Comparative analysis of student performance outcomes of developmental reading students in an active-learning classroom versus a traditional classroom

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Date

2021-03-11

Department

Towson University. Department of Educational Technology and Literacy

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Abstract

Active-learning classrooms (ALCs) are being implemented in higher education, as alternatives to traditional classrooms, in order to support a growing movement towards student-centered, active-learning pedagogies. Researchers have credited ALCs with contributing to positive student performance outcomes for students who are ranked as lower performing academically, but those studies have been limited to four-year institutions. The majority of undergraduate students in the United States attend community colleges and the majority of community college students require some type of developmental coursework in math or English. Given that students requiring developmental instruction are the most underprepared academically in a community college setting, this study will examine the implications for developmental reading students receiving instruction in an ALC. Using a quasi-experimental design, this quantitative study measured the impact of one type of ALC, the learning studio, on the student outcomes of performance, attendance, retention and persistence of developmental reading students receiving instruction in the learning studio ALC as compared to those receiving instruction in a traditional classroom. Additionally, the study examined student perceptions of their own learning and faculty performance, as well as detected differences in perceived social interactions between students and faculty in each of the learning spaces.