Zaria Malcolm

Financial Aid and Persistence in Community Colleges: Assessing the Effectiveness of Federal and State Financial Aid Programs in Oklahoma

Using a longitudinal, state-wide dataset, this study assessed the effect of financial aid on the persistence of full-time students in associate’s degree programs at the Oklahoma community colleges. Three financial-aid sources were examined: the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP), Pell grants, and Stafford loans. Results indicate that these forms of financial aid, alone and in combination, were predictors of persistence measured in terms of the student progressing from 1styear status to 2nd-year status.The effect of financial aid, however, was moderated by ethnicity and income.

Moving beyond Formulas and Fixations: Solving Open-Ended Engineering Problems.

Open-ended problem solving is a central skill in engineering practice; consequently, it is imperative for engineering students to develop expertise in solving these types of problems. The complexity of open-ended problems requires a unique set of skills. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the approaches used by engineering students when solving an open-ended engineering problem. A think-aloud method was used to collect data about the problem-solving approaches of eight materials engineering students. Through the use of script analysis three approaches to solving the problem were identified, which were consistent with the Reflective Judgment Model of epistemic development. Students who used a linear, systematic approach were most successful at solving the problem. Less successful students were overwhelmed by its open-endedness and/or became fixated on a single aspect of the problem. These results point to a need to develop open-ended problem-solving skills throughout the engineering curriculum.

Reconceptualizing and decentering think-aloud methodology in qualitative research

Most applications of think-aloud protocols have been conducted from theoretical perspectives that prioritize knowledge that is predictable and controlled by the researchers. In this article, we present an augmented form of the think-aloud method in which we aim to gain situated and participant-generated knowledge. The context for our study is examination of the problem-solving processes used by engineering students. We illustrate how our adaptation of traditional think–aloud protocols provides insights into participants’ thoughts and beliefs and how such think-alouds can increase social scientists’ understandings of complex phenomena such as learning or problem solving. In contrast to a typical focus on researcher-defined processes or an analysis of the products generated by students, our approach to think-aloud utilizes think-aloud procedures in combination with follow-up interviews to expand participants’ perspectives and investigate their experiences more deeply.

Missions, Values, and “Flying Monkeys”: Critical Issues for Community Colleges Today and in 2019

A focus group (N = 36) consisting of board of trustee members, community college presidents, senior administrators, administrators, and faculty members from community colleges around the United States developed the top six critical issues faced with respect to instructional planning and services; planning, governance, and finance; and workforce development. Thereafter, the delegation of more than 100 voted on various aspects of these issues. The findings detail a shift away from pragmatic problems or opportunities of today, such as K–20 alignment, retention, and sustainability, to more life-long learning, globalization, and focus upon innovation and partnerships.

Afro-Caribbean International Students' Ethnic Identity Development: Fluidity, Intersectionality, Agency, and Performativity

Afro-Caribbean international students (ACIS) often become engrossed in a complex racial and ethnic dialogue wherein they are thrust into homogenous categorizations forcing them to negotiate their Afro-Caribbean self with other identities perceived by others such as African American, first- and second-generation Caribbean immigrant, African, and Latin American. This tendency to homogenize ACIS overlooks their experiences and development, and so their issues become essentially invisible for administrations and in the literature on student identity development. Therefore, higher education stakeholders are unaware of the needs unique to these students (Lacina, 2002; Szelényi & Chang, 2002). This is particularly problematic given that ACIS students are less likely to have high-quality educational and social experiences impacting their development (Anderson, Carmichael, Harper, & Huang, 2009). The purpose of this study is to investigate the ethnic identity development of ACIS at a public research-intensive university in the US Southeast with particular attention on how these students negotiate their identities given the current homogenized discourse on ACIS.

Work in progress — The role of working memory and epistemic beliefs on open-ended problem solving

Open-ended problem solving is a skill that is central to engineering practice. As a consequence, developing skills in solving such problems is imperative for engineering graduates. Open-ended problems are often ill-defined and can have more than one viable solution. This paper presents preliminary results from a mixed methods study examining the specific problem solving strategies of undergraduate engineering students when dealing with the ambiguity of open-ended problems. Participants completed measures of content knowledge, epistemic beliefs, and working memory, and also solved four complex engineering problems during individual problem solving sessions. A subset of participants solved these problems during a think aloud session and participated in follow-up interviews. Preliminary analysis of quantitative data has focused on identifying correlations between problem solving solution scores and the measures of epistemic beliefs and working memory capacity. Analysis of qualitative data is examining the problem-solving processes students.