Abstract: Although end of course exams remain a key mode of assessment in higher education, little research has focused on international students’ experiences of exams. There seems to be a tacit assumption in most literature that exam preparation and strategies are universal, although differences in other areas of learning exist. As an exemplar, this article focuses on international students’ first encounters with UK exams and shows that while exams may appear universal, students perceive real differences between the exams they experienced in their home countries and those in the UK. International students’ previous experiences shaped their expectations and impacted on how they prepared for, undertook, and made sense of exams. We draw on findings from a questionnaire answered by 168 international students and in-depth “before” and “after” interviews with 21 students. The data show variety in previous experiences and expectations regarding how international students prepared for exams, the exam environment, and, most importantly, in exam answers students produced. We recommend that in addition to exploring differences in other areas of learning for international students, lecturers clarify what is expected in exams early on and use more exam-type tasks to expose and explore contrasts that lie hidden below the surface of exams.

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Abstract: This article provides a description and evaluation of a service-learning juvenile justice course designed to broaden university students’ attitudes toward diversity issues. Diversity service learning integrates academic learning with community service by providing students with opportunities to learn about social disparities associated with diverse communities. University students participated in service learning with at-risk or justice-involved youth from a predominantly low-income, minority community. The goals of the service-learning course were to broaden university students’ multicultural attitudes and to enhance knowledge and skills. Using qualitative analysis, our goal attainment evaluation indicated success in the following areas: the majority of university students experienced a reduction of stereotypes, found learning about differences valuable, developed attitudes for addressing delinquency that were sensitive to the youths’ experiences, learned to communicate and interact cross-culturally, and bonded with the service recipients. In some cases, however, the program appeared to reinforce students’ stereotypes of the inner city.

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Abstract: While appreciative inquiry (AI) has its origins in organizational development, this article considers the application of AI within a course evaluation in higher education. An AI process was deemed appropriate given its concern for peak performance or life-centric experiences. Former students of a particular course, along with current students, engaged in the discovery and dream stages of the 4D process, after which the researchers engaged in the identification of perceived causes of success and emergent themes that led to the co-construction of a set of aspirational statements (known as provocative propositions) and an action plan for future teaching staff within the course. Engaged in the process, the students willingly wrote and spoke about their lived experiences of the course, constructing and co-constructing ideas that were professional in nature on one hand and deeply personal on the other. The process and outcomes affirmed the application and power of this strengths-based approach to uncover experiential and interpretive data pertinent to the ongoing development and sustainability of an academic course.

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Abstract: The current study examined how immediacy behaviors of college professors influence student participation. While these claims have been studied in the past, this investigation examined a crossdisciplinary sample and employed a more objective methodology, classroom observation. It was hypothesized that professors who showed greater immediacy would have higher levels of classroom participation. Results indicated that teachers who were more immediate had both greater frequency and breadth of classroom participation. More specifically, warmth of the professor (a composite of four immediacy behaviors) was a primary factor in explaining student participation. Limitations, pedagogical implications, and future directions in immediacy research are discussed.

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Abstract: The common practice of using of guided notes in the post-secondary classroom is not fully appreciated or understood. In an effort to add to the existing research about this phenomenon, the current investigation expands on previously published research and one previously published metaanalysis that examined the impact of guided notes on post-secondary student achievement. Specifically, this study examines the different variables that moderate the effect of using guided notes in the classroom, the impact of guided notes relative to professor-provided notes or studentgenerated notes, and unlike previous studies, the present meta-analysis, includes both published and unpublished research and some previously unexamined variables. Results indicate that overall, guided notes can produce a moderate impact on student achievement. The study discusses the implications and limitations of this research.

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Abstract: Educators aspire to use the most effective teaching materials possible. Their choices, ideally, should be informed by empirical evidence on how materials they use can affect students’ outcomes or performance, particularly their post-instruction performance or application. The current research tested the extent to which voice (active vs. passive) and modality (oral vs. written) of instructional examples influence (a) the degree to which a new process is learned and (b) subsequent performance. Results indicate that although voice and modality may be influential during the instruction process itself, they may have minimal impact on subsequent performance. The results are discussed in the context of the importance of using empirical evidence to inform educators’ choices, as well as presenting strategies for evaluating the effectiveness of learning.

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Abstract: The Classroom Performance System (CPS) is an instructional technology that increases student performance and promotes active learning. This study assessed the effect of the CPS on student participation, attendance, and achievement in multicultural college-level anatomy and physiology classes, where students’ first spoken language is not English. Quantitative method and quasiexperimental design were employed and comparative statistic methods and pre-post tests were used to collect the data. Participants were college students and sections of study were selected by convenience sampling. Participation was 100% during most of the lectures held while it did not strike above 68% in the control group. Attendance was significantly higher in CPS sections than the control group as shown by paired- samples t-tests. Experimental sections had a higher increase in the pre-post test scores and student averages on lecture exams increased at a higher rate than those of the control group. Therefore, the CPS increased student participation, attendance, and achievement in multicultural anatomy and physiology classes. The CPS can be studied in other settings where the first spoken language is English or in other programs, such as special education programs. Additionally, other variables can be studied and other methodologies can be employed.

