During the Second session, and during the final week of each learning community, students were asked to:

 

Rate yourself on each of the following traits as compared with the average person                                                                                  

         your age.  We want the most accurate estimate of how you see yourself.

                                                                          

                             Highest  Above  Average  Below  Lowest                                       Highest Above Average Below Lowest

                                10%  Average              Average   10%                                            10% Average             Average  10%

                                      1        2          3           4            5                                                   1         2           3          4         5

   Academic ability       ___    ___      ___       ___       ___         Popularity                          ___     ___      ___      ___      ___

   Artistic ability           ___    ___      ___        ___       ___         Public speaking ability    ___     ___      ___      ___      ___

   Computer skills        ___    ___      ___        ___       ___        Risk-taking                       ___     ___      ___      ___      ___

   Cooperativeness      ___    ___      ___       ___       ___        Self-confidence                  ___     ___       ___      ___      ___      

   Creativity                  ___    ___      ___       ___       ___             (intellectual)

   Drive to achieve       ___    ___      ___       ___       ___        Self-confidence                  ___     ___       ___      ___      ___

   Emotional health      ___    ___      ___       ___       ___              (social)

   Leadership ability     ___    ___      ___       ___       ___        Self-understanding           ___      ___       ___      ___      ___

   Mathematical ability ___    ___      ___       ___       ___         Understanding of             ___      ___       ___      ___      ___

   Physical health        ___    ___      ___       ___       ___                others

   Persistence              ___    ___      ___       ___       ___         Writing ability                  ___      ___       ___      ___      ___

                               

 

Mark one in each row:

                                                                                                          Agree      Agree      Disagree  Disagree

                                                                                                        Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly

                                                                                                                1              2               3              4

  I am able to handle conflict.                                                                ____        ____          ____        ____

  I take personal responsibility for my learning achievements.            ____        ____          ____        ____

  I feel that I am a good listener.                                                            ____        ____           ____       ____

  I feel that I am able to see the connections among the courses        ____         ____          ____       ____

              I take.

  I feel comfortable participating in class discussions.                       ____        ____          ____        ____

 I feel comfortable working in groups with other students.                   ____        ____          ____        ____

 I feel comfortable giving oral presentations in class.                         ____        ____          ____        ____

 I am confident in my research skills.                                                   ____        ____          ____        ____

 I feel that I know how to study effectively.                                            ____        ____          ____         ____

 I feel that I know how to write effectively.                                          ____        ____          ____         ____

 

 

We wanted to see if the impact of the Learning Community experience differed for first generation college students [n=16] and non-first generation college students [n=69] for the first term of the NEIU College of Arts and Sciences LC Initiative.  Below are the mean scores and comparison of mean score changes on the pre and post course responses.  [Note:  Because of the small number of first generation students in our sample, these results are only very tentative, but they do provide interesting comparisons that merit further attention in subsequent student samples.]

                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

 

First Generation Means [n=16] Pre-course  Post-course  Change

Non-First Generation

Means [n=69]

Pre-course  Post-course  Change

First Gen Mean Change –

Non- First Gen Mean Change

First Gen Pre- course Mean –

Non-First Gen Pre-course Mean

First Gen Post- course Mean - Non-First Gen Post-course Mean

1.  Academic ability

2.56

2.25

-.31

2.50

2.35

-.15

.16

.06

-.10

2.  Artistic ability              

2.94

2.69

-.25

2.77

2.76

-.01

.24

.17

-.07

3.  Computer skills          

3.06

2.69

-.37

2.89

2.76

-.13

.24

.17

-.07

4.  Cooperativeness        

2.88

2.13

-.75

2.06

2.04

-.02

.73

.82

.09

5.  Creativity                    

2.63

2.25

-.38

2.11

2.02

-.09

.29

.52

.23

6.  Drive to achieve         

1.94

2.25

+.31

2.37

2.14

-.23

.54*

-.41

.11

7. Emotional health

2.47

2.38

-.09

2.33

2.42

+.09

.18*

.14

-.04

8.  Leadership ability       

2.13

2.19

+.06

2.40

2.39

-.01

.07

-.27

-.20

9.  Mathematical ability    

3.00

3.06

+.06

3.10

2.89

-.12

.18*

-.10

.17

10. Physical health           

2.44

2.38

-.06

2.55

2.49

-.06

----

-.11

-.09

11. Persistence                 

2.13

2.31

+.18

2.30

2.43

+.13

.05

-.17

-.12

12. Popularity                    

2.88

2.88

----

2.84

2.93

+.09

.09

.04

-.05

13. Public speaking ability 

2.88

2.75

-.13

3.13

2.96

-.17

.04

-.25

-.21

14. Risk-taking                   

2.50

2.69

+.19

2.64

2.51

-.13

.32*

-.14

.18

15. Self-confidence  [intellectual]

2.44

2.19

-.25

2.49

2.36

-.13

.12

-.05

-.17

16. Self-confidence [social]

2.38

2.19

-.19

2.55

2.52

-.03

.17

-.17

-.33

17. Self-understanding

2.25

2.19

-.06

2.42

2.50

-.08

.14*

-.17

-.31

18. Understanding of others   

2.33

2.31

-.02

2.25

2.22

-.03

----

.08

.09

19. Writing ability              

2.75

2.63

-.12

2.74

2.63

-.11

.01

.01

----

 

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