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How Conservatives Think about Campus: The Effects of College Reputations, Social Scenes, and Academics on Student Experience

Amy J. Binder and Kate Wood

in Becoming Right: How Campuses Shape Young Conservatives

This chapter examines the institutional dynamics—that is, the organizational arrangements, cultural ideas, and practices in place at Eastern Elite University and Western Flagship University—to see ... More

This chapter examines the institutional dynamics—that is, the organizational arrangements, cultural ideas, and practices in place at Eastern Elite University and Western Flagship University—to see how they affect student conservatism at both campuses. More specifically, it explores what conservative students say they find when they arrive on the Western Public and Eastern Elite campuses—and the degree to which students comment on their university's politics. The chapter first considers each university's reputation in the higher education sector and how a school's standing in the larger field of universities might influence students' perceptions of their experiences as conservatives in college. It then discusses extracurricular aspects of college life, focusing on the social and residential scene at each school, as well as academics. In particular, it analyzes how several aspects of scholastic life work on the two campuses and how they affect students' experiences as conservatives.Less

 Psychology, Grief, and the Student

David E. Balk

in Teaching Death and Dying

Three considerations involving psychology provide important points of entry for teaching college students about thanatology. The first consideration is to examine psychological understandings of ... More

Three considerations involving psychology provide important points of entry for teaching college students about thanatology. The first consideration is to examine psychological understandings of bereavement, grief, and mourning. The second consideration is the prevalence within any college campus of students in the first or second year following the death of a family member or a friend, with the subsequent interest many students will have in issues of thanatology. The third consideration involves strategies and principles, many from educational psychology, for promoting active learning in a college course on death and dying. Further, there are fundamental matters of ethics to be examined regarding teacher obligations and classroom protocol when engaging students on thanatology topics. Because painful feelings and emotional distress may be elicited, this chapter asks whether teachers should do more than listen attentively. Should the syllabus contain “informed consent” in which the potential for painful feelings to be elicited gets mentioned and cautions are raised that the course is not the place for someone wanting to resolve bereavement? Responses of three experienced professors about these ethical issues are included.Less

 Teaching Outside the Classroom

Kathleen Garces‐Foley

in Teaching Death and Dying

In the classroom we can light incense, listen to dirges, watch videos of funerals, and pass around a cremation urn, but these encounters with the intersection of death and religion are taken out of ... More

In the classroom we can light incense, listen to dirges, watch videos of funerals, and pass around a cremation urn, but these encounters with the intersection of death and religion are taken out of their social context. By moving students beyond the classroom, we force them to step beyond the comfort of academic distance and encounter religion and death on their own terms. This chapter describes the pedagogical benefits of site visits and how they can enhance the study of death from a “lived religion” perspective. It also explores ethical issues arising from site visits and suggests practical ways to maximize the success of the site visit, from planning the trip to student preparation through the follow-up analysis. Lastly, it offers specific suggestions for visits to the most common sites used in death courses, namely cemeteries and funeral homes.Less

 Teaching Death and Dying: A Pastoral Theological Approach

G. Lee Ramsey

in Teaching Death and Dying

This chapter explores the teaching of death and dying from a religious perspective, namely a Christian theological one. While death is a universal human experience, interpretations and responses to ... More

This chapter explores the teaching of death and dying from a religious perspective, namely a Christian theological one. While death is a universal human experience, interpretations and responses to death and dying—emotional, physical, cognitive, and spiritual—are conditioned by the deepest religious convictions of the one who is dying and the ones who are grieving the coming or recent loss of another to death. Within schools of theological education students need to learn not only psycho-social frameworks for understanding loss, death, and grief as a human phenomenon, but they need to examine the religious tradition's distinctive interpretations of death within the larger divine story of creation, redemption, and resurrection. The chapter concludes that when students clarify their own personal and theological convictions about death and resurrection, they are more able to offer themselves and the resources of the Christian tradition in support of others who are grieving or dying.Less

 Death and Dying in History

Albert N. Hamscher and Kenneth S. Davis

in Teaching Death and Dying

Based on nearly thirty years experience of teaching a university course on “death and dying in history,” the first section of this chapter offers practical advice about organizing such a course: ... More

Based on nearly thirty years experience of teaching a university course on “death and dying in history,” the first section of this chapter offers practical advice about organizing such a course: topics worthy of consideration, appropriate readings, written assignments, and strategies for engaging student interest and participation. The chapter's second section goes out of the classroom and into the cemetery, where students can experience the “hands-on” dimension of historical study. A broad range of possible research projects is reviewed that students can undertake either alone or in small groups. Research in the cemetery need not be confined to a specific course on death and dying in history. It can also be integrated into traditional courses that explore the collective values and attitudes of past generations.Less

“Listen to the Dark”: Death and Dying in Music, Film, and Literature

Amir Hussain

in Teaching Death and Dying

This chapter discusses the uses of music, film, and literature in teaching courses on death and dying. The approach taken is that of one who has been concerned with effective pedagogy for the past ... More

This chapter discusses the uses of music, film, and literature in teaching courses on death and dying. The approach taken is that of one who has been concerned with effective pedagogy for the past decade. The chapter begins by describing an exercise where students bring in a work that speaks to them about death and dying. This is followed by a discussion on how various works of literature can be integrated into the course. The use of music allows students to bring into the classroom the songs that are most meaningful to them, and is useful in introducing the important roles that race, ethnicity, and language play in religion. The final section of the chapter ends with a discussion on the use of films. Two resources are included as appendices at the end of this chapter.Less

Who Are the Students, and How Are They Shaped by BRIC Higher Education?

