Based on previous research of Johnson and Kuennen (2006), we conducted a study to determine factors that would possibly predict student success in an introductory statistics course. Our results were similar to Johnson and Kuennen in that we found students' basic mathematical skills, as measured on a test created by Johnson and Kuennen, were a significant predictor of student success in the course. We also found a significant professor effect. These results have prompted us to evaluate and modify the teaching of our introductory statistics course.

In this study we used an assessment tool evaluated in a previous study to identify students who were atrisk of not being successful in our introductory statistics course. We then required these students to attend peer tutoring, early in the semester, as an intervention. While we saw a significant increase in student success for all students in this study compared with the previous study, the at-risk students who completed the required tutoring had a significantly higher increase in success than their peers.

Emerging from faculty collaboration across disciplines, the four-stage Field Immersion Framework (FIF) marries place-based experiential learning with civic engagement to promote important transformative learning outcomes such as shifts in Worldview, Self, Epistemology, Ontology, Behavior, and Capacity. To support those outcomes, we developed this adaptable pedagogical framework for immersive courses that cultivate shared inquiry by faculty and students while fostering civic agency. The FIF positions students as explorers in communities grappling with important, unresolved issues and facilitates deep learning in the affective domain. Immersing students in the field as they experience civic issues is an emancipatory opportunity for many students, particularly those bound by geography or digital screens. We detail the FIF’s grounding in learning theory and provide examples of its implementation in varied courses and geographic settings.