Abstract: Our study describes student outcomes from an undergraduate chemistry course that implemented a flipped format: a pedagogical model that consists of students watching recorded video lectures outside of the classroom and engaging in problem solving activities during class. We investigated whether (1) interest, study skills, and attendance as measured by self report improved during the term as a result of course format (n=252) and (2) students in a flipped chemistry course earned higher grades in the subsequent chemistry course compared with students who enrolled in the non-flipped course that same term (n=295). Although we found no significant differences between students’ self-reported interest and study skills at the end of the term, we found that students enrolled in the flipped course reported attending class more often than students in the non-flipped course (? = .32). We also found that after controlling for student-level covariates related to achievement (such as SAT Math scores and grade in previous chemistry course), students enrolled in the flipped chemistry course experienced, on average, a statistically significant increase of half a standard deviation (? = .55) in their grade in the subsequent chemistry course. We discuss implications for study of flipped instruction.

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Abstract: The purpose of this inter-university project was to explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions of collaboration and use of online technology. Twenty-two undergraduate music education majors from two separate universities participated in an eleven-week collaborative project to develop, teach, and self-assess general music lesson plans via a variety of student-selected online technologies. To determine the participants’ perceptions, the researchers administered the quantitative Technology Integration Confidence Scale and periodic qualitative questionnaires consisting of open-ended questions. Participants showed positive quantitative gains in understanding technology operations and concepts, planning and designing learning environments, applying technology, assessment, and understanding ethical and legal issues in the classroom. From the qualitative data, the researchers found four emergent themes relating to communication and pedagogical knowledge: (1) versatility and potential of collaborating through technology, (2) barriers and challenges to effective communication, (3) importance of collaborative communication, and (4) increased personal effectiveness through reflective growth. Participants reported that working through collaborative assignments increased their self-confidence and reflective thinking skills, as well as helping them recognize the value of communication in terms of curriculum and instructional effectiveness. These findings highlight the importance of identifying strategies to instruct, motivate, and evaluate pre-service music teachers as they develop 21st century skills and music teaching competencies. To conclude, the co-authors discuss implications of technology-based collaborations beyond music education for the teaching profession in general.

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Abstract: Despite the increase of English learners in the U.S. and of standards for linguistically responsive teaching practices, teacher education programs often fall short of preparing preservice teachers to teach diverse learners. In this case study, specifically designed to improve a pedagogical course on English language development, the researchers used qualitative methods to examine preservice English teachers’ perceptions of, and engagement in, instructional pedagogies that were designed to support their learning and apply to their current practicum experiences and teaching careers. Data were collected using observation, survey, and interview methods and were analyzed inductively. Findings indicate that preservice teachers were most engaged when course content was explicitly linked to their teaching experiences and least engaged when those connections were not made evident. The researchers argue that a lack of explicit connections between teacher preparation course content and K-12 classroom pedagogy influences preservice teachers’ perceptions of the value of course content to pedagogy and hinders their linguistically responsive preparedness to teach diverse learners. Implications for teacher preparation course design are proffered.

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Abstract: Colleges and universities are beginning to invest in active learning (AL) classrooms in an effort to replace the traditional lecture style pedagogy that is frequently used by many professors in higher education (Eagan et al., 2014). This is a quantitative research study conducted at a medium-sized Midwestern university. Students were given the Community of Inquiry (CoI) Survey in three different classes. The research study compared students’ perceptions of Teaching Presence (TP), Social Presence (SP), and Cognitive Presence (CP) differences from classes first taught in a traditional auditorium lecture-style format, then taught in an AL classroom. This study shows that it is not the physical structure of AL classrooms that had an impact on students’ levels of TP, SP, and CP, but the instructional design of these classes that had an impact in these areas. The study also shows that when implementing AL classrooms, instructors need to make intentional design decisions to keep the levels of TP at high levels.

