Search

With businesses increasingly prioritizing data-driven decision making, the demand for business analysts is high and expected to grow. In response, many universities and institutions have developed courses and programs related to business analytics to prepare more graduates for careers in this field. Business analytics programs and educators consistently strive to achieve a high level of student learning success, ensuring competence in working in the business analytics field after graduation. In this study, we aim to examine key factors influencing student learning in business analytics, focusing on performance expectancy and satisfaction. We examined specific factors, including personal interest, career relevance expectancy, learning effort, and perceived course structure effectiveness, from perspectives related to both students and instructors. A research model was developed and empirically tested. The results showed that all factors significantly influenced both perceived academic performance and learning satisfaction. Additionally, personal interest and career relevance expectancy could significantly impact learning effort.

After a sharp decline associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 marked two consecutive years of increase in the number of freshman and high-school dual enrollees, with under-18-year-olds driving a disproportionate share of this growth. The rising importance of this latter student group presents new opportunities for colleges as well as underappreciated challenges rooted precisely in the high-school locale of concurrent Dual Enrollment courses. While some known stumbling blocks to effective college-level instruction for high school students are inherent in the age and lower maturity levels of the dominant age cohort, others stem from matters beyond the control of students and instructors, such as different academic policies and environments of the two governing educational institutions or even the federally mandated Internet-filtering across the K-12 system. Based on first-hand observation and supported by surveys of students enrolled in the Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) course entitled PLS 135 (U.S. Government and Politics), including from my own high school, home district (Loudoun County Public Schools), and two neighboring Virginia public-school systems, this paper offers one instructor's perspective on the unique features and challenges of teaching college-sponsored classes in the high-school building.

People who hold multiplicistic (multiplist) epistemic beliefs about science tend to believe that scientific knowledge is always subjective and that varying opinions on a scientific matter are equally valid. Research suggests that multiplist epistemic beliefs may be maladaptive and lead to a radically subjective view of science. Little is known about the association between such beliefs and mistrust in science/scientists and the tendency to believe in misinformation. The aims of this study were to examine: (a) the degree to which multiplist epistemic beliefs about science are associated with COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and science-related conspiracy beliefs, (b) the degree to which trust in science mediates the association between multiplist epistemic beliefs about science and conspiracy beliefs, and (c) the extent to which COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and science-related conspiracy beliefs are associated with compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines. Participants were 210 undergraduate students attending a Hispanic-serving institution located in a large city in the southern U.S. Path analysis results indicated that multiplist epistemic beliefs about science were positively associated with science-related conspiracy beliefs after accounting for fundamentalism and conservatism. Moreover, trust in science mediated the positive association between multiplist epistemic beliefs about science and COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs. Finally, belief in COVID-19 conspiracies was negatively associated with COVID-19 prevention guideline compliance.

Young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) on college campuses are vulnerable to exclusion and a lack of social participation. However, peers can provide meaningful supports to young adults with IDD in the area of social/communication skills. The purpose of this study was to enhance the conversation skills of four young adults with IDD (ages 22-23) during their regular lunch breaks on a university campus. The dependent variable was percent of conversational engagement during 10-min audio recorded sessions as measured using partial interval recording procedures. Typically developing peers served as peer coaches and provided structured or natural supports. Experiment 1 used an alternating treatments design to compare the effects of peer coaching alone vs. peer coaching + goal setting with two adjacent baseline conditions and a final student-choice condition. Results for Experiment 1 indicated peer coaching alone and the additive effects of goal setting was more effective than natural supports only. Experiment 2 used a withdrawal design to compare the effects of young adults with IDD speaking with fellow classmates with disabilities vs. peers without disabilities. Participants in Experiment 2 demonstrated higher levels of conversational engagement when speaking with peers without disabilities in a natural manner. Social validity of the different peer-mediated interventions was overall high for all participant types as reported on questionnaires and exit interviews. We provide implications for practice and suggestions for future research related to peer-mediated interventions for young adults with IDD on college and university campuses.

