The purpose of this mixed methods action research project was to address the problem of practice of incorporating foundational grammar, spelling, and punctuation (GSP) instruction into community college journalism classes through the intervention of online interactive modules called The Story Mechanics Project (SMP). The modules were developed and…

This study explores the use of participatory action research (PAR) as pedagogy with adults to create dialog about their educational experiences connected with learning mathematics. The dialog, largely centered on race and poverty and how those aspects factored into their learning, produced the opportunity for critical reflection. This dialog gave…

In the wake of accreditation cycles stressing student outcomes, we believed the reflective and practitioner-centered philosophy of action research a perfect fit for effecting institutional improvements for a four-year grant-funded effort in our urban-suburban community colleges in California. We learned that things were both worse and better than…

The purpose of this action research study was to determine the effectiveness of two online college success courses: CPD 150 (College Success, 3 credits) and CPD 115 (Success Strategies, 1 credit), at Rio Salado College, a Maricopa Community College in Arizona. The goal of these courses is to prepare students to be college-ready by examining…

A trend in high end-of-year academic attrition creates a negative impact on an institution's mission and in the community. In the community, attrition reduces the number of potential nurses during a looming nursing shortage predicted by the American Nurses' Association (2001). The mission of one two-year college is to produce successful nursing…

This action research study, set in a community college in the southwestern United States, was designed to investigate the effects of implementing cooperative learning strategies in a developmental mathematics course. Introductory algebra was formerly taught in a lecture based format, and as such regularly had a low course completion rate. To…