Abstract: Because student engagement is believed to be a predictor of academic achievement, there is significant interest in discovering methods that will improve and increase student engagement at all levels of education. This study investigated the relationship between digital and social media usage and student engagement. In particular, this study sought to investigate how adding (1) a learning management system (LMS) and (2) a dedicated marketing Twitter feed influenced the self-reported engagement levels of undergraduate marketing students. The results show that students were more engaged when the LMS and Twitter feed were used. Specifically, Twitter usage had a positive impact on engagement with a marketing course while LMS usage had a positive impact on engagement with the School of Business. Seniors significantly used the LMS more than underclassmen but there were no differences in Twitter usage between these groups. The results also showed that students were most engaged with their marketing course, followed by the College, and the School of Business respectively.

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Abstract: In this investigation we explored among a U.S. sample of White college students the effect of perceived race-informed culpability—conceptualized as the self-conscious emotions known as White guilt and shame—on two critical multicultural education outcomes: modern prejudicial attitudes and demonstrated anti-racist knowledge. Interaction effects by participants’ racial identity were also examined. Moderated hierarchical linear regression showed that the tendency to experience White guilt as well as White shame explained a significant portion of the variability in racist attitudes. For knowledge, only guilt had an effect. No interaction effects were observed. Limitations are discussed followed by implications for teaching and learning with an emphasis on affect-sensitive pedagogy.

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Abstract: In this study, we explored cogenerative dialogue (cogen) as a tool for learner-centered teaching in graduate education. Cogen consists of small group dialogues among instructors and students for the purposes of improving course processes. We engaged cogen during a semester-long, graduate-level campus environments course. Using the theoretical framework of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) and case study methodology, we explored cogen’s use in highlighting ways in which our course processes were enhanced or impeded. Our analysis resulted in the prominent themes of the role of physical space, power dynamics, and internal and external influences on the potential for learning in our classroom. We conclude by offering considerations for educators interested in using cogen in a graduate education course as a result of our study.

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Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how first-year college students perceive their development of domain identification with, and interest in, their prospective science major during their initial year of college. Four themes emerged from the coding and analysis of interviews with eight first-year science students: Self-Definition in Flux, Feeling Competent, Expressing Interest through Enjoyment, and Relevant to Me. These themes were mainly consistent with the current model of domain identification (Osborne & Jones, 2011) but differ from the current model of interest development (Hidi & Renninger, 2006). Theoretical and practical implications are included for faculty and advisors working with first-year science students.

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Abstract: The University of Texas at Austin Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program offers a cognitive apprenticeship for graduate students in drama-based pedagogy (DBP) through Drama for Schools (DFS), a professional development program for K-12 educators. This article presents findings from an exploratory case study investigation of graduate students’ experiences in the cognitive apprenticeship in the practice of drama-based pedagogy in K-12 public school classrooms. Findings indicate that when graduate students simultaneously participated in fieldwork (as “masters”) and related coursework (as “apprentices”), they developed a personal understanding of how theory was realized and confounded within real world contexts. Implications for university faculty members and teaching artist educators are included.

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Abstract: This study looked to situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in order to explore students’ participation in the social practices of first-year learning communities. Wenger’s (1998) elaboration on “communities of practice” provides insight into how such participation transforms learners. These perspectives frame learning as a socialization and identity shaping process in which learners gain knowledge and skills contextualized, and legitimized, by their communities. We used a survey method and open-ended questions to examine three facets of participation: students’ access and motivation to join the community, meaning of their experiences within the community, and trajectory of learning – that is, how participation influenced their later academic or professional decisions. Our findings emphasize that students are motivated by, and find value in, the academic content and engaged pedagogical approaches offered by first-year learning communities; the meaning of their experiences, however, is negotiated through social relationships.

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Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop a model to help engineering faculty overcome the challenges they face when asked to design and implement interdisciplinary curricula. Researchers at a U.S. University worked with an Interdisciplinary Consultant Team and prepared a steering document with Guiding Principles and Essential Elements for the design, implementation, and evaluation of integrative curricula in engineering education. The team also developed exemplar materials (Integrative Learning Module) to provide a practical example and demonstrate how the tools provided could be used in the development of new curricula. The Guiding Principles, Essential Elements, and Integrative Learning Module were evaluated by faculty and students who provided feedback for their improvement. Faculty indicated that the tools provided were appropriate guidelines for faculty, but they indicated that the Integrative Learning Module was too long to be a manageable example. Students agreed about the need for more interactive, real-world applications of engineering concepts, but they expressed differences of opinion regarding how humanities and social sciences topics should be addressed in the engineering curriculum. Students who participated in a course modeling the Integrative Learning Module were satisfied with its use and learning outcomes. After the course, these students were able to explain the importance of problem definition, process, and disciplinary integration in engineering work.

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Abstract: Feedback plays an important role in supporting students’ learning process. Nonetheless, providing feedback is still rather unusual in higher education. Moreover, research on the design of ideal feedback as well as its effects is rare. In order to contribute to the development of this field, a web-based feedback system was implemented in a lecture at the University of Cologne. The effects of this feedback on the students’ learning process are presented in this article. Differences in the students’ learning success and motivation, as well as their assessment of competencies, are analyzed within an experimental setting. Students who received individual feedback through this system achieved higher grades and showed increased levels of motivation. Moreover, they felt more competent with regard to solving tasks related to the learning material.

