Impact of College Counseling within Private high schools on First-generation College-bound Students\u27 Enrollment in Four-year Colleges: A Case Study

First-generation college-bound students (FGCBS), students whose parents do not have a college degree, are at a disadvantage during the preparation for and enrollment in 4-year colleges, according to the literature. A majority of these students either never enter 4-year colleges, or enroll in 2-year colleges and never complete a bachelor\u27s degree. With the demand in the work force for college degrees, much research has been conducted on understanding the experiences of these students. Previous research has focused on college counseling for FGCBS within public schools, traditionally low-resourced public schools, as this is where most FGCBS are enrolled. This study addresses a void in the literature by focusing on the college-counseling experiences of FGCBS enrolled in private schools, which are schools that traditionally send close to 100% of their graduates to 4-year colleges. The key question is whether FGCBS in private schools experience a gap in resources and outcomes despite college counseling opportunities comparable to those of their non-FGCB peers. This case study focused on FGCBS in two private high schools in San Francisco. A survey adapted from the CHOICES Project at UCLA was used to survey 156 seniors at both schools (74% response rate) about their college-counseling experience. Additionally, five FGCBS at each school were interviewed and all three college counseling staff at each school were interviewed. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed. The major findings from the study complement previous research about FGCBS, extending knowledge of students\u27 experiences from the public school to the private school sphere. Four main constructs were addressed throughout the study: students\u27 educational aspirations, students\u27 perceived access to resources, barriers to 4-year college, and students performance indicators. First, FGCBS\u27 educational aspirations were found to be no different than non-FGCBS: FGCBS had high aspirations to attend college and, in fact, they had similar aspirations as non-FGCBS to attend selective colleges. Second, perceived access to resources of FGCBS statistically were no different than non-FGCBS, but through interviews, it was evident that FGCBS did not feel as comfortable taking advantage of the resources they knew were available within the school, resulting in them not having the same level of information and support during the college application process. Third, many perceived barriers to a 4-year degree were identified. Through both quantitative statistical and qualitative methods, there was a difference in perceived barriers to a 4-year degree, where FGCBS identified more barriers to this goal than non-FGCBS. They identified many barriers consistent with the literature, such as lack of parental educational capital and lack of financial capital. Additionally, there was a statistical difference between perceived barriers between FGCBS enrolled at each high school, where FGCBS at Woodcrest identified more barriers than FGCBS at Stoneholt. It is interesting because at Woodcrest the students were taught and encouraged to realistically face their situation as FGCBS and at Stoneholt their first-generation status was not really addressed through college counseling. All the FGCBS faced the same barriers but only their perception differed. Fourth, performance was assessed. Overall, despite lower test scores and lower GPAs than non-FGCBS, and a difference of GPAs between the FGCBS at the two high schools (Stoneholt FGCBS had lower GPAs), 100% of FGCBS at both high schools graduated and enrolled in 4-year colleges for the fall. Several recommendations arose that need further research concerning the role of college counselors in order to improve success rates for FGCBS. College counselors should be trained in financial aid information, FGCBS should start the college counseling process sooner than their non-FGCBS counterparts and college counselors should give extra attention to FGCBS to compensate for the lack of parental educational and financial capital. The bigger question still to be explored is how the private school structure itself contributed to the findings and therefore how it can be changed in order to better support the counseling staff to ultimately support FGCBS better

Colorants fluorats hidrofòbics i el seu ancoratge sobre materials

Les superfícies hidrofòbiques artificials són de gran interès en una àmplia gamma d'aplicacions industrials gràcies a les seves propietats d'autoneteja, anticontaminació biològica, antifongs, antiadherència i anticorrosió, entre d'altres. En la indústria tèxtil, són de gran interès materials amb propietats capaces de repel·lir l'aigua i compostos oliosos, ja que poden ser molt útils per a roba esportiva especial, tèxtils per a la llar com ara catifes o mobles entapissats, paraigües, etc. Seguint la trajectòria del nostre grup, hem sintetitzat colorants reactius amb diferents centres cromàtics que contenen a la seva estructura llargues cadenes polifluorades i grups funcionals que permeten el seu ancoratge sobre una superfície de cotó o vidre, de manera que hem obtingut nous materials hidrofòbics acolorits. Per tal d'estudiar la hidrofobicitat dels materials obtinguts, hem realitzat mesures de l'angle de contacte d'una gota d'aigua dipositada a la superfície de les teles tenyides i sobre vidres recoberts amb els nostres colorants sintetitzats. S'han obtingut angles més grans de 150º, en el cas dels teixits tenyits, la qual cosa demostra que són superhidrofòbics.Artificial hydrophobic surfaces have a great potential in a wide range of industrial applications owing to their self-cleaning, anti-biofouling, anti-fogging, anti-sticking, anti-corrosion and anti-contamination properties. Equipment for fibers and textiles with hydrophobic properties is of high interest for fabrics with water, oil or soil repellent properties, e.g. for special sports clothes, home textiles like carpets or upholstered furniture, and some outdoor materials, such as umbrellas. Continuing along the line of research of our group, functional reactive dyes with different chromatic cores have been prepared with long polyfluorinated chains in their structure, and functional groups that allow their grafting on a cotton fabric surface or on glass, obtaining new colored hydrophobic materials. Contact angle measurements have been made of a droplet of water on the surface of stained fabrics and on glass coated with our new compounds. Angles higher than 150º have been obtained on the stained fabrics, proving that they are superhydrophobics

