Dr. William R Crawley

Background: Community-based learning is a high-impact, experiential teaching practice where elements of social interaction and authentic participation transform cognitive understanding into meaningful knowing. In the allied health field, the incorporation of community-based learning provides unique access to populations that are not inherently available in a university classroom. Purpose: Researchers used a mixed methods approach to examine the influence of an intergenerational, community-based learning environment versus a traditional learning environment on exercise science students' perceptions of overall classroom community, connectedness, and learning. Methodology/Approach: Quantitatively, students (n = 122) completed Rovai's CCS which was then analyzed using a t-test. Qualitatively, students completed written reflective assignments designed to gather data regarding their perceptions of working with an older adult population. Findings/Conclusions: Overall students perceived significantly greater levels of classroom community, connectedness, and learning in the intergenerational, community-based learning environment and evidenced highly positive growth in their awareness and understanding of older adults. Implications: Inclusion of an intergenerational, community-based learning environment in allied health-related degree programs can enhance student's confidence in knowledge application and their ability to connect with the older population.

Excerpt - This issue of Preventing School Failure is devoted to COVID-19 and the effect it had on instruction for school-aged children, including children in need of special instruction and support and those at-risk of falling behind for a variety of reasons. Preventing School Failure has always focused on the needs of children and youth with learning challenges and behavior problems. The pandemic produced a series of complications to which policy makers and edu-cators had to quickly respond to deliver instructional pro-grams to the students. Some emerging data suggest that a significant percentage of students may not have grown as much as they might have absent a pandemic. These data indicate a noteworthy percentage of students’ academic test scores substantially declined during the pandemic. As a result, some researchers have noted a significant number of students are now academically ‘at-risk’. Thus, ‘failure to achieve’ may be a concern for a large number of students, not just students who have special needs. It is imperative, therefore, that educators explore effective educational pro-grams and models.

Undergraduate student retention is considered a critical issue in higher education, due to its impact on student success, degree completion, and the financial health of universities (Cataldi et al., 2018; Cornelius & Cavanaugh, 2016; Hermes, Community College Journal, 82(4), 26, 2012; Tinto, NACADA Journal, 19(2), 5-9, 1999). Higher education leaders have recognized the impact of this issue on student success, which warrants an analysis of the factors that influence student retention, and rationale for possible solutions. The purpose of this article is to present the application of the Human Performance Technology (HPT) model to address these institutional concerns in a higher education setting. This article focuses specifically on the performance analysis phase of the model, including the organizational analysis, environmental analysis, gap analysis, and cause analysis stages, and its implications for intervention design, evaluation, and change management in this organizational setting. We discuss the practical application of the HPT model as a valuable process of analysis and solution exploration.

Learning loss is a dilemma that has been with educators and students for many years. Often learning loss can be explained by examining measurement issues that define student learning. The recent COVID-19 pandemic, however, has raised the concern of educators worldwide. During the pandemic, many schools were closed and students received instruction online. The online model of teaching was new to many teachers and learners. The development of these courses was often problematic as teachers may not have the skills to develop online courses. Additionally, a great deal of concern has been expressed about the effectiveness of online instruction and the effect it may have had on student learning and teachers' ability to effectively use this form of program delivery. Examined in this paper, are the factors that affect student learning and ways that schools were effective in delivering their instructional programs which indicated minimization of students' learning loss. This paper offers suggestions for the implementation of effective instruction that will enhance student learning. Keywords: COVID-19, disadvantaged students, interrupted schooling, learning loss

Social work students at a southeastern university piloted a community perception and attachment survey during a local Ciclovia event. Results indicated that a majority of participants held a generally positive view of the community (91%), while perceptions of specific aspects of the community and neighborhoods varied depending on individual items. Implications for use of students in community surveys are explored in addition to a presentation of the overall results of the survey.

Natural disasters are frequent, widespread, and derail the lives of large percentages of the population. Social work professionals are among those suitable for intervening in natural disasters as they assist individuals, families, and communities. To understand the knowledge in the areas of disaster preparedness—the authors investigated the literature by reviewing 10 major social work journals—a conceptual model of disaster preparedness was developed for effective intervention and research. While specific needs vary for individuals, communities, and cultures, there are universal aspects central to human existence.

Retention and graduation continue to be topics of discussion for online doctoral programs within academia. Focusing on the post-coursework, dissertation proposal stage, this study examines whether students progress differently with two different mentoring approaches: the innovative structured-seminars versus the traditional unstructured mentoring. This study, using a quantitative approach and an extant data of 116 doctoral students, measures students' progression by the number of years enrolled in the program and number of credit hours earned while engaged with the two different mentorings. The results indicate that students engaged in the new structured-seminars on average spent significantly less time and needed significantly fewer credits than their peers in the unstructured mentoring. The innovative structured-seminar approach shows potential as an effective curriculum for online doctoral programs.