Strategies to Help Underrepresented Students

Strategies to Help
Underrepresented Students

Title III Workshop, Nov. 14, 2001
Eric Brenner, Jacqueline Escobar, Tony Jackson, Sandy Nieto and Pete Pontacq

What are Underrepresented Students? --- Demographics
Strategies
Articles & documents
Skyline Programs

What are Underrepresented Students --- Demographics:

	White	Afr. American	Asian	Filipino	Hispanic	Am. Indian
SKYLINE	30.5%	4.0%	22.3%	16.2%	20.5%	0.5%
San Mateo Co.	59.5%	3.5%	20.0%*	*incl	21.9%	0.4%
San Bruno	57.7%	2.0%	18.7%*	*incl	24.1%	0.5%
South S. F.	44.0%	2.8%	28.9%*	*incl	31.8%	0.6%
Daly City	25.9%	4.6%	50.7%*	*incl	22.3%	0.4%
Pacifica	69.5%	3.3%	15.3%*	*incl	14.6%	0.5%
California	59.5%	6.7%	10.9%*	*incl	32.4%	1.0%
CSM	45.2%	3.2%	21.9%	6.4%	16.7%	0.6%
Cañada	50.7%	4.0%	9.2%	2.4%	29.0%	0.6%
Calif. Comm. Coll.	40.6%	6.9%	11.6%	3.0%	25.4%	0.9%
CSU (statewide)	47.4%	7.2%	15.4%	5.1%	23.3%	1.1%
UC (statewide)	41.3%	3.9%	30.2%	4.9%	13.9%	0.9%

Fall 2000 SMCCCD Student Profile

California Community College Statewide Fall 2000 Enrollments - by Ethnic Groups

White ----------------------------- 40.6%
African American --------------- 6.9%
Asian ----------------------------- 11.6%
Filipino ---------------------------- 3.0%
Hispanic ------------------------- 25.4%
Am Ind ----------------------------- 0.9%

California State University Statewide Student Enrollment - April 2000

White -------------------------------- 47.4%
African American ------------------- 7.2%
Asian ---------------------------------15.4%
Filipino ---------------------------------5.1%
Mexican American / Latino ------- 23.3%
American Indian ----------------------1.1%

University of California Statewide Undergraduate Enrollment - Fall 1998

White -------------------------------- 41.3%
African American ------------------- 3.9%
Asian ---------------------------------30.2%
Filipino ---------------------------------4.9%
Mexican American / Latino ------- 13.9%
American Indian --------------------- 0.9%

California Population, 2000 Census

White ------------------------------------------------------- 59.5%
Black or African American ----------------------------- 6.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native ----------------- 1.0%
Asian ------------------------------------------------------- 10.9%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) -------------------- 32.4%

San Mateo County Population, 2000 Census

White ------------------------------------------------------- 59.5%
Black or African American ----------------------------- 3.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native ----------------- 0.4%
Asian -------------------------------------------------------- 20.0%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)--------------------- 21.9%

Daly City
- White ----------------------------------------- 25.9%
- Black or African American ----------------- 4.6%
- American Indian and Alaska Native ------ 0.4%
- Asian ----------------------------------------- 50.7%
- Hispanic or Latino (of any race) -------- 22.3%
San Bruno
- White ----------------------------------------57.7%
- Black or African American ---------------- 2.0%
- American Indian and Alaska Native ----- 0.5%
- Asian -----------------------------------------18.7%
- Hispanic or Latino (of any race) -------- 24.1%
South San Francisco
- White----------------------------------------- 44.0%
- Black or African American ---------------- 2.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native ----- 0.6%
- Asian ----------------------------------------- 28.9%
- Hispanic or Latino (of any race) -------- 31.8%
Pacifica
- White ------------------------------------------- 69.5%
- Black or African American ------------------ 3.3%
- American Indian and Alaska Native ------- 0.5%
- Asian ------------------------------------------- 15.3%
- Hispanic or Latino (of any race) ---------- 14.6%

Instructional Strategies:

Integrating academic & social issues increases retention
Higher teacher expectations increase student performance
Learning Styles:
- Research indicates that a close association exists between students' cultural background and their preferred learning styles
- Hispanic students exhibited a high propensity for:
  - feedback
  - concrete learning experiences
  - cooperative situations / group work
  - active experimentation (Sanchez 42)
- African-American students' achievement appears to be positively related to:
  - oral experiences
  - interpersonal relationships (Palma-Rivas 78)
Faculty should:

Become aware of how cultural background shapes one's attitudes toward teaching (Townsend 90)

Design instructional activities with consideration of diverse learning preferences (Sanchez 43)

Seek input from students on a continued basis (Mushi 4)
(e.g. classroom assessment techniques)

Give meaningful feedback to students on a continued basis (e.g. regular progress reports)

Allow students to relate & apply personal, family or cultural experiences or histories in class assignments & help them realize the validity of their experiences and histories (Padilla)

Include diverse cultural examples and practical, real-life examples in course content

Use collaborative/group learning

Use student self evaluations (e.g. journal writing)

Maintain high standards

Institutional Support Enhancing Retention and Learning

workshops & seminars (Research: little is known about effectiveness)

college life

academic skills

study habits

academic advising (close monitoring of student progress & guidance in course selection)

tutoring (Research: little is known about effectiveness at college level)

study groups / cooperative learning

learning communities

learning centers

precollege bridge or freshman orientation class

mentoring programs, or other programs that provide a key person who monitors & guides individual students over an extended time period

strategies developed to create a supportive campus climate

long-term programs rather than short-term interventions

financial assistance

Articles, Books, Documents:

*Priming the Pump: Strategies for Increasing the Achievement of Underrepresented Minority Undergraduates (in Adobe Acrobat/ .pdf format)
1999 report commissioned by the College Board's National Task Force on Minority High Achievement

*Minority Student Retention and Academic Achievement in Community Colleges: ERIC Digest, 2001
This digest summarizes the collected work: *Beyond Access: Methods and Models for Increasing Retention and Learning Among Minority Students. New Directions for Community Colleges, Number 112, edited by Steven R. Aragon. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, Winter 2000; in Skyline Library on reserve under Title III; includes the following articles:

Palma-Rivas, Nilda. "Using Technology to Facilitate Learning for Minority Students." (in Aragon, ed. Beyond Access, pp. 73-83)
Sanchez, Irene M. "Motivating and Maximizing Learning in Minority Classrooms." (in Aragon, ed. Beyond Access, pp. 35-44)
Townsend, Barbara K. "Integrating Nonminority Faculty into the Minority Environment." (in Aragon, ed. Beyond Access, pp. 85-94)
Zamani, Eboni M. "Sources and Information Regarding Effective Retention Strategies for Students of Color." (in Aragon, ed. Beyond Access pp. 95-104)