Several academic departments have increased their use of active learning to address low student success rates. However, it is unclear whether those implementing active learning have a consistent conceptualization of it. Like other educational terms, the phrase "active learning" is in danger of becoming overused and misunderstood, which puts the utility of active learning into question. This study examines 115 conceptualizations of active learning across six institutions of higher education that are infusing more active learning into their mathematics courses. We use the four pillars of inquiry-based mathematics education as a basis for analyzing these conceptualizations and compare them in two ways: by stakeholder role and by institution. Our findings show that many participants conceptualize active learning as student engagement and activities other than lecture, yet there was limited focus on the role of the teacher and content. Only eight participants mentioned issues of equity. Comparison within individual institutions shows that faculty within departments may hold common understandings of active learning. Implications of these findings include a need to develop an understanding of active learning that attends to all four pillars and is shared across departments, institutions, and disciplines.

More U.S. community college students are enrolling without the requisite reading skills to be successful. Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students are following a similar pattern with a little less than half requiring remedial instruction when entering college. College-age readers were the first population that we studied to learn about reading and reading instruction. The present study revisits this notion with DHH students at the forefront. We wanted to know what skills DHH readers have when they enroll in community college and what skills secondary teachers could focus on to prepare them. Based on the Degrees of Reading Power assessment given to DHH first year students prior entering community college (N = 409 participants), DHH readers would benefit from instruction in three important areas of reading comprehension: key ideas and details, craft and structure, and integration of knowledge and ideas. We discuss instructional ideas and future directions.

This study investigates the perceived benefits to industry experts who engage with academics to co-create higher education learning resources. Academics are increasingly impelled to involve industry experts in learning and teaching to ensure that curriculum is authentic and relevant and prepares students for future professional careers. While benefits to students are well established by prior research, individual-level research into industry experts' motivations to contribute to higher education is scant. When approached to co-create authentic learning resources for postgraduate students, industry experts expressed motivations which focused on three areas: desire to maintain valued relationships with academics or the university, desire to improve the student experience by developing innovative learning resources to bridge the gap between theory and practice and desire to build and promote their profession. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with nine human resource management industry experts identified that the benefits of co-creating learning resources went beyond their stated motivations to include unanticipated benefits which can be explained by the professionalism literature. We outline a taxonomy of benefits for industry experts engaging in co-creating authentic learning resources: students, the professional self, the professional community and the organisation. The implications are that universities and academics may draw on these broader benefits to encourage industry experts to participate in higher education learning resource development. The study provides insights into the potential for industry experts to engage in professional self-reflection by contributing to higher education teaching and learning.

Constructs of social justice has become an increasingly prevalent area of interest in the field of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD). In fact, competencies related to social justice are required program content per the Council of Academic Accreditation in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. This study's purpose was to describe and evaluate an online, introductory course designed to address such concepts. Students' perceptions of (a) the concept of social justice, (b) program content, and (c) program usability were examined. Undergraduate students from two universities completed the program, and a sample of students provided data about their perceptions during pre-program and post-program semi-structured interviews. Using a qualitative design (i.e., thematic analysis) the authors identified themes reflected in the data. This data revealed that the students had little to no prior experience with social justice yet were motivated to learn more about the topic due to perceptions that the topic is important to the field. Analysis of the program content and usability revealed that the students perceived an increase in knowledge and self-awareness. Outcomes show that the program holds promise and supports further study to evaluate program impact on students' attitudes and beliefs.

Speech-language pathology graduate admission committees frequently try to identify candidates who will succeed academically and clinically in graduate school while ensuring career readiness. This retrospective study focused on graduate admission criteria and student academic and clinical outcomes for eighty students who completed a graduate program in speech-language pathology from 2016 to 2020. Statistical analysis was used to determine if relationships existed between traditional admission criteria and students' academic and clinical outcomes. This study found the objective admission variables (i.e., undergraduate GPA and GRE scores) significantly correlated with academic outcomes. Specifically, undergraduate GPA (uGPA) correlated to graduate GPA (gGPA), and the GRE scores correlated to Praxis speech-language score. No correlation was found between non-cognitive (objective) admission criteria and student academic or clinical outcomes.

As technology integration advances, higher education institutions (HEIs) are experiencing varying degrees of digitalization of their systems, processes and services. This qualitative study explores the status of technology integration and the digital infrastructure of five higher education institutions within the Caribbean. It seeks to answer three questions: i) what is the level of digitization in the institutions' systems? ii) what is the status of technology integration in the teaching-learning processes in the institutions? iii) what types of digital infrastructures are in place to support the institutional functions? The analysis of the data reveals advances in the digitalization of a number of areas including communication processes, administrative processes, the student life cycle processes and in teaching and learning. This study provides important insights into the evolving landscape of digitalization of higher education within the Caribbean, and should serve to inform policy and practice in this important area.