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Abstract: There is a critical need in the United States to understand how to best prepare preservice teachers for effectively teaching the steadily growing number of PK-12 English learners. The study described in this article, situated in a teacher preparation program in a small, private college in a largely monolingual, monocultural area of the northeastern United States, expands the extant research around this urgent conversation. Specifically, the effects of a set of research-based learning experiences on the readiness of 18 White preservice teachers to create culturally responsive teaching and learning environments for English learners were investigated. Results suggest that carefully constructed learning experiences can positively affect future educators’ preparation for teaching English learners, even in largely monocultural, monolingual geographical areas. Outcomes will interest teacher educators in homogeneous areas who strive to prepare future educators for teaching culturally and linguistically diverse school-age learners in principled ways in countries with growing numbers of children who speak other languages.

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Abstract: In response to the diverse needs of individual students—their unique abilities, interests, learning styles, and cultural backgrounds—K-12 teachers have been using differentiated instruction, supported by research, for decades. While positive results have been shown in K-12 education, the literature to support differentiated instruction in higher education to meet the diverse needs of college students remains inconclusive. To contribute to the literature in this area, this exploratory and qualitative study examined the use of differentiated instruction at a large research institution situated in the southeastern United States with a focus on courses with enrollment of 50 students or more. The participants included 20 instructors teaching large classes within 11 departments and two schools of an academic college that encompasses the arts, humanities, and social and human sciences. The findings suggest that differentiated instruction in large classes at a research university is challenging. Moreover, instructors teaching large classes need a better understanding of differentiated instructional strategies and how to implement them.

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Abstract: Confidence and related constructs such as self-efficacy have been previously identified as important to college student persistence and performance (e.g., Cox, 2009; Wood & Turner, 2011), but existing research gives little indication of how confidence is shaped by students’ day-to-day interactions in class and on campus. Using data from nearly 100 interviews of community college students attending three colleges, this paper examines students’ descriptions of their confidence upon entering college and the shifts in confidence they experienced in their first few semesters. Findings reveal that student confidence is continually shifting as a result of interactions with peers, faculty, and others. The analysis demonstrates how academic confidence can impact student motivation, commitment to academic pursuits, and behaviors associated with success. This paper identifies the nature of experiences that positively reinforce student confidence, events that we term experiences of earned success. We use these data to identify a set of approaches that instructors and other post-secondary educational professionals can employ to positively influence student confidence and improve student success.

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Abstract: The interplay between student and teacher expectations about the requirements for successful learning in higher education (HE) can impact on successful student outcomes. This study aims to identify and understand the expectations that first year university students have towards essay production during their acculturation to HE. By examining the expectations their teachers have towards essay production, the extent of the alignment between the teacher and student expectations can be investigated. Furthermore, this study tentatively explores the impact that diverse educational backgrounds have on the formation of expectations for essay production between students and teachers in UK HE. This study identifies that although there are some areas of alignment between expectations of students and teachers, there are important differences related to plagiarism, interpreting essay questions, understanding marking criteria, and the availability of writing support. The greatest differences appear not so much related to different educational backgrounds, but instead with time spent in higher education.

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Abstract: Crisis events are historic in the lives of higher education institutions, and they may elevate the role of faculty to leaders, counselors, and supporters of their students. The civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri during the 2014-2015 school year impacted Saint Louis University students as the Occupy SLU movement witnessed demonstrations surrounding the university’s central clock tower. In this qualitative interview-based study, 19 Saint Louis University students were interviewed regarding their perceptions of how faculty addressed the events in the classroom. Six themes emerged: active faculty participation, passive faculty participation, course relevance, altered academic experience, business as usual, and deference for faculty position. These findings serve to capture student perceptions during a historic period of time and may inform and support faculty facing crisis events in the future. This study concludes with considerations for faculty regarding their role in the classroom, the relevance of their course content to the crisis event, and the potential impact on student life.

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Abstract: A cross-disciplinary team of composition, communication, and library faculty used lesson study to investigate interdisciplinary instructional strategies to improve students’ use of quoting in their writing. The team developed a three-class lesson plan to introduce the concept of quoting, practice the concept, and allow students to reflect on their use of quotations in their writing. We collected a pre and post quiz to measure students’ understanding before and after the lesson, students’ practice paragraphs, students’ reflections, and students’ final course research assignments. These samples were analyzed by the research team. Our evidence suggests that students can articulate how a quote from a source should be integrated into their writing by describing how they would use a signal phrase and quotation marks, but they have difficulty in applying this complex skill in their own writing even after focused instruction on how to use quotes.

