Dennis M. O'Toole

Linking Teacher and Student Learning Styles with Student Achievement and Attitudes

The authors present an innovative model for economic education research on teaching methods at the university level. The results suggest that student achievement and attitudes toward economics might be improved by a better match between the teaching style of instructors and the learning style of students.

A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF THE FREQUENCY OF PART-TIME ENROLLMENT AND THE PERSISTENCE OF STUDENTS WHO ENROLL PART TIME

Longitudinal data from the 1990/94 Beginning Post-Secondary Survey is used to evaluate the frequency of part-time enrollment and the persistence of students who ever enroll part time. We find that part-time enrollment is twice as common as cross-sectional estimates indicate, with between 40% 50% of the student population attending part time during at least one nonsummer term within 5 years of their initial enrollment. In total, between 52% 62% of the sample either stops out for a term or enrolls part time. The persistence of this nonstereotypical population is surprisingly high, with between 40% 60% still enrolled or graduated within a 5-year period. By comparison, 60% of those who always attend full time and never stop-out persist. These figures suggest that policymakers should direct more attention to those enrolled part time.

An Analysis of Student Enrollment Demand.

Abstract This paper analyzes the sensitivity of white and black enrollment yields to changes in real net cost at a large (21,000), urban, public university over a six year time period (1988–1993). Estimation is by GLS random effects and controls for a number of financial, academic, and qualitative variables. The major conclusion is that, while enrollment yields are generally insensitive to changes in net cost, sensitivity for blacks is roughly two-thirds higher than for whites. This would suggest that since minority students have been responding positively to financial aid, cuts in grant funding by state legislators or Congress may restrict minority access to higher education in the future. [ JEL I21]

The Influence of Learning and Teaching Styles on Student Attitudes and Achievement in the Introductory Economics Course: A Case Study.

Research on the impact of learning style preferences is very rare in economic education. This article reports the results of a project in which the students preferred learning style and the instructors teaching style were included as variables in a regression model. Those favoring independent styles achieved significantly more than students favoring dependent styles. Changes in student attitudes towards economics were also taken into account. The researchers assert that the addition of these variables also “greatly increases the power of the model to explain variation in student achievement and attitudes concerning economics.”

The Important Learning Dimensions in the School of Business: A Survey of Students and Faculty

Abstract A 23-question instrument was administered to 155 undergraduate business students and 40 business faculty members at Virginia Commonwealth University during the fall 1998 semester. The purpose of this study was to determine the similarities and differences in attitudes of the two populations on factors that influence student learning. The results showed that the two groups had similar opinions about the major factors that affect learning. Professors and students both felt that the professor provided a major input in the learning process of students. The important learning dimensions included the delivery of the material, which translates into (a) presentation clarity, (b) enthusiasm for teaching, and (c) fairness and quality of the exams.

A qualitative response model of student performance on a standardized test

SummaryA national sample of high school students who took the Test of Economic Literacy was analyzed by the use of probit analysis and OLS to determine what factors influence high levels of performance on an achievement test. The statistically significant factors were combined SAT scores, the teachers course work in the subject matter, whether the teacher has a high degree of enthusiasm toward the teaching of the subject, and, for students who scored over 30 on the TEL, whether the student does more than two hours of homework a night.

An empirical analysis of the use of money orders, the payment system of the poor

Abstract Although money orders have been available in the United States since the Civil War, until the mid 1970s and the failure of United States Navigation Company and Universal Money Orders, there had been little analysis of the money order market. This study empirically investigates the determinants of money order usage by households. The results of the study, which utilizes two large national samples, indicate that money orders are clearly an inferior good which have a high probability of being purchased by a low income, young, ethnic minority.

Technology Fees Can Be Used to Improve Marketing Strategies in Public Urban Universities

ABSTRACT This paper discusses various ways that public universities may finance the use of technology. It then suggests reasons why administrators in public urban universities should use technology fees to finance the cost of current and future computer technology. The authors believe that technology fees should be used because urban public universities have a larger percentage of non-traditional students who historically have lower retention rates. Rather than focusing on a defensive marketing strategy to avoid enrollment losses, universities should concentrate on an aggressive, positive marketing strategy to trumpet the advantages that students receive from the use of technology fees. Suggestions are presented for ways that colleges and universities can use the “technology fee” as a means of enhancing student satisfaction and increasing student retention.