Effective student feedback can have a significant influence on student motivation, learning and performance. However, feedback practices can be difficult to implement, thereby inhibiting the potential of feedback for student learning. Despite numerous attempts to improve the quality of feedback and student feedback literacy, difficulties persist, including disparate perceptions and expectations between teachers and students, while consistency, effectiveness and timeliness are often cited as areas requiring improvement. This review evaluates the key challenges faced by tutors in delivering student feedback and examines several approaches to delivering more effective student feedback. These include the principle of feedforward, a modified praise, question and revise (PQR) system referred to as the WWW system, directive versus facilitative feedback, dialogue as feedback, peer review, formative versus summative, constructive alignment and the use of digital and AI technologies. These approaches are evaluated in the context of effective feedback processes that influence student motivation, engagement, self-reflective learning and performance. These feedback approaches are further discussed in relation to the challenges faced by teachers and students in contemporary higher education, highlighting areas where further research may be needed.

This study examined the experiences of elementary education teacher candidates in a servicelearning literacy methods course in which they were placed in two public school settings-- one urban elementary school and one urban laboratory school. This was teacher candidates initial field experience in elementary classrooms. Teacher candidates explored various aspects of literacy assessment and instruction, particularly ways to assess students and use assessment results to screen students, monitor students' progress, and provide effective instruction. Candidates reflected regularly on their practice and participated in discussions with classroom teachers, peers, and university faculty. The research was conducted using a mixed methods design which included analysis of a survey and nine critical reflections. Findings indicated that teacher candidates' service-learning experiences provided opportunities to engage in teaching and reflect on practices while connecting with their school communities. Teacher candidates described the impact from their work in the classroom, exposure to schools and student populations that were previously unfamiliar to them, and participation in a servicelearning model that focused on critical reflection.

As institutes of higher education (HE) strive to meaningfully address diversity, equity, and inclusion in practice, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a relevant and timely framework for course design to support all learners. Using UDL as an instructional design framework, educators can proactively address learner variability and reduce barriers for students in HE environments. This self-study describes how UDL experts applied a process of UDL design to their courses. The best practices were identified across three phases: (a) a literature review to identify UDL-aligned practices used by HE instructors, (b) individual and collective reflection on UDL-based practices by the UDL experts, and (c) application of UDL to three HE courses delivered in different formats. The practice brief presents a comprehensive overview of various strategies that HE instructors can use in their courses, in alignment with the three UDL principles.

This study aimed to identify whether gender differences exist related to the motives, expectations and preparedness of students entering accounting studies at a South African university. A questionnaire was used to gather the data from a sample of first-year students and t-tests were employed to identify differences in findings between gender groups. The findings indicate that gender differences exist in the motives for studying and for choosing to study accounting, in particular with females indicating a stronger desire to gain a better understanding of themselves, while males appeared more confident of succeeding in the programme and scoring marks at the top of the class. Identifying and understanding gender differences is expected to have implications for teaching and learning which can further reduce gender imbalances in the profession. The study is of particular interest to academics, professional bodies and universities educating students in the field of accounting, which has historically been perceived to be a male-dominated profession.

This narrative qualitative study explored how sorority members negotiated their identities within systems of hegemony with their student communities. Sorority members used women's empowerment discourse to rationalize how they consumed alcohol, engaged in frequent consensual sexual relationships, and navigated relationships with fraternity men and across their campus sorority/fraternity communities. Implications for practice included harm reduction, sex education, and supportive policies.

Transnational Higher Education has become more prevalent and an option that many international students seek. International students choose online education through United States universities for a plethora of reasons including the perceived high quality of US universities, the flexible modality of online education, and the associated reduced costs. This study seeks to examine the perceptions and experiences of international students residing in Qatar as they progress through a United States university's online (hybrid of synchronous and asynchronous) master's degree principal preparation program in Educational Leadership. This phenomenological qualitative study surveys international student candidates at the completion of the program to ascertain their experiences of receiving an advanced degree from a university in the United States. The candidates represent a variety of countries, yet work as teachers in various types of schools in Qatar. This study should add to the growing research of transnational education and help to provide a better understanding of international student insights.

