Influence of a learning community on the persistence and academic performance of first semester remedial students at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology: A mixed methods study

Abstract

Background and Method of Study:

Each year, approximately 67% of the entering first-time, full-time, degree-seeking population at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (OSUIT) is comprised of students who have not mastered the competencies to enter directly into college-level classes. For students who need remediation in three subjects (e.g., reading, English, and math) OSUIT's records indicated that 90% of these students left without earning any kind of credential. The purpose of this research was two-fold. First, the study examined whether learning communities influenced the persistence and academic performance of first-semester students with academic deficiencies in the technical community college environment of Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. Second, the study also examined how the demographic factors of gender and ethnicity influenced persistence and academic performance.

Research Design:

This study used a mixed methods research design where qualitative data was embedded within a primary quantitative strand. Both quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis techniques were conducted using statistical analyses and focus group interview.

Conclusions: The data in this study appeared to indicate that:

the learning community treatment is an effective means for influencing the persistence of remedial students;

the learning community treatment is an effective means for influencing the academic performance of remedial students;

gender seems to be a moderating variable, possibly influencing both the strength and relationship between the learning community and dependent variables of academic performance and persistence;

ethnicity seems to be a moderating variable, possibly influencing both the strength and relationship between the learning community treatment and the dependent variables of academic performance and persistence;

the learning community appears to be an effective way to create a climate for success for first-time students at the lowest-skill levels; and,

the focus group, made up of students who participated in the learning community, felt their experiences were beneficial.