Baker, D.F., & Campbell, C.M. (2005). When is there strength in numbers? A study of undergraduate task groups. College Teaching, 53(1), 14-18.

Undergraduate college students in an advanced math class were videotaped as they worked on three mathematical proofs. Findings indicated that both ability and self-efficacy were needed for group success. Members with high levels of self-efficacy served the group by encouraging others to continue working. Groups tended to use a trial-and-error methodology and were not always effective or efficient. Many group members did not have an accurate perception of their own abilities or the group's performance. Implications for using the groups in the classroom are discussed.

Kuech, R. (2004). Collaborative and interactional processes in an inquiry-based, informal learning environment. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 39(1), 30-41.

This study was conducted on informal aspects of an inquiry-based physics course and reports findings about learning interactions and discourse observed during the first three semesters the course was offered. The course offered an alternative to the large lecture instruction typical in introductory university physics and promoted learning in an informal environment. The course organization attempted to engage students in investigations with only a small fraction of time devoted to lecture/discussion. Students collaborated in groups of three to conduct investigations with the use of computer tools and laboratory apparatus. The instructor and teaching assistants interacted directly with the students with the intent to ask probing questions to guide the students through conceptually meaningful problem solving. Researchers video taped student groups as they worked through investigations. Field notes and students' investigation reports provided additional information about student performance. The study reports detailed accounts of student interaction through discourse during the class investigations and comments on the nature of the student collaborations. The study shows that during collaborative problem solving, the students engaged in informal elaborative and reflective discourse that critically examined the data the students had collected during the investigations. The author comments on possible relationships of these interactions and cognitive processes to knowledge construction in an informal setting.

Mohr, K.A. (2002). Planning for productive college-level work: Using the course assignment framework. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 26(6), 469-477.

This article recognizes the critical role community college instructors serve in preparing today's students for successful postsecondary education. Well-designed course assignments are a critical component of effective teaching and learning processes. The author summarizes some common assignment pitfalls (based on student input) and makes recommendations for avoiding them in community college classrooms. Then the author presents the Course Assignment Framework, which was designed to facilitate the planning of productive course assignments. The Course Assignment Framework delineates ten assignment categories, their rationales, and advantages for professors and students. The framework also promotes their combining of tasks so that instructors can customize and minimize the assignments that they expect of contemporary students. The article includes an example of an assignment planned using the framework and encourages instructors to refine course tasks to improve teaching, learning, and assessment.

Outcalt, C.L., & Skewes-Cox, T.E. (2002). Involvement, interaction, and satisfaction: The human environment at HBCUs. The Review of Higher Education, 25(3), 331-347.

Using 1993 and 1997 CIRP data, this study investigates the relationship between involvement, interaction, and satisfaction for African American students at HBCUs and PWIs. HBCU students reported greater satisfaction with their interpersonal environments. After controlling for individual measures of satisfaction, the findings show that HBCU enrollment retained a significant positive effect on overall satisfaction. This study encourages researchers to recognize the mutual relationship between environmental supportiveness and student involvement as part of understanding the unique advantages of HBCUs.

Strom, P.S., & Strom, R.D. (2002). Overcoming limitations of cooperative learning among community college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 26(4), 315-331.

The effects of student participation in cooperative learning groups are well known. Researchers commonly report student gains in problem solving skills, more favorable attitudes toward education, increased willingness to try new and difficult tasks, an enhanced sense of belonging, greater appreciation for persons of other ethnic backgrounds, reduction of misbehavior, and better relationships with classmates. Students also grow from listening to the viewpoints of others, encouraging teammates, showing empathy, negotiating conflict, and making an effort to help peers understand lessons.

Braxton, J.M., Milem, J.F., & Sullivan, A.S. (2000). The influence of active learning on the college student departure process: Student integration and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(5), 569-590.

This study seeks to elaborate Tinto's Theory of College Student Departure by testing influence of faculty's active learning practices on student departure decisions. Path analysis results indicate that active learning exerts statistically reliable influences on social integration, subsequent institutional commitment, and intent to return.

Tucker, J.E. (1999). Tinto's model and successful college transitions. College Student Retention Research, Theory & Practice, 1(2), 163-162.

This article compares the themes of academic integration and social integration in Tinto's model (1987) with the themes of vision and sense of community as described in a recent ethnographic study (Tucker, 1998). Tinto's model has been used in a variety of college settings to develop Freshman Interest Groups as a method of improving student persistence (Upcraft & Gardiner, 1989). However, Tinto himself notes that while " ...retention programs have helped some students complete their college education, their long-term impact on retention has been surprisingly limited" (1996). I argue that vision and sense of community contain more useful theoretical considerations to help us address the issue of student retention programs at colleges. Tinto (1987) has developed a theoretical model, which may need to be reconsidered.

