Publications


KC Culver has expertise in how policies, programs, and practices shape these research areas: faculty careers and work, teaching practices, student engagement and success, and quantitative measurement.

Faculty Careers and Work

Articles and Edited Works

Culver, K. C. (2023). All in all: Tearing down walls in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Innovative Higher Education, 48(6), 971-976. doi:10.1007/s10755-023-09684-3

Culver, K. C., Kezar, A., & Koren, E. R. (2023). Improving access and inclusion for VITAL faculty in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning through sustained professional development programs. Innovative Higher Education, 48(6), 1071-1094. doi:10.1007/s10755-023-09672-7

Culver, K. C., Harper, J., & Kezar, A. (2022). Engaging design thinking in professional bureaucracies: Improving equity for non-tenure track faculty in higher education. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies, 3(1), 68 -89. doi:10.52547/johepal.3.1.68

Culver, K. C., & Kezar, A. (2022). The impacts of 2020 on advancement of non-tenure track and adjunct faculty. In Dahlberg, M., ed., Promotion, Tenure, and Advancement through the Lens of 2020: The Next Normal. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/26405/6_The_Impacts_of_2020_on_Advancement_of_Contingent_Faculty-Culver_Kezar.pdf

Culver, K. C., Young, R. L., & Barnhardt, C. L. (2020). Communicating support: Examining perceived organizational support among faculty with differing appointment types. Innovative Higher Education, 45(4), 299-315. doi:10.1007/s10755-020-09503-z

Reports

Culver, K. C., Kezar, A., & Yeh, J. (2022). Toolkit for designing accessible and inclusive professional development for NTTF. The Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success. https://pullias.usc.edu/download/designing-accessible-and-inclusive-professional-development-for-nttf-2022.

Culver, K. C., & Kezar, A. (2021). Designing accessible and inclusive professional development for NTTF. The Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success. https://pullias.usc.edu/download/designing-accessible-and-inclusive-professional-development-for-nttf/.

Culver, K. C., Harper, J., & Kezar, A. (2021). Design for equity in higher education. The Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success. https://pullias.usc.edu/download/design-for-equity-in-higher-education

Culver, K. C., Harper, J., & Kezar, A. (2021). Using “design for equity in higher education” for liberatory change: a guide for practice. The Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success. https://pullias.usc.edu/download/using-design-for-equity-in-higher-education-for-liberatory-change-a-guide-for-practice/.

Teaching Practices

Articles

Culver, K. C., Youngerman, E. W., Jang, N., Bowman, N. A., & Just, C. L. (2022). Promoting equitable achievement in STEM: Lab report writing and online peer review. Journal of Experimental Education, 90(1), 23-45. doi:10.1080/00220973.2020.1799315

Bowman, N. A., Jarratt, L., Culver, K. C., & Segre, A. (2021). The impact of pair programming on college students’ interest, perceptions, and achievement in computer science. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 21(3), 1-19. doi:10.1145/3440759

Culver, K. C., Braxton, J. M., & Pascarella, E. T. (2021). What we talk about when we talk about rigor: Examining conceptions of academic rigor. The Journal of Higher Education, 92(7), 1140-1163. doi:10.1080/00221546.2021.1920825

Bowman, N. A., Jarratt, L., Culver, K. C., & Segre, A. (2020). Pair programming in perspective: Effects on persistence, achievement, and equity in computer science. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 13(4), 731-758. doi:10.1080/19345747.2020.1799464

Culver, K. C., Braxton, J. M., & Pascarella, E. T. (2019). Does teaching rigorously enhance undergraduates’ intellectual development? The relationship of academic rigor with critical thinking skills and self-motivated learning. Higher Education, 78(4), 611-627. doi:10.1007/s10734-019-00361-z

Loes, C. N., Culver, K. C., & Trolian, T. L. (2018). How collaborative learning enhances students’ openness to diversity. The Journal of Higher Education, 89(6). 935-960. doi:10.1080/00221546.2018.1442638

Kilgo, C. A., Culver, K. C., Young, R. L., & Paulsen, M. B. (2017). The relationship between students’ perceptions of “good practices for undergraduate education” and the paradigmatic development of disciplines in course-taking behavior. Research in Higher Education, 58(4). 430-448. doi:10.1007/s11162-016-9433-z

Book Chapters, Edited Works, and Conference Proceedings

Youngerman, E. W., & Culver, K. C. (2024). Preparing culturally competent professionals: Fostering graduate student agency and autonomy through project-based learning. In E. T. Parker III & T. L. Trolian (Eds.), Promoting Meaningful Student-Faculty Experiences in Graduate Education (pp. 62-84). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003296508-5

Bowman, N. A., Jarratt, L., Culver, K. C., & Segre, A. M. (2020). (Mis)match of students’ country of origin and the impact of collaborative learning in computer science. In Proceedings of the 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, June 22-26, 2020. doi:10.18260/1-2--33974

Culver, K. C., & Trolian, T. L., Eds. (2020). Effective instruction in college classrooms: Research‐Based approaches to college and university teaching. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 168. Jossey-Bass. doi:10.1002/tl.20355

