Moving out of their parents’ house and leaving on campus is without a doubt one of the most exciting things about starting college. Students enroll in a 4-year college or community college after high school or while still in high school to pursue their further education and obtain a degree in order to enter their desired field of work. However, nowadays the prospect of having a great college experience and saving money has students keen on applying to community colleges, according to Parminder Jassal, an immigrant from India who earned her bachelor’s degree from a community college and her Ph.D. from a four-year university. Even though most community colleges were established to serve local students with affordable higher education, many community colleges are now increasingly providing on-campus housing to provide students with additional academic, social, and networking opportunities. Jassal described in her article “Community Colleges Dorms & Housing Accommodations: A Complete Guide” how Community colleges have evolved dramatically over the years, tailoring their college experience and offerings to the areas they serve, including how they now provide athletics, honor programs, student-centered activities, and, most crucially, dormitories!

Many people who enter college become preoccupied with having an authentic college experience. They imagine late nights spent poring over textbooks, engaging in classroom discussions, and even wild parties on the weekend. But the truth of the matter is that there is no one true college experience. Each college and each student is unique. But there are certain things about going to college that can enhance or detract student’s experience. One of them is on-campus housing. (Barrington)

On-campus housing is clearly crucial, not only for 4-year college campuses but also for community institutions. On-campus housing, in particular, is vital for America’s 553 rural-serving community college districts. Rural community college campuses that offer houses can provide convenience and possible savings to students whose circumstances enable them to reside on campus. In this day and age of high gasoline expenses, many rural-serving community college students may benefit from cost reductions by living on-campus. Furthermore, as the authors state in their research, institutions may possibly generate funds that may be used to expand the quantity and quality of services available to on-campus and commuting students(The Availability, Prospects, and Fiscal Potential of Rural Community College On-Campus Housing).

According to the study “Campus Accommodation in the Community College Setting: Benefits and Challenges for Residential Living,” demand for on-campus housing continues to rise at both two- and four-year colleges. Based on this article, the rising expense of higher education at a four-year university has prompted many students to pursue a less expensive path to a post-secondary degree through community college. Increased community college enrolment offers up the possibility of on-campus housing choices. On-campus housing alternatives are a means to both accommodate and advocate for community college students.

But over the last couple of years, having living accommodations at community college is slowly becoming more of the norm than the exception. This is in part due to the acknowledgment, at various levels of government, that at community colleges across the nation, the challenge for the students is not tuition, as it is already subsidized, but in fact, it is accommodation. An increasing number of students, unfortunately, have had to resort to couch surfing or living in their cars in the college parking lot. This situation has brought up heated debates among state lawmakers on whether community colleges should urgently provide provisional solutions such as free on-campus parking. As of right now, to circumnavigate draconian laws prohibiting community colleges from providing affordable housing, colleges are following a process administered through a local housing authority or a non-profit organization. (Jassal).

According to a recent poll conducted by the American Association of Community Colleges, about 25% of community colleges in the United States offer their students on-campus housing. This number has risen dramatically since 2000 and it continues to rise(Barrington).

Data shows that 64.2% of community college students are part-time students, 14% of students are enrolled exclusively online, and over 2 million community college students in the United States are parents of children under 18. This data suggests that a lot of students already have some sort of non-dorm housing figured out. And that makes sense since community colleges are built to be at the center of each community, usually at a reasonable commuting distance. With increasing income inequality, young students are struggling to find affordable housing.  “Our students are struggling; they need housing,” says Compton College president, Keith Curry. He believes that providing housing removes the obstacles that can prevent students from graduating(Jassal).

Additionally, the colleges may be able to maintain revenue that will allow them to expand the quantity and quality of services available to on-campus and commuting students. Beyond enhanced access and convenience, further research is needed to discover how particular community college students may benefit from housing choices. Research, particularly the studies reported by Pascarella and Terenzini (1991, 2005), has shown that living on a 4-year college or university campus has a positive impact on student learning and persistence. It intuitively follows that the same benefits would accrue to community college students who live on campus as well. However, at present, this is merely conjecture, because virtually no research has been conducted on the impact of on-campus housing on community college students.

