EDUC 817
Research Plan Overview
Name: Deborah R. Davis
Stage of Completion: Stage 1
I.
Introduction
A. Problem Statement
1. A majority of students enter college are assigned to remedial English,
usually as a result of some form of entrance exam. The assignment to
remedial English seems to be a crux upon which their future academic
success will turn. Cooper (2014) indicates the high percentage of
students assigned remediation. Bahr (2013) notes that “students who
begin the sequence but do not complete it are disproportionately
unfavorable” (p. 171).
a. Cooper, K. J. (2014). Remedial rescue. Diverse Issues in Higher
Education, 31(18), 14-15.
b. Bahr, P. (2013). The Aftermath of Remedial Math: Investigating
the Low Rate of Certificate Completion among Remedial Math
Students. Res High Educ Research in Higher Education, 54(171),
171-200. doi:10.1007/s11162-012-9281-4.
2. With so many students entering college unprepared, we need to know
how to address their needs, engage them in their own education, and
stimulate their own desire to complete their programs. In doing so, we
create better students and a more able population. Research shows those
who leave “education with poor formal qualifications earn significantly
Page 1 of 12
EDUC 817
less and face significantly higher unemployment probabilities”
(Holmlund & Silva, 2014, p. 127). Unfortunately, “students who pass a
developmental education course often do not enroll in the next level
course” (Collins, 2013, p. 89).
a. Holmund, H., and Silva, O. (2014). Targeting noncognitive skills
to improve xognitive outcomes: Evidence from a remedial
education intervention. Journal Of Human Capital, 8(2), 126-160.
b. Collins, M. L. (2013). Discussion of the joint statement of core
principles for transforming remedial education. Journal of College
Reading and Learning, 44(1), 84-94.
3. The problem is many students who want more education are ill prepared
for it and the programs used do not keep them engaged in the process
until completely of the course, much less the program of study.
B. Purpose
1. The purpose of this study is to pinpoint student perceptions of
assignment to remedial English and determine the causative factors for
success among those who complete both remediation and their program
of study.
C. General research questions
1. How would students define their assignment to remediation?
2. What can educators do to encourage students through remediation and
into their program of study?
Page 2 of 12
EDUC 817
3. What factors determine whether students will complete remediation and
their program of study vice dropping out of school?
D. Research Plan
1. This study will be conductive in a qualitative manner using interviews
and questionaires of freshman students who have been assigned to
remedial English and their perspective on the course, assignment to the
course, completion of the course, and completion of their program of
study.
2. A qualitative study allows the issue of concern to be explored and
provide for a detailed understanding of a complex issue (Cresswell,
2013). The assignment to remedial English seems to be a direct result of
an entrance exam, but the consequence of that assignment may be a
boon to a student who needs the additional instruction, or a devastating
blow to the student whose high school work had indicated college
readiness. Using qualitative study methods, there can be insight gained
into some of the perspectives these students bring to this issue.
II.
Review of Related Literature
A. Theoretical Framework
1. Methodological – The views of college students and their perspectives
on assignment to remedial English are included in the study. It is
anticipated that the logic followed will be from inductive, shaped by the
responses of the participants during the research process (Cresswell,
2013).
Page 3 of 12
EDUC 817
2. Constructivism – This reseach seeks to understand the world in which
the researcher works. The subjective meanings of the students
interpretations are at the heart of the research, and to garner the
complexity of views is the greater intent (Cresswell, 2013).
B. Important Thinkers/experts/theorists in this field of
1. Hynes, L. (1955). Morale in remedial English. College Composition and
Communication, 6(2), 100-103.
a. This work is foundational as to the pertinent issue of studnets
perception of remedial English, and reflects the consistency of the
problem through the years.
b. Citation within current work indicates the foundational nature of
this article. The fact that it is drawn from a regional four-year
university comparative to the one in the study is a bonus.
2. Shaughnessy, M. (1977). Errors and expectations : A guide for the
teacher of basic writing. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
a.
