ERIC Number: EJ1416755
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0098-6283
EISSN: EISSN-1532-8023
Available Date: N/A
A Psychology Learning Community for Transfer Majors: Its Impact on Student Performance and Perceptions during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Kim Buch; Elaine O'Reilly
Teaching of Psychology, v51 n2 p199-206 2024
Background: Transfer students are a growing population of undergraduate psychology majors who are academically at-risk but often underserved by 4-year institutions. Objective: We describe a transfer learning community (TLC) for entering psychology transfer students and report its impact on participants social and academic integration and success. Method: A mixed-method design was used to compare academic success metrics (archival measures of first-semester grade point average and probation rates) of participants with entering transfer majors not participating in the learning community. A participant survey was also created and used to measure student perceptions of the TLC, as well as perceived challenges of transferring during the COVID-19 pandemic and how the TLC helped to mitigate them. Results: During its first year, the TLC served 72 entering transfer majors across two cohorts. Participants significantly out-performed non-participant psychology transfer majors on first-semester grade point average and were significantly less likely to be placed on academic probation after their first semester than non-participant transfer majors. Conclusion: The widely-reported benefits of learning communities for first-year psychology students are adaptable to the more at-risk population of transfer students. Teaching Implications: Technology-enabled teaching tools can be used to build virtual community in hybrid and synchronous online learning environments.
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, Communities of Practice, Undergraduate Students, Majors (Students), Psychology, Student Attitudes, Academic Achievement, Grade Point Average, College Transfer Students, Undergraduate Study, Barriers
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2993
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A