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Abstract: First-year courses prepare students for the transition to, and success in, college. Institutions are interested in assessing student learning outcomes to achieve institutional goals and maintain accreditation. Though it may be difficult to measure student learning and success, colleges aim to assess student learning in the classroom by setting learning outcomes and objectives. The purpose of this study was to explore students’ achievement of learning outcomes in a required first-year course through their submission of six-word memoirs about what they learned. This study’s framework was Lave and Wenger’s (1991) situated learning theory through the process of legitimate peripheral participation.

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Abstract: Negative “push-back” from a group of first-year undergraduate sociology students during a class discussion of gender and feminism included rejecting personal use of the title Ms. Teaching team members asked themselves: how general is this response among other student groups in the same one-semester subject? A short in-class survey checked personal attitudes towards Ms. that might reflect shifting views towards feminism and gender among contemporary Australian “middle-town” students. Results showed this to be a specific dissenting cluster of students. The survey indicated some generational changes towards using Ms., but responses to Ms. were more complex than lack of student knowledge or interest, part of socio-cultural changes in play for these students and society generally.

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Abstract: Incivility in the classroom is offensive, intimidating, or hostile behavior that interferes with students’ ability to learn and instructors’ ability to teach. The present study examined incivility in faculty-student relations and presents the findings of a survey conducted in an academic college in Israel. The study was designed to examine three specific objectives: (1) to expose and analyze the nature of behaviors that students and faculty view as incivility; (2) to identify contributory factors to uncivil interactions in the classroom as reported by students and faculty; and (3) to identify practical strategies suggested by students and faculty in order to avoid or diffuse such undesirable behaviors. We collected the data using the Incivility in Nursing Education (INE) questionnaire (Clark, 2008a, b). 46 faculty members and 268 students from various departments completed the questionnaire. We present the survey’s qualitative findings in accordance with the three main objectives examined. The findings indicate considerable similarity between faculty and students in identifying uncivil behaviors and both agree that the main cause (although not the only one) lies in the penetration of norms from the external culture. Means of preventing and minimizing incivility in academia are discussed.

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Abstract: The purpose of this phenomenographic study is to examine students’ knowledge progression in a three-year Bachelor program in Business Administration. Theoretical sampling was used to select nine students from a group of 200 university students admitted to the program. The students were interviewed on three occasions: Year 1, after their Management Accounting course; Year 2, after their Financial Accounting course; and Year 3, after they had written their thesis. The interviews focused on the same financial concept presented in various ways, with increasing complexity, in each of the three years. This longitudinal study analyses the students’ knowledge progress in terms of sustainable learning. The findings reveal that knowledge progression was very good by the end the program for one-half of the students; one-third of the students did not achieve satisfactory knowledge progression. The study’s research methods and its findings contribute to education and international studies on students’ sustainable learning in higher education. The study suggests a model for future research in ascertaining how higher education students learn as well as in examining issues and areas for further research and development.

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Abstract: We describe the development and implementation of an online graduate bioethics program that weaves a theme of health justice throughout the curriculum. Our account relies on a constructionist model of curriculum development and adult teaching and learning theory. Our curriculum draws upon core values of Jesuit higher education, including content with particular attention to justice for marginalized and vulnerable members of society and pedagogical strategies that cultivate students’ capacities for critical thinking and engagement with ethics and justice issues in the context of healthcare. We propose four major contributions from the health justice literature as key content areas for inclusion in bioethics programs interested in focusing on health justice. We identify gaps in the literature and suggest how they might be addressed. Finally, we give examples of content, pedagogy, and preliminary findings from specific courses in our program, all in hopes of stimulating more conversation about how students learn about health justice.

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Abstract: Oral history is presented in this article as an interpretative exercise for historical events in a Spanish course for heritage language learners at the university level. Through the interview of a Latino immigrant family, students re-examined the history of their own families and increased their linguistic self-esteem. They were guided to become good researchers and good interviewers so that they could lead the informants into offering other perspectives when telling their stories. At the same time students were engaged in the practice of oral history, they were initiated into research while improving their oral and writing skills in a formal setting. This article describes each stage of the oral history project and the advantages and limitations of this technique with the purpose of assessing this project in a Spanish course for heritage language learners’ course.

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Abstract: Engagement is related to important student outcomes such as persistence, retention, and grades. It is key to all students’ learning, but it may be particularly important for culturally diverse students who may have fewer models and other resources for keeping themselves engaged. As the institutions of higher education become increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse, instructors are challenged to engage a more diverse student population. This paper describes how three university instructors applied the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) Standards for Effective Pedagogy to their instruction in courses of general psychology, educational psychology, and statistics in order to increase students’ cognitive and social engagement. The CREDE Standards are strategies of instruction that incorporate small group discussions and making connections between students’ prior experiences and abstract concepts.

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