Presents a foundational method of overcoming errors through
writing coursework.
b. Repeatedly referenced in journal articles on methods of
remediation in English writing courses.
3. DeLuca, G. (2002). Dialogue on Writing : Rethinking ESL, Basic
Writing, and First-year Composition. Mahwah, N.J., Routledge
a. Provides descriptive analysis of methodology for affecting change
within remedial English environment.
Page 4 of 12
EDUC 817
b. Gives insight and guidance regarding characteristics of students
and engaging them to the process.
C. Related Research
1. Proctor, C., Daley, S., Louick, R., Leider, C., & Gardner, G. (2014).
How motivation and engagement predict reading comprehension among
native English-speaking and English-learning middle school students
with disabilities in a remedial reading curriculum. Learning and
Individual Differences, 36, 76-83.
a.
Summary – Using student self-reports to study efficacy and
engagement among those assigned to a remedial English program.
b. Key Desciptors -- Motivation; Disability; English language
learner; Engagement; Reading comprehension
2. Bahr, P. (2012). Deconstructing remediation in community colleges:
Exploring associations between course-taking patterns, course outcomes,
and attrition from the remedial math and remedial writing sequences.
Res High Educ, 53, 661-693. doi:10.1007/s11162-011-9243-2
a. Summary – A study defining parameters of California College
students assigned to remedial English and math courses, sorting
them into low-skill and high-skill students and measuring attrition
rates accordingly.
b. Key Descriptors -- Community College, Remediation , Remedial,
Developmental Math, Writing, Behavior
Page 5 of 12
EDUC 817
3. Pagan R. and Edwards-Wilson, R. (2003). "A Mentoring Program for
Remedial Students." Journal of College Student Retention 4(3): 207226.
a. Summary – A study of 53 students in jeopardy who were mentored
through the semester following a semester that put them at-risk for
academic failure.
b. Key Descriptors – At-Risk, Mentoring, Remediation,
Developmental, Attrition, Motivation
III.
Methods
A. Design (approach) and Rationale
1. This study will use a phenomenological design.
2. As this study is to draw on “the common meaning for several individuals
of their lived experience of” (Creswell, 2013, p. 76) assignment to
remedial English, which is the basic tenet of of phenomenological study.
a. Data collection is largely anticipated to be surveys and interviews.
b. Data analysis will include statements and meaningful units of
expression, to grasp the “what” and “how” of the experience.
c. The intent is to focus on the impact of the assignment to remedial
English – Do they quit? Do they try and fail? Do they try and
succeed? Do they complete their program of study?
B. Site
1. University of the Foothills of Appalachia (UFA)
Page 6 of 12
EDUC 817
2. Small university in rural location in the foothills of Appalachia in
southern Ohio
3. About 4,500 students attend UFA in any given year. This university
provides a diversity of Certificate, Associate, Baccalaureate, and
Masters programs. Open enrollment means the schooling is available to
all who apply. Moderate tuition ($6000+/- for full time) and extensive
financial aid encourage all members of the community to matriculate.
4. The school is a regional state university nestled in the foothills of
Appalachia on the banks of the Ohio River. The campus itself is a jewel
in an aging crown of industry. Once a thriving community at a junction
of transportation and manufacturing, the historic 1937 flood falling in
the footsteps of the depression drove this town into poverty. Now,
pockets of beauty and calm are encircled by nests of drug activity.
Construction of a highway bypass is in progress that will further isolate
this community. The school and the hospitals are the largest employers
in the area, but the people who call this place home work desparately to
claim it from the druggies.
C. Participants
1. A minimum of four participants are needed for this study, a maximum of
eight.
2. Students are approached based on when they were selected for remedial
English (2008), and further selected based on alignment to the potential
four outcomes of assignment to remedial English.
Page 7 of 12
EDUC 817
3. Participants are expected to be between 18 and 40 years at time of
assignment to remedial English, males and females are both considered
for this study, commuters and residential students are considered also.