Martin Carnoy, Prashant Loyalka, Maria Dobryakova, Rafiq Dossani, Isak Froumin, Katherine Kuhns, Jandhyala B. G. Tilak, and Rong Wang

in University Expansion in a Changing Global Economy: Triumph of the BRICs?

The chapter details the educational pathway students take during pre-tertiary schooling, their academic readiness before college, and the process they undergo in their application and admission to ... More

The chapter details the educational pathway students take during pre-tertiary schooling, their academic readiness before college, and the process they undergo in their application and admission to university. It analyzes how students attending BRIC universities and colleges are selected into differentiated higher education institutions, their learning experiences at different types of institutions within each country, and how students regard their learning experiences and their preparation for work (with special emphasis on engineering and computer science education), As part of this analysis, the chapter investigates how BRIC higher education systems train their engineering and computer science students compared to similar institutions in the developed countries.Less

Legally Viable Desegregation Strategies: The Case of Connecticut

Casey D. Cobb, Robert Bifulco, and Courtney Bell

in Integrating Schools in a Changing Society: New Policies and Legal Options for a Multiracial Generation

This chapter examines the effects of two school choice programs—the interdistrict magnet schools and Open Choice—on racial, ethnic and economic isolation, individual student experiences and ... More

This chapter examines the effects of two school choice programs—the interdistrict magnet schools and Open Choice—on racial, ethnic and economic isolation, individual student experiences and attitudes, and academic achievement. These programs are focused on reducing the racial and economic isolation of black and Latino students living in Connecticut's cities.Less

A Student's Reflections on Engaging in Social Science

Stella Maile and David Griffiths

in Public engagement and social science

The chapter outlines a student’s experience of participating in study around the recording of older people’s thoughts. The chapter represents one student’s reflections on the methodology and feelings.

Course, Syllabus, and Lesson Design

Robert DiYanni, Anton Borst, Robert DiYanni, and Anton Borst

in The Craft of College Teaching: A Practical Guide

This chapter discusses course design. Teachers are required to design courses, syllabi, and lessons; activities, assignments, and assessments. This also includes a variety of teaching materials, from ... More

This chapter discusses course design. Teachers are required to design courses, syllabi, and lessons; activities, assignments, and assessments. This also includes a variety of teaching materials, from handouts to websites. Ultimately teachers are responsible for designing the kinds of experiences students will have in the classrooms. The chapter thus considers the primary pedagogical design responsibilities: courses, syllabi, units, and lessons; activities, assignments, experiences, and assessments. These design elements encapsulate the teacher's purpose in the classroom and reflects their pedagogical goals and how they might best be achieved. The key is to align them coherently with one another and with course learning goals.Less

The Quest for Excellence in an Era of Bigotry

Robert J. Kaczorowski

in Fordham University School of Law: A History

Chapter 3 recounts the leadership of Dean Ignatius M. Wilkinson in achieving higher admission and academic standards in legal education generally and Fordham Law School specifically. The school ... More

Chapter 3 recounts the leadership of Dean Ignatius M. Wilkinson in achieving higher admission and academic standards in legal education generally and Fordham Law School specifically. The school became one of a handful of law schools with a selective admission policy. Wilkinson restructured the Law School’s administration and activities, reviving moot court, establishing instruction in law library research, creating the Law School Alumni Association and placement office. It explains the experiences of Fordham law students in the context of the social and economic history of the 1920s, discusses the religious and ethnic prejudice directed against religious and ethnic minorities, especially Catholics and their affiliated ethnic groups that comprised the majority of the Law School’s student body. It discusses the success of Fordham Law School graduates to gain admission to the bar in an era in which state bar associations manipulated bar examination results and admission standards to exclude from the practice of law urban immigrants who were members of religious, ethnic and racial minorities. Recounts the leadership of Dean Ignatius M. Wilkinson in achieving higher admission and academic standards in legal education generally and Fordham Law School specifically. The school became one of a handful of law schools with a selective admission policy. Wilkinson restructured the Law School’s administration and activities, reviving moot court, establishing instruction in law library research, creating the Law School Alumni Association and placement office. It explains the experiences of Fordham law students in the context of the social and economic history of the 1920s, discusses the religious and ethnic prejudice directed against religious and ethnic minorities, especially Catholics and their affiliated ethnic groups that comprised the majority of the Law School’s student body. It discusses the success of Fordham Law School graduates to gain admission to the bar in an era in which state bar associations manipulated bar examination results and admission standards to exclude from the practice of law urban immigrants who were members of religious, ethnic and racial minorities.Less

