Date of Award
Fall 11-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ed.D. Transformational Teaching and Learning
Department
Secondary Education
First Advisor
Dr. Kathleen Stanfa
Second Advisor
Dr. Denise Bosler
Third Advisor
Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer
Abstract
Developmental mathematics (DM) students often encounter systemic and contextual obstacles in higher education. Low self-efficacy, math anxiety, multiple external demands, and pervasive gaps in prerequisite knowledge can all undermine the strategic behaviors needed to manage the academic environment independently. Although DM reforms are widely researched, the literature lacks a firsthand perspective on the daily processes students apply as they assume control over their learning. This qualitative action research study investigated the integration of intentional goal-setting into a recently redesigned one-level pilot DM course at an open-access, urban community college. The practitioner-researcher created the PATHway framework—rooted in Zimmerman’s (2000) three-phase Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) cycle—to guide students in setting, implementing, monitoring, and reflecting on weekly proximal goals throughout the semester to facilitate course completion and advancement toward credential and career attainment. Participants (n = 38) were predominantly Hispanic (61%), first-generation (68%), and female (71%). Most were first-year (63%) and part-time (63%) students; 74% were employed, with nearly half working over 30 hours per week. Triangulated analysis of the data revealed five distinct yet interconnected themes illustrating the student experience. The study concludes that the initiative enhanced self-efficacy and effectively fostered self-regulated learning skills among the majority of participating students. This growth was complemented by the practitioner-researcher’s reflections, which highlighted an increasingly inclusive and dynamic classroom culture. These outcomes promoted immediate academic engagement and embedded support, while providing a structure for sustained persistence in college.
Recommended Citation
Dickson, Tamie S., "Integrating Goal-Setting into an Urban Community College Developmental Mathematics Course: A Multi-perspective Learning Experience" (2025). Education Doctorate Dissertations. 52.
https://research.library.kutztown.edu/edddissertations/52
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
