Date of Award
2025
Degree Name
Curriculum and Instruction
College
College of Education and Professional Development
Type of Degree
Ed.D.
Document Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Dr. Ron Childress
Second Advisor
Dr. Lisa A. Heaton
Third Advisor
Dr. Kandas Queen
Abstract
This study examined the use and perceived effectiveness of instructional strategies among college students, with attention to differences based on GPA, class year, gender, and first-generation status. Four families of strategies—Information Processing, Personal, Behavioral, and Social/Family—were evaluated to understand how students engage with and benefit from various learning approaches. Findings indicate that students employ a multi-faceted set of strategies across all domains, with moderate to high levels of use and effectiveness. Information Processing strategies, particularly logically organized content, were reported as most frequently used and highly effective. Personal and Behavioral strategies, including self-monitoring, goalsetting, and active engagement, were widely applied and perceived as beneficial. Social/Family strategies, such as cooperative learning and peer interaction, were moderately used and effective, highlighting the role of collaboration in learning. Differences in overall family use and effectiveness scores were not significantly different based on selected demographic and attribute variables.
Subject(s)
Education, Higher.
First-generation college students.
Academic achievement.
Instructional systems.
Marshall University.
Effective teaching.
Motivation in education.
Recommended Citation
Gildein, Maureen Kraus, "Effective learning practices for rural and first generation college students" (2025). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 2001.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/2001