Ultimately, whether attending a community college or a four-year institution, there are certain pros and cons to on-campus housing that students should consider. Some of them are as Barrington mention in her article are 

prons

• Living on-campus is something of a safety net for many first-year students, helping them make the transition from living at home to living on their own.
• On-campus housing options are usually available for double rooms which means that students get to form a bond with a roommate- some of these friendships can last a lifetime.
• On-campus housing means that students are in the middle of the action at all times – they have easy access to campus activities, amenities, and services.

Cons

• Campus housing can be more expensive than renting an apartment – according to College Data, the average annual cost of room and board at a four-year school was $10k in 2015. Room and board for community college range from $2.5k to $8k per year, in most cases.
• Most on-campus housing solutions are limited in terms of space and students will probably have to share a room with someone else, not to mention a floor with many people.
• Many residence halls have shared bathrooms – they might share with a few suite-mates or with an entire hall of students. Bathrooms are also sometimes shared between both sexes.

Work cited 

Barrington, Kate. “The Pros and Cons of On-Campus Housing for Community College | CommunityCollegeReview.Com.” Community College Review, www.communitycollegereview.com, 22 May 2020, https://www.communitycollegereview.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-on-campus-housing-for-community-college.

“Community Colleges Dorms & Housing Accommodations: A Complete Guide – Unmuddle the Skills-to-Jobs Marketplace.” Community Colleges Dorms & Housing Accommodations: A Complete Guide – Unmudl the Skills-to-Jobs Marketplace, unmudl.com, 6 Oct. 2021, https://unmudl.com/blog/community-college-with-dorms.

“The Availability, Prospects, and Fiscal Potential of On-Campus Housing at R…: EBSCOhost.” The Availability, Prospects, and Fiscal Potential of On-Campus Housing at R…: EBSCOhost, web.a.ebscohost.com, https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=8&sid=72ba5abf-f793-46e6-b2b1-bb7960ccca5e%40redis&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHNoaWImc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ781134. Accessed 12 Apr. 2022.

Taylor, F., EdD., Buck, K., M.S.Ed, & Kane, T., M.S.Ed. (2019). Campus housing in the community college setting: Benefits and challenges for residential living. The Community College Enterprise, 25(2), 77-93.  https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/campus-housing-community-college-setting-benefits/docview/2343014491/se-2?accountid=11226

Nebyou Tesfaye

Professor Weaver

English 1102

April 24, 2022

The correlation of professors and inclusive teaching and its effects on college student success.

Introduction 

     Throughout history the act of learning a new skill and ability is always followed by the act of teaching that skill for the next generation. But the way we teach and learn hasn’t changed and it’s starting to affect our youth. The goal of this research project is to show the effects that professors have on college student’s success. From this source and others, this research text is intended to provide insight on how one teacher can impact a student’s life by introducing a new method of teaching.

Discussion

     As time goes on teachers that teach in the standard way of note taking might work for a good portion for students, others experience something called the “curve”. The curve is basically when people with higher or lower IQ’s get the same work as everyone else as are expected to work at the same pace. This usually starts very early from elementary to middle school. After this the smarter ones feel as if putting the bare minimum is enough to pass and then the ones who can’t catch up need more help or they risk failing. People believe this might be one of the reasons people don’t look forward to school, they see it as unnecessary and just work to do and over time their view becomes pessimistic. This also indicates a cycle that flows over on social media. This absence of wanting to learn poses a wall on students, especially when they are adjusting to the real world and can also spread this negative view after adulthood. Now this can be noticed but a lot of adults have chalked this up to this being a phase or kids being lazy. This is why a good teacher is crucial for students who are exposed to the normal, wake up, get dressed, go to school, spend some time writing, listening and go home and finish homework kind of routine.  They have experience in this, and experience is important to draw a connection . In the article “Why Do So Many Students Hate School ” it states that some teachers don’t know what they’re doing and the information that they receive isn’t always things they like. And the impression the teachers have on students will vary,  good or bad. Now this isn’t to say they shouldn’t learn about things that doesn’t involve them, but they should at least be presented in a way that can interest them instead of the normal lecture, notes and homework deal. Aditya Shukila talks about this in her article “Why Fun, Curiosity & Engagement Improves Learning: Mood, Senses, Neurons, Arousal, Cognition” dopamine is released with an increased improvement with mood which helps students learn easier. It has also been proven that a negative mood closes your attention span, while a positive one opens it wider.

