Summary
Week 17 on the Concurrent Enrollment Tool Kit is designed to help students reflect on their Concurrent Enrollment course and their final grade.
Discussion Objectives
Reflect on the process the student has made throughout the semester.
Review ways the student can improve their academic performance.
Materials List
CE Tool Kit, Week 17 (attached)
Snapshot
Engage
Explore
Explain
Extend
Evaluate
Topic Focus
What is the importance of reflection?
Everyone fails at something at some point in their life. Reflection allows learners to discover more about themselves. Students can reflect on what they did well and how they can improve. This allows students to develop new skills, make changes to create different outcomes next time, and create the habit of reflecting.
When reflecting on the concurrent enrollment course students can learn from their experience and build on their knowledge. Whether the student passed the course or not, they can consider improvements they can make in the next course or in college.
Guiding Notes
Begin the meeting by greeting the student by name and inquiring about their classes and how they are going. Ask the student how they feel about completing the concurrent enrollment course.
When the student is reflecting, encourage them to not only look at the academic side, but to also reflect on their feelings and skills from this semester.
Ask if they know their grade on the final exam and for the concurrent enrollment course overall. Encourage the student to continue practicing self-care and decompression as discussed in the last meeting. Ask if they have developed any new habits for de-stressing.
Before concluding the meeting, make sure the student does not have any outstanding questions.
Discussion Starters
Consider starting the discussion by asking:
Have you reflected on this semester?
How do you feel this semester went?
Discussion Questions
To guide this week’s discussion, consider asking the following questions:
What did you do well this semester?
What is something you learned while taking this course?
What did you learn about yourself while completing this course?
What was the most interesting thing you learned?
What changes can you make for next semester?
Next Steps
To prepare for next week, ask students to:
Review and reflect on the My Goal handout from the first meeting and remember to bring it for next week’s meeting.
Make a list of what you might do differently next semester.
If you haven’t already, make a decision about taking another concurrent enrollment course.
Research Rationale
Research shows a clear and strong link between concurrent enrollment and increased student academic performance (Jones, 2014; Dingess, 2018). Several studies have also found that students who participate in concurrent enrollment have time to acclimate to the college environment and thus earn higher grades in their postsecondary careers (Allen & Dadgar, 2012; Dingess, 2018). This opportunity to build momentum also provides an avenue for those students who might carry complex social and educational challenges from high school as they transition into the university setting (Wang et al., 2015). A consistent concern with students as they transition from high school to PSE is that many of them might have difficulty in fully acclimating to the rigor and expectations of university-level coursework (Taylor, 2015; Vargas et al., 2017). This is especially apparent when looking at students who identify as first-generation college students, as they might feel overwhelmed by everything from student support to the specifics of financial aid (Lee et al., 2022). Concurrent enrollment offers a bridge between the familiarity of high school and the frontier of higher learning, building on the initial benefits of concurrent enrollment in high school to build toward greater academic momentum fueled by a smooth transition from high school to university (Wang et al., 2015).
To expand on the inherent benefits associated with concurrent enrollment programs, these programs are most successful when students are provided with extra guidance in how to navigate this new academic environment (Witkowsky & Clayton, 2020). Though students in concurrent enrollment programs might be high-performing, it is helpful to remember that they are still high school students and stand to benefit from “wraparound” services that counselors can provide as a bridge between high school and university-level expectations (Witkowsky & Clayton, 2020). Whether partnering directly with specific higher education institutions as part of the concurrent enrollment program or not, wraparound services can still be designed with the university course expectations in mind.
These tool kits are designed as conversation starters to provide the kind of ongoing support that allows concurrent enrollment students to be most successful (Johnson et al., 2021; Lile et al., 2018). Spanning a range of topics between goal setting and writing expectations, each conversation serves as an opportunity for relationship building and mentoring with students. For students who might not know which questions to ask or which resources to look for, these tool kits can help concurrent enrollment coordinators set a foundation for success for students to draw on after high school.
Resources
Allen, D., & Dadgar, M. (2012). Does dual enrollment increase students’ success in college? Evidence from a quasi-experimental analysis of dual enrollment in New York City. New Directions for Higher Education, 11-19.
Dingess, E. (2018). The impact of the number of dual enrollment credits on racial minority students' completion time at five Virginia community colleges. ODU Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/efl_etds/68
Johnson, J. M., Paris, J. H., Curci, J. D., & Horchos, S. (2021). Beyond college access: An exploration of the short-term impact of a dual enrollment program. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, & Practice, 1–23.
Jones, S. (2014). Student participation in dual enrollment and college success. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38(1), 24-37.
Lee, J., Fernandez, F., Ro, H. K., & Suh, H. (2022, January 4). Does dual enrollment influence high school graduation, college enrollment, choice, and persistence? Research in Higher Education, 63, 825-848. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11162-021-09667-3.pdf
Lile, J. R., Ottusch, T. M., Jones, T., & Richards, L. N. (2017). Understanding college-student roles: Perspectives of participants in a high school/community college dual-enrollment program. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 42(2), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2016.1264899
Taylor, J. L. (2015). Accelerating pathways to college: The (in)equitable effects of community college dual credit. Community College Review, 43(4), 355-379. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552115594880
Vargas, J., Hooker, S., & Gerwin, C. (2017, November 1). Blending high school and college can sharpen the focus of each. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(3), 13-18.
Wang, X., Chan, H., Phelps, L. A., & Washbon, J. I. (2015). Fuel for success: Academic momentum as a mediator between dual enrollment and educational outcomes of two-year technical college students. Community College Review, 43(2), 165–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552115569846
Witkowsky, P., & Clayton, G. (2020). What makes dual enrollment work? High school counselor perspectives. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(6), 427-444.