Tinto, V. (1998). Colleges as communities: Taking research on student persistence seriously. The Review of Higher Education, 21(2), 167-177.

What would our colleges and universities look like if we took seriously the research on student persistence? What reforms in organization and pedagogy would we pursue if we used the findings on the impacts on college on students; persistence as a guide for our thinking? This paper argues that colleges and universities would be best served by reorganizing themselves in ways that promote greater educational community among students, faculty, and staff.

Windschitl, M. (1998). Participant perspectives on the learning teams experience. Journal of College Student Development, 39(4), 373-82.

A study evaluated the Biology Education Success Teams (BEST) program, a learning teams experience initiated in a biology program at a university in the Midwest as part of a retention effort. Subjects were 48 freshmen who were placed in learning teams, that is, they shared class schedules, mentoring activities, and residence hall assignments, and 48 comparison freshmen who were matched with the learning team participants on gender, ACT scores, high school rank, and class load. The results reveal that students participating in the BEST program perceive integration in a social community that is intimately connected with an academic community as highly valuable, and that the BEST program provided connections between students and faculty mentors, which may have been the reason for more student contact with other faculty who were teaching their classes.

Kuh, G.D., & Vesper, N. (1997). A comparison of student experiences with good practices in undergraduate education between 1990 and 1994. The Review of Higher Education, 21(1), 43-61.

Good practices in undergraduate education consist of faculty and student behaviors associated with desired outcomes from attending college. This study compares the experiences of two groups of lower-division undergraduates with good practices at baccalaureate institutions and doctoral-granting universities between 1990 and 1994. During this period, the frequency of student-faculty interaction increased at baccalaureate institutions. However, at doctoral-granting universities faculty-student interaction and active learning decreased.

Kuh, G.D. (1995). The other curriculum: Out-of-class experiences associated with student learning and personal development. Journal of Higher Education, 66, 123-155.

Out-of-class experiences associated with learning and personal development are identified from interviews with college seniors. Respondents attribute a wide range of desirable outcomes (for example, critical thinking, relational and organizational skills) to life outside the classroom. Peer interactions and leadership responsibilities are among the most frequently mentioned antecedents of benefits.

Lazar, A.M. (1995). Who is studying in groups and why? Peer collaboration outside the classroom. College Teaching, 43(2), 61-65.

A college teacher's survey of 100 freshmen found only 11 who planned to study in groups, and that most would do so for subjects they believed the most difficult, particularly those requiring quantitative problem-solving and those in which assessment was more frequent. Most believed that reading and writing were solitary, not group tasks.

Kuh, G.D., Douglas, K.B., Lund, J.P., & Ramin-Gyurnek, J. (1994). Student learning outside the classroom: Transcending artificial boundaries. ASHE Eric Higher Education Report No. 8. Washington D.C.: The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.

This review of the literature considers three issues: how out-of-class experiences of undergraduates contribute to the goals of higher education and valued outcomes; the institutional conditions that encourage students to use out-of-class time in educationally purposeful ways; and the role of all members of the campus community to foster such learning. The report first describes the methodology involved in identifying the relevant literature and the outcomes framework used to analyze it. The link between involvement in out-of-class activities and educational attainment is examined next. Then, the out-of-class experiences associated with persistence and various categories of outcomes are discussed. Nine conditions are identified that characterize powerful out-of-class environments: (1) clear, coherent, and consistently expressed educational purposes; (2) an institutional philosophy that embraces a holistic view of talent development; (3) complementary institutional policies and practices congruent with students' characteristics and needs; (4) high, clear expectations for student performance; (5) use of effective teaching approaches; (6) systematic assessment of institutional practices and student performance; (7) ample opportunities for student involvement in educationally purposeful out-of-class activities; (8) human scale settings characterized by ethics of membership and care; and (9) an ethos of learning that pervades all aspects of the institution. The report concludes with implications for governing board members, presidents, academic administrators, student affairs administrators, faculty, and students. (Contains approximately 330 references.)

Kuh, G.D. (1993). In their own words: What students learn outside the classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 30, 277-304.

In most college impact models, students and institutional characteristics have substantial effects on student learning (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). The purpose of this study was to discover the impact of out-of-class experiences on outcomes of college attendance considered important by students. From interviews with 149 seniors at 12 colleges and universities, 14 categories of learning and personal development were distilled. These categories subsequently were reduced to five outcomes domains: Personal Competence, Cognitive Complexity, Knowledge and Academic Skills, Practical Competence, and Altruism and Estheticism. Contrary to the literature on college impact, student background characteristics were not related to differences in outcomes; however, students attending small, private colleges with liberal arts missions more frequently reported changes in Cognitive Complexity, Knowledge and Academic Skills, and Altruism and Estheticism.