     In the article “Inclusive teaching”, Bryan Dewsbury talks about how instructors can develop self awareness about theory teaching methods with interactions. Communication also improves teaching, but is also amplified when concerning inclusive teaching as it is focused on the students specific weaknesses. This can give the student reassurance that the teacher is there to help them and not merely to look over them and also improves the relationship from teacher to student. This can be done in many ways including tutoring and comments on the students’ work. The student should not rely on the teacher per say, but should receive some aid when they make a mistake on an assignment. This communication lets the student improve upon themselves and teaches them that it is ok to reach out so they can develop communication skills themselves. This method also promotes the students to communicate with their peers and work together on projects and assignments and develop teamwork skills and also help cultivate leadership skills that will aid them in the future. This method has already been implemented in stem fields and other areas.

Work cited page

Why Do So Many Students Hate School? – Salarship

Brunner, Nathan. “Why Do So Many Students Hate School?” Salarship, 29 Nov. 2021, https://salarship.com/article/hate-school/. 

Why Fun, Curiosity & Engagement Improves Learning: Mood, Senses, Neurons, Arousal, Cognition – Cognition Today

Shukla, Aditya. “Why Fun, Curiosity & Engagement Improves Learning: Mood, Senses, Neurons, Arousal, Cognition.” Cognition Today, 23 Aug. 2020, https://cognitiontoday.com/why-fun-improves-learning-mood-senses-neurons-arousal-cognition/. 

Inclusive Teaching – PMC (nih.gov)

Dewsbury, Bryan, and Cynthia J Brame. “Inclusive Teaching.” CBE Life Sciences Education, American Society for Cell Biology, June 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7058128/. 

Keith Slettedahl 

Professor Weaver 

English 1102-322 

25 April 2022 

Early on in her higher ed teaching career, Jessamyn Neuhaus – author and professor of Pop Culture and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at SUNY Plattsburgh – was faced with an unsettling pedagogical realization: sheer love of a subject did not make of her an effective teacher. As a self-proclaimed “introverted geek,” Neuhaus found that the foundational principles of effective pedagogy, namely the ability to communicate and connect with her students, did not come naturally to her. However, in discovering that her seeming personal deficiencies could be used as pedagogical strengths, Neuhaus has developed a unique teaching and learning philosophy deeply rooted in authenticity, self-reflection, and compassion, and is a distinctive and much-needed voice for both students and teachers in higher learning today. 

In her 2019 article, “My Big Teaching Mistake: Losing Sight of Pedagogical Success,” Jessamyn Neuhaus asserts, “the classroom is a social space and effective teaching requires positive interactions” (103), and studies performed on how students learn support this assertion. James M. Lang – author, professor of English, and Director of the D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption College – in his 2021 book, Small Teaching, states: “Connections to the human beings around them [students] are just as important as the connections that we [teachers] foster for them in the cognitive realm” (159). For Neuhaus and other introverted scholars like her, establishing positive connections with students is much easier said than done, and it was out of this realization that much of Neuhaus’s pedagogical philosophy was born.   

One of Neuhaus’s cornerstone principles of effective pedagogy is the need for authenticity as a teacher. This contention is supported by the director of the Think Forward Quality Enhancement Plan at the University of Mississippi, Joshua R. Eyler. In his 2018 book, How Humans Learn, Eyler acknowledges that authenticity is key in implementing any pedagogical strategy and asserts that educators “need to find a strategy that meshes with our personalities in order for these benefits to be fully realized” (129). Understanding the impossibility of becoming an idealized version of the “perfect teacher” (what she refers to as the “Super Teacher” myth), Neuhaus had no choice but to “be herself,” and eventually found that her apparent personality limitations could be used as pedagogical positives (Neuhaus “Four Ways”).  

