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Research on college-level teaching and learning has shown that teaching methods that actively involve students in the learning process are more likely to promote the achievement of learning outcomes that are enduring, complex and transferable to new situations. Yet past research has shown that faculty in all types of postsecondary institutions make little use of these active teaching methods. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of personal, disciplinary and organizational variables on the use of active teaching methods among undergraduate faculty in four types of postsecondary institutions: doctorate-granting, comprehensive, liberal arts and associate of arts. Using data from NSOPF-93, path analysis was employed to estimate direct and indirect influences on active teaching method use within and across institution types. According to study results, faculty in all four types of postsecondary institutions relied heavily on lecturing and made comparatively little use of more active teaching methods. The importance of personal, disciplinary and organizational influences on faculty role behavior was confirmed; measures of these three faculty cultures contributed to the likelihood that a faculty member had used active teaching methods. In all but liberal arts colleges, female faculty members made significantly greater use of active teaching methods than their male counterparts. In all types of institutions, faculty with principal teaching responsibilities in science, math and engineering, and in social sciences made significantly less use of active teaching methods than faculty teaching in professional fields. Faculty members' highest degree attainment had a negative indirect effect on active teaching method use in all but liberal arts colleges. Teaching assignments also significantly influenced the extent to which faculty in all types of institutions used active teaching methods. The amount of time spent teaching per week was a positive predictor of active teaching method use while the number of students taught per week was a negative predictor. Study findings suggest practical implications for academic administrators interested in promoting the use of active teaching methods among their faculty. Findings also suggest future avenues of research that could enlarge our understanding of this important issue in undergraduate education.

This manuscript consists of three studies that examined the factors associated with the achievement of high-risk African American youth during early adolescence. The first study examined the psychological, family, and school factors that promoted positive changes in grade point average (GPA) across the transition from fifth to sixth grade. Results revealed that students' self-efficacy and feelings of school belonging predicted positive changes in GPA from fifth to sixth grade. Positive changes in feelings of school belonging from fifth to sixth grade also predicted positive changes in GPA. Interactions between parents' involvement in their children's education and other protective factors indicated that students experienced more positive changes in GPA when they had high levels of parental involvement and high levels of academic self-efficacy, school belonging, or teacher support. The second study examined variation in parents' management of their children's education within the home, at school, and in the community as a function of whether the child was experiencing academic success or problems. Within the home, parents of high-achievers used more specific strategies to help their children with their school work and had more supportive conversations with their children than parents of low-achievers. At their children's school, parents of high-achievers were not only more involved than parents of low-achievers, they also had different reasons for their involvement. In the community, more parents of high-achievers engaged their children in activities to support their achievement than parents of low-achievers. The third study examined the direct and interactive effects of multiple risk and protective factors on achievement-related measures for African American seventh graders. Youth who were exposed to more risk factors had lower GPAs, more absences, and lower math achievement scores than did their less disadvantaged peers. In addition, the effect of protective factors on the achievement of African American youth was magnified in the presence of multiple risks. Different protective factors also emerged as significant depending on the nature of the outcome that was being assessed.

Science education reforms advocate inquiry as a way to build explanations and make informed decisions. Based on this call this dissertation (1) defines flexible scientific understanding by elaborating on content, inquiry and epistemic understandings; (2) describes an inquiry based unit that integrates dynamic modeling software; (3) examines students' understandings as they construct models; and (4) identifies instructional strategies that support inquiry and model building. A curriculum unit was designed to engage students in inquiry by identifying problems and constructing models to represent, explain and predict phenomena. Ninth grade students in a public mid-western high school worked in teams of 2-3 to ask questions, find information and reflect on the purposes of models. Data sources including classroom video, observations, interviews, student models and handouts were used to formulate cases that examine how two groups construct understanding. A teacher case study identifies the teaching strategies that support understanding. Categories within content, inquiry and epistemic understandings were used to analyze student understandings and teaching supports. The findings demonstrate that students can build flexible understanding by constructing models. Students built: (1) content understanding by identifying key ideas and building relationships and explanations of phenomena; (2) inquiry understanding by defining problems, constructing models and developing positions; and (3) epistemic understanding by describing the purposes of models as generalizing phenomena, testing hypotheses and making predictions. However, students demonstrated difficulty in using evidence to defend scientific arguments. Strategies that support flexible understanding were also identified. Content supports include: setting expectations for explanations; using examples to illustrate explanations; modeling questions; and providing feedback that prompts detailed explanations. Supports for inquiry are setting expectations for data gathering; using examples that illustrate model building; modeling the development of an argument; and providing feedback to promote coherent models. Epistemic supports include: using examples to illustrate purposes and assumptions within models, and providing feedback as students evaluate their models. The dissertation demonstrates that teaching strategies impact student understanding but are challenging to implement. When strategies are not used, students do not necessarily construct desired outcomes such as, using evidence to support arguments.