Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

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.

Beatrice L. Bridglall currently teaches at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. Her research areas include higher, international and comparative education; student development, engagement and persistence in K-12 and higher education; school reform; and program research and evaluation. She has co-edited several books, including Supplementary Education: The Hidden Curriculum of High Academic Achievement (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005), and Affirmative Development: Cultivating Academic Ability (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008).

Part I: Persistent Underperformance & Underrepresentation Chapter 1: Current Issues and Trends in Higher Education Chapter 2: Creating Effective Social and Intellectual Communities/Environments in Higher Education: A Theoretical Perspective Part II: Contemporary exemplars of excellence Introducing Chapter 3: Student Underrepresentation in STEM Chapter 3: Preparing Students for Research Careers: The Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Beatrice L. Bridglall, Freeman A. Hrabowski III, and Kenneth Maton Introducing Chapter 4: The Benefits of High Attainment/Completion Rates in Context Chapter 4: Creating Opportunities to Learn: The Opportunity Programs at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY Susan Layden, Beatrice L. Bridglall, and Sheldon Solomon Introducing Chapter 5: A Brief Historical Overview of Medical Education Chapter 5: A Model for Increasing Access to Medical School: The Premedical Program at Xavier University in New Orleans Part III: Research and Policy Implications Chapter 6: Recommendations & Policy Implications Appendix A: Overview of the Study