For one, Neuhaus believes that learning how to become a more effective teacher is an intellectual endeavor, therefore, perfectly suited to “egg head” scholars who love to “problematize, hypothesize, research, and reflect” (Neuhaus, “Geeky Pedagogy” 12). In addition, Neuhaus maintains that a professor’s authentic, “geeky” enthusiasm for a subject is, far from being a negative trait, an absolute essential component in effectively presenting material to students, and thus, must be celebrated rather than repressed (“Geeky Pedagogy” 12). In How Humans Learn, Eyler concurs: “enthusiasm is one of the most underestimated teaching tools at our disposal” (128). Through embracing her authentic self, Neuhaus finds that she feels more confident in implementing connection engendering strategies such as making eye-contact with students, engaging in small talk before class, and asking questions that don’t pertain to classwork, all of which build personal rapport and approachability- two key components of effective teaching (“My Big” 103).  

Another foundational pedagogical strategy of Neuhaus’s is the practice of self-reflection and introspection. Educator and researcher Dr. Harriet Schwartz, in her 2019 book Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Mattering in Higher Education, proposes “that knowing ourselves is as important as understanding the content of our disciplines” (xiii). Because Neuhaus asserts that “learning is not a static process” and effective pedagogy is an exercise in “learning and re-learning,” she believes a continued practice of self-reflection is essential in maintaining authenticity and measuring the state of one’s pedagogical efficacy within shifting teaching contexts (“My Big” 100).  

One of Neuhaus’s reflective practice strategies is making sure to not just focus on her pedagogical mistakes, but to also acknowledge what she is doing well. She contends that because many educators (scholars who are highly trained at critique) are better at finding problems than seeing positives, intentionally recognizing pedagogical “victories” is a crucial component in maintaining happiness and confidence in the classroom (“My Big” 101). Another reflective method that Neuhaus promotes is the practice of consistent engagement with an energetic community of one’s peers (“Four Ways”). Neuhaus believes that connecting with other academics is essential to recognizing one’s own strengths and weaknesses and emphasizes the importance of educators honestly sharing their pedagogical failures with one another, thus creating a welcoming peer environment where teachers can make mistakes, get feedback, and receive support for improvement (Neuhaus “Super Teacher”). In addition, Neuhaus views the cultivation of gratitude (“an inner attitude that leads to an expression of thanks”) as a vital part of an educator’s reflective practice (“Geeky Pedagogy” 114). Citing psychological and educational studies that demonstrate its positive impact on one’s quality of life, Neuhaus views the incorporation of gratitude into a reflective pedagogy as an indispensable component for improving teaching efficacy and student learning, while “decreasing student related stress and burnout” (“Geeky Pedagogy” 114). 

One more pedagogical theme that underlies all Neuhaus’s writings is the need for greater compassion in higher learning, both for students and fellow teachers. A phrase Neuhaus consistently urges educators and students to remember is: “learning is hard” (“Geeky Pedagogy” 28). Thus, she stresses the importance of treating each other with respect and kindness while empathetically considering the varying challenges that students and teachers might be facing. (“Geeky Pedagogy” 27). 

In How Humans Learn, Joshua R. Eyler states, “the single most important strategy we can use to help our students to succeed in our courses is to care about them as learners and as human beings” (129). For Neuhaus, this means that educators must first make the effort to “know who their students are,” thereby acknowledging that students are dynamic human beings with varying degrees of academic experience, motivation, and ways of learning (“Geeky Pedagogy” 35). Because of this, Neuhaus contends that there is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” approach to teaching, and she encourages teachers to maintain an evolving pedagogy to meet changing student needs (“Nerds Assemble”). Moreover, Neuhaus acknowledges that even though students have disparate personal histories, all students in higher ed “are under tremendous pressure,” financial or otherwise (“Geeky Pedagogy” 36), and the compassionate consideration of this fact on the part of educators is essential in conveying to students that they are cared for, which Neuhaus contends is “the most necessary component of a teacher’s pedagogy” (“Nerds Assemble”). 