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Abstract: This study examined how effective an embedded practicum experience in an educational leadership program in a Southeastern University is in serving the purpose of preparing educational leaders to meet future challenges. Findings of this study confirm practicum areas that met the educational demands and highlight areas that need improvement to make the delivery of the leadership program more effective.

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Abstract: This paper presents a methodology developed by members of the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching (RCfLAT) to collaborate with university teaching colleagues to produce theoretically- and pedagogically-based case studies of innovations in teaching and learning. The Equal Acclaim for Teaching Excellence (EquATE) project investigates whether case studies of teaching innovation, facilitated by a research team and made public through a community of inquiry, can take educational research beyond simple descriptions, foster criticality, and facilitate participants’ engagement with theory. The project supports participants as they plan and conduct their case studies and provides a community of inquiry in which findings are shared and discussed in relation to micro (classroom and discipline) contexts and macro (university-wide and higher education) agendas. This enables the project team to make comparisons across the case studies and to explore participants’ epistemic beliefs and views of learning. The project team collected data from the case studies, project tasks, and discussion groups that were thematically analyzed using inductive and deductive lenses. The data suggests that participation in the project can promote greater reflectivity, defamiliarize habitual practices, and promote openness to new theoretical and pedagogical perspectives.

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Abstract: In this paper, we provide an in-depth view of the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) program at Virginia Commonwealth University as a potential model for other large research universities who might wish to implement similar learner-centered initiatives in their first-year experience courses. Unlike graduate teaching assistants, whose primary objective in the classroom is to assist the professor, the UTAs assist the students by facilitating student engagement, offering peer-to-peer assistance, and modeling successful academic practices. The UTA program, founded in 2008, is integrated through all levels of VCU’s University College. This paper explores the benefits offered to all stakeholders: faculty, students, and undergraduate teaching assistants.

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Abstract: This article presents a co-teaching model for developing teaching effectiveness, illustrated with a case example portraying the experiences of two doctoral students who co-developed and co-taught an undergraduate course. As future educators, the doctoral students profited from the unique opportunities co-teaching provided for skills and personal development. The model benefitted the institution, enabling it to add a new elective to its offerings informed by the co-teachers’ recent professional experiences. Participating in a co-taught course provided special opportunities for enrolled students, such as ongoing modeling of a collaborative professional relationship. The article highlights additional benefits of co-teaching and also explores cautions and lessons learned. Recommendations are discussed for maximizing the benefits of co-teaching for higher education departments, students, and novice educators. Lessons gained from the case example, which occurred in the social work discipline, are applicable to many disciplines but may have special resonance for behavioral sciences and applied social and health sciences.

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Abstract: National plans in higher education institutions are being developed in various aspects of the academic world for technology integration. Short online training has the potential for accelerating and facilitating the implementation of those plans. So far, a little is known about the suitability of this mode of training for faculty members’ development. Expository, active, and interactive training are the dominant online experiences today. This study explores the evaluation of a short online training workshop that applied expository experience. Direct observation and post questionnaires were used to evaluate this mode of training. Results showed a positive effect for expository training. Participants strongly recommended blending expository with active experiences in the future online training workshop. Playing an active role during the training process is critical for adult learners as reported in the literature of adult learning as well as TPACK development programs. The results of this research confirm the significance of applying active experiences for online programs that are designed for faculty development.

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Abstract: Microteaching techniques have been used for teacher training since the mid 1960s. Despite its usefulness, as affirmed by pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), there are numerous criticisms on the shortcomings of microteaching activities. Specifically, it (a) oversimplifies the classroom learning and teaching nature, (b) encourages skill modelling on one or only few technique(s) demonstrated during training sessions, (c) involves costly human and technical resources for implementation, and most critically, (d) fails to provide instant and reusable feedback to improve classroom teaching skills. Addressing the inadequacies of traditional microteaching practice, this paper proposes an Extreme-Teaching-2 (XT²) framework based on the computer science literature. Originating from Extreme Programming (XP) methodology, XT² preserves the agility on teaching-feedback-teaching cycles with heavy peer and instructor involvement. With strong technological support, XT² allows specific, personalized, incremental, and constructive formative feedback to be given by peers and instructors during and after two classroom observation sessions. Through the XT² framework, teacher candidates are able to reuse feedback instantly (feedforward) and rapidly improve (a) confidence in identifying their weaknesses and strengths, (b) and their facilitating skills, while the administrative workload on instructors is significantly reduced.

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