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Re: Transfer Students (was Teaching in America)



From: Gordon Johnson <johnsog@ASTRO.WESTMORELAND.CC.PA.US>

Do you happen to have a reference handy for any of these studies?

I wish I did. I might be able to get some specific references from our Student Services office, since they're the ones who do the tracking (at least here anyway). I believe I recall a study done by AAPT a few years ago on this.

Tracking studies have shown that students who take their first two years
at a community college do
significantly better at the four year schools than those who do not. One
of my former students is now doing
undergraduate research in chemistry at NCSU.

In particular, does it appear to hold true for engineering students who take
their intro physics at a CC?

In my experience, yes. I routinely have students come back to me telling me that they're pulling A's and B's on exams whereas the "homegrown" students are pulling C's and D's. It has happened with different groups of students at the same university (the one where the vast majority of my students end up transferring to...geographically convenient).


Cheers,
Joe

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