Salient Factors for Student Success Gained through a Learning Frameworks Course

Abstract

Learning frameworks courses represent a recent manifestation of higher education’s effort to support undergraduate students’ learning success. These courses offer students the theoretical underpinnings of human learning and the application of learning strategies. This qualitative investigation at a 4-year university in the southwestern United States sought to identify the perceived salient factors from students in the course in spring and fall 2015. Data were collected from individual interviews (n = 8) and a semi-structured focus group (n = 7) from participants 18–24 years old. Researchers concluded that significant course factors occurred in the behavioral domain (e.g., study and self-management strategies), followed by the affective domain (e.g., increased motivation and locus of control, lessening anxiety, and stress), and cognitive domains (e.g., help-seeking strategies, note taking skills, and learning brain function).