Centrifugal Pressure and Centripetal Elevation

Blake R. Silver

in The Cost of Inclusion: How Student Conformity Leads to Inequality on College Campuses

Chapter 6 shows that in the rarer instances where change in students’ self-presentation occurred, it happened in patterned ways. These patterns were propelled by twin social forces that Silver dubs ... More

Chapter 6 shows that in the rarer instances where change in students’ self-presentation occurred, it happened in patterned ways. These patterns were propelled by twin social forces that Silver dubs centrifugal pressure and centripetal elevation. Female and racial/ethnic minority students who tried to craft identities as managers or educators were blocked from doing so through the application of centrifugal pressure. Pushed toward the margins of group life, they frequently became entertainers or associates. On the other hand, White male students who initially occupied less central places in groups benefited from centripetal elevation, whereby the deference and encouragement of peers drew them into central roles with greater authority. These forces further stratified student experiences and emotions in social groups. After exploring the intricacies of these phenomena, Silver discusses their broader impact on inequality in college extracurricular outlets. While more than 75% of White men came to occupy social roles—versions of the cookie-cutter self—that offered greater opportunity to feel valued or appreciated, less than 50% of women and very few racial/ethnic minority men did. The chapter concludes by discussing how these findings exist in tension with prevalent understandings of higher education as a place for growth and development.Less

Understanding the Learners: Musical Growth

Colleen M. Conway

in Teaching Music in Higher Education

Chapter 4 examines the sequencing of undergraduate instruction in relation to student musical growth. Sample purposes and goals for undergraduate music education and typical degree outlines are ... More

Chapter 4 examines the sequencing of undergraduate instruction in relation to student musical growth. Sample purposes and goals for undergraduate music education and typical degree outlines are provided from the National Association of Schools of Music. Vignettes written by music students are provided for each level of undergraduate student—freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior, which highlight student musical needs at various stages of development. The chapter encourages readers to reflect back on their own musical growth as undergraduate students, and provides instructors with suggestions for differentiating musical instruction.Less

Studying Urban School Discipline: A Bronx Tale

Kathleen Nolan

in Police in the Hallways: Discipline in an Urban High School

This introductory chapter discusses the rise of police involvement within urban schools, especially within the “rough” schools that are generally attended by marginalized groups. The author has ... More

This introductory chapter discusses the rise of police involvement within urban schools, especially within the “rough” schools that are generally attended by marginalized groups. The author has observed that the urban school environment has become disturbingly similar to that of a prison, a fact that the students she has interviewed throughout the particular Bronx school she has based her research on—herein indicated as “Urban Public High School”(UPHS)— have illustrated in their daily lives. Even the faculty and administrators working within the UPHS generally complain about the lack of resources and the under preparedness of the students, all of which contribute to an already troubled learning environment, despite (or perhaps because of) the school officials being generally cooperative of police presence. This study takes into account not only the perspectives of the school personnel and the police, but also the oft-neglected experiences of the students themselves.Less

Living Proof: Experiences of Economic and Educational Exclusion

Kathleen Nolan

in Police in the Hallways: Discipline in an Urban High School

This chapter attempts to establish a correlation between the students’ experiences inside the school and their daily lives outside of it, as subject to political, economic, and cultural forces. This ... More

This chapter attempts to establish a correlation between the students’ experiences inside the school and their daily lives outside of it, as subject to political, economic, and cultural forces. This phenomenon is observed through the microinteractions of everyday life in the school as the latter is restructured in order to accommodate present-day demands. Social reproduction and oppositional behavior play a significant role in these microlevel dynamics. Most urban students are offered a wider range of educational possibilities, and can attend either college-preparatory institutions or receive technical or vocational training. Still others are sorted into the “rough” schools as a consequence of the current educational system and the heavier penalties it imposes on students of color. In that vein, it is not difficult to view the primary function of these schools as the penal management of excluded youth.Less

Measuring the Impact of a MOOC Experience

Owen R. Youngman

in MOOCs and Their Afterlives: Experiments in Scale and Access in Higher Education

The sheer size and student-teacher ratios of MOOCs raised questions among both academics and the general public, not only of whether substantial learning could take place in them, but also of whether ... More

The sheer size and student-teacher ratios of MOOCs raised questions among both academics and the general public, not only of whether substantial learning could take place in them, but also of whether enrollees received any of the traditional benefits of having participated in a liberal arts education — such as self-understanding, critical thinking, and respect for others and for knowledge. This chapter presents quantitative and qualitative data from two sessions of an early MOOC from Northwestern University in support of the proposition that even when students' original intent in taking a MOOC is utilitarian, enrollees can achieve such outcomes when actively engaged by the material, the faculty, and one another.Less