Trolian, T. L., & Culver, K. C. (2020). Advancing evidence‐based instruction for the public good. In Culver, K. C., & Trolian, T. L. (Eds.), Research-based practices for effective instruction (New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 168, pp. 115-126). Jossey-Bass. doi:10.1002/tl.20430

Youngerman, E. W., & Culver, K. C. (2019). Problem-based learning (PBL): Real-world applications to foster (inter)disciplinary learning and integration. In T. L. Trolian & E. A. Jach (Eds.), Applied learning in higher education: curricular and co-curricular experiences that improve student learning (New Directions for Higher Education, no. 188, pp. 23-32). Jossey-Bass. doi:10.1002/he.20342

Bowman, N. A., Jarratt, L., Culver, K. C., & Segre, A. M. (2019). How prior programming experience affects students’ pair programming experiences and outcomes. Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, July 12-17, 2019. doi:10.1145/3304221.3319781

Jarratt, L., Bowman, N. A., Culver, K. C., & Segre, A. M. (2019). A large-scale experimental study of gender and pair composition in pair programming. Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, July 12-17, 2019. doi:10.1145/3304221.3319782

Student Engagement and Success

Articles

Culver, K. C., Perez, R., Kitchen, J., & Cole, D. (2022). Fostering equitable engagement: a mixed-methods exploration of the engagement of racially diverse students in a comprehensive college transition program. Journal of College Student Development. Online first. doi: 10.1037/dhe0000408

Culver, K. C., Swanson, E. S., Hallett, R. E., & Kezar, A. (2021). Identity-conscious strategies to engage low income students in a learning community: Shared courses in a comprehensive college transition program. Teachers College Record, 123(8), 142-171. doi: 10.1177/01614681211048655

Swanson, E. S., Culver, K. C., Cole, D., & Rivera, G. (2021). Promoting at-promise student success in four-year universities: Recommendations from the Thompson Scholars Learning Communities. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 14(4), 457–462. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000345

Denson N., Bowman, N. A., Culver, K. C., & Holmes J. M. (2021). Do diversity courses make a difference in student outcomes? A meta-analysis of 25 years of research. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 14(4), 544–556. doi:10.1037/dhe0000189

Culver, K. C., & Bowman, N. A. (2019). Is what glitters really gold? A quasi-experimental study of first-year seminars and college student success. Research in Higher Education, 61(2), 167-196. doi:10.1007/s11162-019-09558-8

Bowman, N. A., & Culver, K. C. (2017). When do honors programs make the grade? Conditional effects on college satisfaction, achievement, retention, and graduation. Research in Higher Education, 59(3). 249–272. doi:10.1007/s11162-017-9466-y

Book Chapters, Edited Works, Reports, and Conference Proceedings

Corwin, Z., Kitchen, J., Harvey, J., & Love, H., Culver, K. C., & Rivera, G. (2024). Promoting at-promise college student success through peer mentoring [Practice Guide]. USC Pullias Center for Higher Education. https://pass.pullias.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/PASS_Peer-Mentoring-Brief_FINAL.pdf

Culver, K. C., & Bowman, N. A. (2023). Are you experienced? How college environments, programs, and interactions shape student retention and graduation. In R. D. Reason & J. M. Braxton (Eds.), Improving College Student Retention: New Developments in Theory, Research, and Practice (pp. 153-181). Stylus. doi:10.4324/9781003445258-10

Culver, K. C. (2020). Cognitive dissonance. In M. E. David & M. J. Amey (Eds.) The Sage Encyclopedia of Higher Education (pp. 259-260). Sage Publications. doi:10.4135/9781529714395.n101

Cole, D., Culver, K. C., Kitchen, J. A., Rivera, G., & Swanson, E. S. [alphabetical] (2020). How and why a comprehensive college transition program works: Promoting at-promise students’ success in the Thompson Scholars Learning Communities. Pullias Center for Higher Education. https://pullias.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Formative-TSLC-policy-brief-PUBLIC-FINAL.pdf.

Bowman, N. A., & Culver, K. C. (2018). Promoting equity and student learning: Rigor in undergraduate academic experiences. In C. M. Campbell (Ed.), Reframing notions of rigor: Building scaffolding for equity and student success. (New Directions for Higher Education, no. 181, pp. 47-57). Jossey-Bass. doi:10.1002/he.20270

Quantitative Measurement

Articles and Edited Works

Jang, N., Culver, K. C., & Bowman, N. A. (2023). Measuring students’ spirituality: A scale of authenticity. Journal of College and Character, 24(2), 79-99. doi:10.1080/2194587X.2023.2190123

Culver, K. C., Selznick, B. S., & Trolian, T. L. (2022). Rethinking critical thinking for social justice: Introducing a new measure of critical being that emphasizes thought, reflection, and action. SN Social Sciences. 2, 218 (2022). doi:10.1007/s43545-022-00531-4

Culver, K. C., Bowman, N. A., & Pascarella, E. T. (2021). How students’ cognitive abilities and intellectual orientations predict their perceptions of good teaching practices. Research in Higher Education, 62(6), 765-788. doi:10.1007/s11162-021-09625-z