In addition to the pedagogical care she extends to students, Neuhaus provides a much-needed voice of compassion for her fellow teachers, particularly those historically underrepresented in higher education. Dr. Harriet Schwartz, in her 2019 book, Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Mattering in Higher Education, states: “faculty who hold marginalized identities may not be granted the legitimate power of their positions” (91). Because she realizes that these “disparate teaching realities” have an enormous impact on a teacher’s efficacy, Neuhaus repeatedly addresses these systemic inequities based on gender, race, disability, or tenure that still exist in higher ed, and in her article, “Four Ways to Fight the Super Teacher Myth,” she asserts that “pursuing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion should be on the top of everyone’s teaching to do list” (website). 

What makes Jessamyn Neuhaus an important figure in higher education can be summed up in two words: she cares. She cares about student learning. She cares about the challenges that teachers face. She cares enough to be authentic and vulnerable in order to teach more effectively, and thus inspires her academic peers to do the same. In a scholarly community full of “experts,” Neuhaus provides a shot of much-needed humility by continually reminding her peers that “teachers will always be students,” and that effective pedagogy begins with the principles of care and connection. But even more impressive is the fact that her work is not just applicable across pedagogical disciplines, but also speaks to universal truths about the challenges of what it means to be human. Because wherever one finds his or herself, in higher ed or elsewhere, it’s important to remember: “learning is hard.” 

To Learn more about Jessamyn Neuhaus, follow her on Twitter: @GeekyPedagogy 

Or visit her website: https://geekypedagogy.com 

Works Cited 

• Eyler, Joshua R. How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching.    WVU Press, 2018.
• Lang, James M. Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint, 2021.
• Neuhaus, Jessamyn. “Four Ways to Fight the Super Teacher Myth.” Website.https://onehe.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/OneHE_-Jessamyn-Neuhaus_transcript.pdf
• Neuhaus, Jessamyn. Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerd Who Want to be Effective Teachers. West Virginia Press, 2019.
• Neuhaus, Jessamyn. “My Big Teaching Mistake: Losing Sight of Pedagogical Success.” Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy, 2019, Vol. 29  Issue 1, p99-105
• Neuhaus, Jessamyn. “Nerds Assemble Presentation.” YouTube, uploaded by Jessamyn Neuhaus, 31 May 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDZP3CMpdaU
• Neuhaus, Jessamyn. “Talk Amongst Yourselves: A SoTL Manifesto.” The Common Good: A SUNY Plattsburgh Journal on Teaching and Learning. Vol 3. 2015. https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/handle/1951/69775

PrzybylskiMajorProject4

Displayed via PowerPoint. Illustrating the topic with pictures.

Debora Mekonnen 

English 1102 

Professor, Rebecca Weaver, PhD 

April 21, 2022 

Introduction 

Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness, such as worry or fear, and depending on the person, it can be mild or even severe. Anxiety in college is said to be the most common, recurring issue in college students at a traditional 4-year university. This issue should be talked about because if ignored, it can hinder individuals, leaving them feeling like there is something wrong with them. Instead, coming to terms and finding ways to cope could be a better method. The first step to improving anxiety is recognition, not shying away, or avoiding the topic whilst facing it head on. This matters because by helping oneself, they can, in time, become the best version of themselves.  

Discussion 

Although anxiety among college students may not be the most focused on, it is indeed one of the most common. According to Nicole J. LeBlanc, MA, and PhD Luana Marques, the sharpest increase in anxiety occurs during the initial transition to college. College students, leaving everything they know behind, with a brand-new start, tend to leave some feeling lost. They start to face new challenges, whether it’s having problems with roommates, adapting to new environments, or even trying to figure out just exactly who they are. In Robertson, Sarah M. C.’s text, “Randomized Controlled Trial Assessing the Efficacy of Expressive Writing in Reducing Anxiety in First-Year College Students: The Role of Linguistic Features,” they state first-year college students are also typically in the emerging adulthood developmental phase that occurs between 18 and 25 years of age (2). Students are expected to automatically be ready for such a life-changing experience at such an early age, which in turn, makes them feel so uneasy about it all, leading them to have anxiety. 