Transferable skills are embedded within assessments throughout Higher Education such as organisation, timekeeping and working as part of a team (during groups assessments) amongst some of the skills. Despite this, there is little evidence to suggest that students are fully aware of the importance of reflective practice upon their personal development as a possible transferable skill. In this study, we aimed to assess if and what students understood by the term 'reflective practice', and whether they identify its practice and benefits within their studies and for their potential future careers. Quantitative data, was collected during the first teaching block of the 2021-2022 academic year using specific reflective based questions in a paper-based questionnaire, with results indicating that students who undertook our foundation route, which instilled reflective practice-based assessments were more used to reflective practice than standard degree entry students, and emphasised skill development through reflection; confidence to tackle new task (38%), time management (25%), effective communication (25%) and prioritising tasks (13%). The data also suggested that across all levels of our degrees, students preferred to reflect once feedback of an assessment was received (60%) and after personal tutor meetings (43%), meaning, we as an institution should adapt our practice to develop this further. Embedding reflective practice early in a student's educational curriculum, could therefore enhance how students approach their course, by providing them with key reflective based skills which they can transfer to their journey within Higher Education and their career.

This study examines the factors that influence the intention and actual use of e-learning in entrepreneurship education by undergraduate students. The paper relies on a predictive study design and the partial least squares structural equation modelling to analyse data from a cluster sample of 599 students from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The results demonstrate that all the independent variables, assessed within a framework of an extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, determine students' intention to use e-learning in entrepreneurship education. Of particular importance are the preponderant effects of hedonic motivation, facilitating conditions and social influence on students' intention as well as the effect of intention and facilitating conditions on actual use of e-learning. A key implication of the findings is that students' continuous acceptance and use of e-learning in undergraduate entrepreneurship course delivery is contingent upon adequate presence of all the examined predictors of technology usage.

There has been a long-standing societal push to diversify the student body of colleges and universities by improving access to higher education. Along those lines, increasing access to a greater range of students and practitioners through the diversification of their membership bases is also an expressed goal of the experiential learning professional societies. Overlaying this charge with the Society for Experiential Education's (SEE) initiative to revisit the defining features of experiential learning (EL) creates an opportunity to consider how definition interacts with access to the field (i.e., whether definitional clarity promotes opportunities to the uninitiated). To address this challenge, we employed a scholar-practitioner research methodology exploring the question, how does the definition of experiential learning affect access? This process involved each author addressing three related questions individually before we compared responses and analyzed our data. We found differences in perspective (e.g., administrative, educational, and learner) and differences in needs (e.g., immediate need for funding to pay for additional EL-related expenses and need for data to show that EL works). Given these findings, we recommend pragmatic approaches and a systems approach to understanding definitions. Clarifying these differences may help bridge discrepancies in espoused theory and theory in use, thereby increasing opportunities to access EL through definition.

The gamification of learning has increased in popularity in recent years as a tool for enhancing student engagement and attainment. In undergraduate chemistry courses, hybridization is a fundamental concept that students need to master in order to understand introductory organic and inorganic topics. This study focused on the development of a card game for use as a revision tool (i.e., a learning resource that can be used by students to engage with a topic they have previously encountered and develop their understanding of the topic in advance of an assessment) based on the topic of hybridization for students taking introductory chemistry courses. The game was designed to both engage students and support their learning. Covering the core concepts of hybridization, including molecular geometry, orbital character, and hybridization states, the speed-based game requires students to answer "question cards" before their opponents by placing down the correct "hybridization card". The game was implemented with chemistry cohorts at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, and Xi'an Jiatong-Liverpool University, China. The impact of the game on student learning was evaluated through pre- and postintervention quizzes, as well as a survey based on student impressions of the game play experience. Students responded positively about the game play experiences, and a comparison of quiz scores suggests a positive impact on student understanding of the topic.

Preservice teacher candidates acquire and develop numerous competencies in their teaching programs, including how to teach writing. Effective writing instruction is critical across all ages and content areas, especially when working with students with and at risk of emotional and behavioral disorders, making it an important aspect of teacher preparation. This article outlines what preservice teachers should know about writing instruction at the conclusion of their program, including resources and ideas for advocating for professional development.

Increasing the health care work force is critical to underserved communities. Unfortunately, students in these areas lack accessibility to the clinical experiences needed to get an introductory understanding of careers in health care. Therefore, a health care experience (HCE) course was created for undergraduate students that included didactic training, active learning exercises, and coordinated shadowing experiences. To evaluate the effect of the HCE on student interest in science, health care, and rural health a study was performed on HCE participants. This study assessed student background, interest in health care, and plans for future careers in underserved settings. Students who enrolled in the HCE demonstrated high interest in science, health care, and rural health. Evaluation of student reflections indicated students attained novel learning, gained insights, and recognized the importance of communication. The HCE course students exhibited amplified confidence in HCEs and had a significant increase in understanding of health care compared with a control group of students who had not completed the HCE. Undergraduate institutions can include courses like the HCE into curricula to increase accessibility to career experiences for students interested in health care careers.

