Exploring student-centered learning in the college history classroom : a single case study.
| dc.contributor.advisor | Shelton, Ryann N. | |
| dc.creator | Feely, Abigail B., 1977- | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-07-30T12:44:56Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-07-30T12:44:56Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2023-12 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-12 | |
| dc.date.submitted | December 2023 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2024-07-30T12:45:01Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | College history instructors navigate a tradition of instructor-centered learning methods alongside new pressures to implement a growing body of research on student-centered instruction. However, little is known about how community college history instructors implement or diverge from research-informed practices and why (Zimmerman, 2020). Using Henderson and Dancy’s (2007) toy model for predicting behavior based on individual and situational characteristics as a theoretical framework, this study explores how various characteristics influence faculty decisions to use elements of research-informed student-centered learning strategies in community college history courses. Two research questions guided the study’s design. First, how do individual and situational characteristics influence community college history instructors’ decisions to use student-centered learning strategies in their classrooms? Second, how do community college history instructors use elements of student-centered learning in their classrooms? To address these questions, I conducted a single case study at a history department at a community college in California. I collected data from four participants who took part in a series of three semi-structured interviews and submitted two types of documents that reflected their in-person instruction and homework assignments. I conducted a within-case data analysis which generated five themes. First, the community college history instructors indicated a high value on student development and faculty-led professional development including peer-sharing. Second, the community college history instructors indicated that their embrace of student-centered teaching methods is limited by their students’ lack of skills and students’ resistance. Third, the community college history instructors shared that some administrator practices and policies hindered their ability to use student-centered strategies, including large course sizes and content requirements that misalign with effective, equitable instruction priorities. Fourth, the community college history instructors indicated that broader current issues and events affected their use of student-centered strategies, posing both challenges and opportunities. Fifth, the community college history instructors described student-centered learning as history apprenticeship. The implications of these findings are of interest to community college administrators and the professional historical community. With a better understanding of these issues, stakeholders can make better-informed institutional decisions that have the potential to increase instructor effectiveness and support student success. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | ||
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/2104/12893 | |
| dc.language.iso | English | |
| dc.rights.accessrights | No access – contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu | |
| dc.title | Exploring student-centered learning in the college history classroom : a single case study. | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| local.embargo.lift | 2028-12-01 | |
| local.embargo.terms | 2028-12-01 | |
| thesis.degree.department | Baylor University. Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction. | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Baylor University | |
| thesis.degree.name | Ed.D. | |
| thesis.degree.program | Learning & Organizational Change | |
| thesis.degree.school | Baylor University |
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