Some students are thrown into the world, having parents assume it’s the same as spending the night at a friend’s house, and leaving them with poor advice. It leaves college students afraid of what is to come, not knowing what to expect, especially since their parents don’t leave them with the best pep talks. In “Anxiety in College Students,” Imm, Jacob’s article, it’s written that “college is a new and exciting milestone, so it is common to have anticipatory anxiety in the weeks before heading off to campus. But anticipatory anxiety can be much more serious … For some, it can be crippling, preventing you from preparing for school appropriately or even making you consider not going to school at all. (1)” This is mostly due to “home-sickness” or even could be the case of separation anxiety. This is something that recurs in oncoming first-year students. Every year there are fresh faces, but with the same struggle.  

The main types of anxiety that college students tend to face are anticipatory anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety, test anxiety and anxiety over peer pressure. Although they all differ, all these distinct types of anxiety have something in common, they all leave you feeling fearful. Students start to feel overwhelmed with studies, on top of everything else. Educators and parents fail to acknowledge such things, telling students that how they feel is nothing but normal and that it’s what everybody goes through when attending college. In the article “Reappraising Test Anxiety Increases Academic Performance of First-Year College Students,” Brady, Shannon T states, “first-year students would report greater emotionality, greater worry, and less knowledge of how to perform well before their first exam in a psychology course (3).”  Such information is known as well as common, but still, not spoken about enough. 

Now on ways to cope with this crippling, recurring disorder, there are quite a few. “Anxiety lives and grows precisely because people are too quick to dismiss it. Once you know better where it comes from for college students, the next step is to identify anxiety symptoms and signs so they can be addressed,” it states in Jacob Imm’s article “Anxiety in College Students. “One that is highly recommended would be to take care of your physical health. Finding ways to improve on things such as blocking out negativity, managing it, and especially to surround yourself with support. One of the biggest things to remember is that it is ok, and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Many people may not/ will not understand what someone facing anxiety is going through.  

Studies in anxiety show that every year, anxiety seems to rise the most when newcomers arrive. According to the American College Health Association Fall 2018 National College Health Assessment in Nicole J. LeBlanc, MA, and PhD Luana Marques’s article “Anxiety in College: What we know and how to cope,” it is stated that “63% of college students in the US felt overwhelming anxiety in the past year (1).” It tended to rise the most during newcomers’ first semester and “remains elevated throughout the second semester. “Attending a 4-year university, being introduced to new things, something completely opposite from everything you know, is very damaging to students. Students need time to process such tremendous changes in their lives, instead they are thrown in and expected to adapt almost immediately. And this is usually thrown at students, with no help from teachers or parents.  

In conclusion, anxiety is a recurring issue in first-year college students at a traditional 4-year school. Although parents may not be able to understand their children when facing certain types of anxiety, students seeking help where they can get it is the best option. The first step is acceptance, realizing there may need to be some specialized help. Another as well is to learn and understand that there is nothing wrong with any student that may be going through anxiety. That way, maybe someday, the rising growth of anxiety towards college students could soon start to decrease.  

Citations 

• Nicole J. LeBlanc, MA, and PhD Luana Marques. “Anxiety in College: What We Know and How to Cope.” Harvard Health, 27 Aug. 2019, 
• Imm, Jacob. “Anxiety in College Students.” Anxiety in College Students | North Central College, 4 Dec. 2020 
• Robertson, Sarah M. C., et al. “Randomized Controlled Trial Assessing the Efficacy of Expressive Writing in Reducing Anxiety in First-Year College Students: The Role of Linguistic Features.” Psychology & Health, vol. 36, no. 9, Sept. 2021, pp. 1041–65. 
• Brady, Shannon T., et al. “Reappraising Test Anxiety Increases Academic Performance of First-Year College Students.” Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 110, no. 3, Apr. 2018, pp. 395–406.