Looking for students' enthusiasm: flipped classroom

The “flipped classroom” is a pedagogical model that consists of putting certain learning processes outside the classroom so that the teacher can devote more class time to students’ acquisition of practical skills, for example. In this way, the teacher is not limited to the transmission of course content, but in addition assumes the role of a mediator in the cognitive process, allowing students to actively construct their own knowledge. In this role, the teacher’s main task is to encourage students to become independent learners. This paper describes the implementation and initial results of the application of the flipped classroom in higher education. This study is part of a larger research project to improve our students’ motivation through the use of the flipped learning. The sample consisted of about 3000 students taking 17 different subjects, in Management and Administration Business, Finance and Accounting, Marketing and Market Research, and Chemistry, at the University of Málaga, and in Accounting and Administration, Business Communication and Marketing at the Polytechnic of Porto. According to our results, students’ motivation and class attendance increased with the application of this model; a comparison of the final exam results from two years with traditional classes and from two years with flipped learning shows that the proportion of students failing the exam decreased, which confirms that the use of this pedagogic model improves student learning.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. This project is financed by Educational Innovation Projects 2017-2019 from Malaga University

Gamificacion in education and active methodologies at Higher education

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in applying Gamification in Education, which can be defined as the application of game design elements to learning activities. Its purpose is to motivate students by creating an engaging learning experience that can keep students focused on the learning task and its application in the classroom, is still in its emergent stages. Gamification is a great challenge for education, particularly in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in such a traditional context, as is the case with courses like Management and Administration Business, Finance and Accounting, Marketing and Market Research, Chemistry, Accounting and Administration and Business Communication. This paper presents a study, applied in the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 academic years, in which the teaching method focuses on a blended learning approach, through the implementation of a flipped classroom model and also through the introduction of online gamification activities such Kahoot! application. Kahoot is a game-based learning platform, used as educational technology that can easily be used for initial, formative and summative assessment of students’ knowledge using individual or collaborative team work mode, adding vitality, student engagement, and also meta-cognitive supports to higher education classrooms with limited instructor or student training required. The participants, in the study, were about 3 000 students of 17 different subjects from the aforementioned courses, of the Malaga University and Polytechnic of Porto. The results of this study suggest that this model improves student learning and are of relevance to researchers, educators and game-based learning designers.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Creación en la frontera

El presente escrito se vertebra en torno a dos preguntas siamesas, que plantean una sugerente e interesante cuestión sobre la función y el sentido de las cosas. Estas preguntas tienen que ver con el arte y el diseño, pero también, con las eternas inquietudes del ser humano a través de los tiempos, cuestionándose acerca del porqué y para qué de la existencia, las acciones del ser humano y las motivaciones que las impulsan

Diálogos arte-ciencia

Como artista plástica contemporánea sensible a la belleza y la estética, no sólo de las cosas, si no de la propia mirada, y al mismo tiempo como persona preocupada y atenta a la problemática y cuestiones eternas que afectan al ser humano en la sociedad actual, pienso que una de las principales funciones que deben tener los artistas hoy en día, es a hacer visible lo invisible, o dicho de otro modo, hacer sensible lo insensible. Lo vidente ya está ahí, mirándonos de frente sin pudor. ¿pero que hay detrás? ¿qué se vislumbra, qué se transparenta tras las fachadas? Como actitud vital, parto del interés y la curiosidad por todo lo que no se ve a simple vista

Gamification in education and active methodologies at higher education

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in applying Gamification in Education, which can be defined as the application of game design elements to learning activities. Its purpose is to motivate students by creating an engaging learning experience that can keep students focused on the learning task and its application in the classroom, is still in its emergent stages. Gamification is a great challenge for education, particularly in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in such a traditional context, as is the case with courses like Management and Administration Business, Finance and Accounting, Marketing and Market Research, Chemistry, Accounting and Administration and Business Communication. This paper presents a study, applied in the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 academic years, in which the teaching method focuses on a blended learning approach, through the implementation of a flipped classroom model and also through the introduction of online gamification activities such Kahoot! application. Kahoot is a game-based learning platform, used as educational technology that can easily be used for initial, formative and summative assessment of students’ knowledge using individual or collaborative team work mode, adding vitality, student engagement, and also meta-cognitive supports to higher education classrooms with limited instructor or student training required. The participants, in the study, were about 3 000 students of 17 different subjects from the aforementioned courses, of the Malaga University and Polytechnic of Porto. The results of this study suggest that this model improves student learning and are of relevance to researchers, educators and game-based learning designers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of cellulose derived from invasive alien species plant waste for application in the papermaking industry: physic-mechanical, optical, and chemical property analysis

This study examines the potential of four invasive plant species, both arboreal and herbaceous, within the riparian forest of the Umia River in Galicia, a common ecosystem in northern Spain. These invasive species (Arundo donax, Phytolacca americana, Eucalyptus globulus, and Tradescantia fluminensis) were collected and assessed for their suitability as an alternative source of pulp and paper materials for the paper industry to mitigate the environmental impacts associated with conventional cellulose fiber production from harmful monocultures. Cellulosic material from leaves, bark, and/or stems of each of the selected species was isolated from lignin and hemicelluloses through kraft pulping processes. Resulted fibers and pulps were analyzed visually, morphologically, chemically, and mechanically to evaluate their papermaking properties. To compare these properties with those of commercially available pulp, test sheets were concurrently produced using commercial bleached Eucalyptus cellulose. The findings reveal that the employed fibers exhibit promising characteristics for artistic paper production. Regarding the pulp, two refining times were tested in a PFI machine, and the Schopper–Riegler degree was measured. Paper sheets underwent various tests to determine thickness, basis weight, apparent volume, apparent density, permeability, and chemical composition, as well as microscopic optical and morphological properties. The fibers obtained from the waste derived from the removal of invasive exotic species and biodiversity control present a viable and intriguing alternative for decentralized paper production, yielding noteworthy results for the creative sector. This research highlights the potential of harnessing invasive species for sustainable and innovative paper manufacturing practices.Universidade de Vig