year it is fed into the schools. The first nine states that applied for money said that they would end up using most of their portion to "plug budget holes in the current and next fical years." Maine "expects to have just 3 percent of its funds left for the 2011 budget year." read more »
In Interview, Education Secretary Cites Need for Improvement in College Completion and Cost Control
President Obama continues to respond to questions regarding his goal of "putting the United States atop all countries in college-completion rates by 2020." As part of this goal, he wants every American to have a year or more of education and reward both 2-year and 4-year colleges that keep the students' cost as low as possible.
To read more, click here.