D. Role of Researcher or Personal biography
1. Deborah R. Davis
2. Adjunct Professor of English
3. A military retiree who moved to the area to attain a sustainable farming
environment, regain her health, and homeschool her son, Davis found
herself with free time when her son started college work at age thirteen
and she had to wait for him to finish classes. Loitering on the campus,
she became acquainted with the Director of Composition, who invited
her to become and adjunct instructor of English composition. She did
so. As she taught, she learned about, and was appalled by, the huge
number of students who required remedial English before being eligible
for freshman composition. A curriculum analysis done as part of her
thesis for the Masters of Education program there led her to want to
know more about how these students react to the assignment to
remediation. The school’s transition to semesters in 2007 and revamp of
all class curriculum gives a pertinent window of opportunity to study the
consequence of assignment.
4. My heart for these students is engaged in this process. I truly believe
that God has called me to this place at this time for this purpose. I bring
a world-wide experience to students who have often never left their
Page 8 of 12
EDUC 817
surrounding counties. If, in my service to my Lord and Savior, I can
provide a Christian worldview in an increasingly secular society, I will
share it whenever and wherever I can.
Page 9 of 12
EDUC 817
References
Bahr, P. (2012). Deconstructing remediation in community colleges: Exploring associations
between course-taking patterns, course outcomes, and attrition from the remedial math
and remedial writing sequences. Res High Educ, 53, 661-693. doi:10.1007/s11162-0119243-2
Bahr, P. (2013). The Aftermath of Remedial Math: Investigating the Low Rate of Certificate
Completion among Remedial Math Students. Res High Educ Research in Higher
Education, 54(171), 171-200. doi:10.1007/s11162-012-9281-4.
Collins, M. L. (2013). Discussion of the joint statement of core principles for transforming
remedial education. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 44(1), 84-94.
Cooper, K. J. (2014). Remedial rescue. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 31(18), 14-15.
Cresswell, J. (2013) Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches.
Los Angeles, Sage Publications
DeLuca, G. (2002). Dialogue on Writing : Rethinking ESL, Basic Writing, and First-year
Composition. Mahwah, N.J., Routledge
Holmlund, H., and Silva, O. (2014). Targeting noncognitive skills to improve xognitive
outcomes: Evidence from a remedial education intervention. Journal Of Human Capital,
8(2), 126-160.
Hynes, L. (1955). Morale in remedial English. College Composition and Communication, 6(2),
100-103.
Pagan, R. and Edwards-Wilson, R. (2003). "A Mentoring Program for Remedial Students."
Journal of College Student Retention 4(3): 207-226.
Page 10 of 12
EDUC 817
Proctor, C., Daley, S., Louick, R., Leider, C., & Gardner, G. (2014). How motivation and
engagement predict reading comprehension among native English-speaking and Englishlearning middle school students with disabilities in a remedial reading curriculum.
Learning and Individual Differences, 36, 76-83.
Shaughnessy, M. (1977). Errors and expectations : A guide for the teacher of basic writing. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Page 11 of 12
EDUC 817
RESEARCH PLAN OVERVIEW STAGE 2 GRADING RUBRIC
STUDENT:
POINTS
POINTS
POSSIBLE EARNED
CRITERION
Keeps headings in correct order
when cutting and pasting previous
writing
Replaces red directions with
pertinent information
Citations in section 2 and on
reference page are written in APA
format
Methods includes information about
all outline areas
Methods uses clear and concise
words
Methods does NOT include lengthy
sentences but includes enough to
prompt detailed writing when the
outline is turned into the final
Research Prospectus
The review of related literature
includes information about all
outline areas
The introduction, review of related
literature theory and research
sections depict the author’s growing
understanding of these areas
All elements (including title and
reference page) are edited precisely
for grammar, spelling, punctuation,
and 6th edition APA format
TOTAL
INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS
3
3
6
6
9
9
6
9
9
60
Page 12 of 12