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Abstract: Educators in higher education often seek innovative pedagogies to include in their classrooms. This article describes an integrative learning experience and details the planning, implementation, considerations, and benefits of creating a major-specific undergraduate research day. The event created an opportunity for students to gain confidence and practice discussing their work during research poster presentations. The event also allowed them to integrate classroom activities and extracurricular experiences to make meaningful connections. Identifying the steps, considerations, and outcomes may inform educators considering implementing this technique. The description of the undergraduate research day is applicable across disciplines and is relevant to faculty and staff working with undergraduate students.

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Abstract: As students graduate and enter the workforce, they face the job market’s demand for critical thinking (CT) skills. The demand is caused by the market’s increasing need for providing professional services that require performing complex tasks. In response to this demand, institutions of higher education are expected to prepare their graduate through incorporating courses in their curricula that promote CT skills. While the definition of CT is contested across various scientific fields, several approaches to designing CT-based instruction have been proposed. This paper presents an application case of “immersion” and “infusion” approaches, borrowed from Ennis (1989), to a graduate course on evaluation of training and examines the results in terms of the critical thinking VALUE rubric developed by the American Colleges and Universities (AACU). We contend that successful application of these approaches depends heavily on relevant complex scaffolds that induce learners’ immersion in CT and allow infusion of instructional features that support their CT activities. In our case, we used Systems Thinking to scaffold learners’ immersion and adopted Human Performance Technology (HPT) to infuse learning activities aimed at CT. We finally examined our procedures and outcomes by using the AACU Value Rubric milestones.

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Abstract: Rural communities, compared with their urban counterparts, have higher rates of disease and adverse health conditions, fueling disparities in health outcomes. This encourages the need for effective curricula to engage students and enable them to address such disparate health outcomes as imminent health professionals. Incorporating learner-centered teaching strategies, such as collaboration and power-sharing, into public health (PH) courses can enhance student learning and help faculty enable future health professionals to address needs of rural, underserved populations. Successfully engaging students to explore issues related to rural health disparities in their education, research, and training can thereby advance PH practice. This paper describes the collaborative efforts of five PH faculty, an instructional designer, and administrators to develop a learner-centered curriculum for a newly launched PH program in a rural Midwestern United States (US) university.

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Abstract: Post-secondary education remains mostly inaccessible to non-traditional students. Many colleges do not have the proper resources or programs to effectively support a wide variety of learners who all present with different educational challenges and needs. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) promotes diverse teaching methods to benefit all students. Although faculty and administrators are aware of the increasing diversity of college students and the need for greater flexibility in instructional design, many do not know how to successfully use UDL in their courses. This article discusses a grassroots effort by a group of professors to devise a no-cost, low-input, high-impact way to share strong instructional practices, all rooted in Universal Design for Learning, that could enhance teaching and learning across the institution.

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Abstract: Many graduate programs for professionals (public policy, public administration, business, international affairs, and others) use client-based experiential learning projects, often termed “capstones,” in which students combine theory and practice to benefit an outside client. Increasingly, undergraduate programs use client-based capstones as well, whereby students work with a client over a semester to solve a problem. Evidence suggests that students value these experiences and clients often describe value created as well. However, evidence also suggests that both students and clients can experience a mismatch of expectations, gaps in information, misunderstandings, and frustrations in the process of working together. With the objective to enhance learning for students and create value for clients, reframing the capstone project as a “negotiation in multiple domains” rather than a “fixed problem to be solved” has potential benefits for the student, the client, and the learning process. The approach may have implications for a broad range of team-based problem-solving initiatives. This paper, using the team-based capstone experience of the “International Development in Practice” class at the University of Notre Dame, explores how an integrated negotiations approach contributes to the capstone value creation and learning experiences.

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