Amidst the dual challenges of an eight-month university closure from nationwide public university strikes in Nigeria and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we needed to innovate the delivery of BME graduate curriculum to ensure graduate students continued to progress in their studies. To ensure BME graduate students were engaging in team-based, clinician-identified engineering design challenges, we developed a digital design notebook (DDN) using Google Sites as an open-access, collaborative tool for scaffolding and documenting the engineering design process. Student design teams remotely uploaded digital content documenting their project work onto scaffolded DDNs created by program instructors. DDNs were purposefully designed to shepherd students through the design process such that each phase of the design process corresponded to an editable "page" of the DDN. Video lectures, learning resources, assignments, and other program information were embedded into the DDN for students to access throughout their design challenge. Project mentors and program instructors remotely monitored and assessed students' work using the DDN. At the end of the design challenge, students effectively created an e-portfolio which showcased the work they conducted to build a biomedical prototype. Designing and implementing the DDN builds on previous research which demonstrates that "structured" design notebooks can be used as effective tools in engineering design and design thinking education. Our work also leverages educational frameworks for infusing engineering design into existing graduate biomedical engineering curriculum in Nigeria.

Perfectionism is a personality orientation associated with mental health and adjustment problems. Recent evidence demonstrates that perfectionism is widespread among students and on the rise, with recent generations of students placing increasingly more importance on perfection. Whilst the extant literature is vast, it tends to focus on psychopathology and identification of perfectionism correlates rather than the experience of student perfectionism. Furthermore, the education literature is scant and there is a need to understand the deeper processes and nuances of perfectionism, particularly within health professions education where intense study demands, competition to gain entry to educational programmes, and professional cultures may nurture the problem. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of ten physiotherapy students as they wrestled with perfectionism in the various facets of their studies. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken, and participants completed log sheets to document perfectionism-related experiences. Idiographic profiles were composed and interview transcripts were analysed, drawing upon features of both phenomenological and thematic analysis. Perfectionism was found to have toxic consequences for the learning experience. Harmful phenomenological experiences included perpetual and excessive achievement striving, punitive self-criticism and health and wellbeing difficulties. A range of sabotaging learning behaviours such as self-handicapping and feedback avoidance was also illuminated, and cultural and organisational influences perceived to foster perfectionism emerged. Findings are discussed in relation to underlying processes and implications for educators. The prospect of findings transferring to other educational contexts is highlighted.

This research sought to explore how creative writing university students' knowledge aligned with published authors and marketing professionals within the publishing industry. Participants from all three groups were recruited for semi-structured interviews, and the transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Overall, both published authors and creative writing students' knowledge was misaligned with industry perspectives, practices, and expectations, despite both authors and students generally believing marketing was important. Both the authors and students overall possessed a limited understanding of marketing and so their marketing knowledge did not appear to greatly increase after graduating. Given that authors found it difficult to build their marketing knowledge and skills due to time constraints, it would appear useful to embed marketing and entrepreneurial knowledge in creative writing university curricula to ensure students graduated with knowledge that would enhance their entrepreneurial and marketing skills and their income opportunities.

Preparing graduate students for teaching careers in academia can involve myriad approaches. One such approach is facilitating authentic teaching opportunities for graduate students. The purpose of this multiple case study was to chronicle the perspectives of four humanities graduate students as they participated in a mentored teaching experience at a community college. Specific emphases included the evolution of participants' teacher identity and how a mentored teaching experience shaped participants' future career goals. Data sources consisted of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, journal reflections, and classroom artifacts. Participants identified the fundamental importance of mentor faculty and diverse students as drivers in their own pedagogical development and reflected on the value of interpersonal connections in education. Implications include the need for more pedagogical transparency and discussion in humanities graduate education, as well as the potential of constructing cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional collaborations to support graduate students' professional development.

Background: Understanding students' naive conceptions about the norms that guide scientific best practice is important so that teachers can adapt to students' existing understandings. Objective: We examined what incoming undergraduate students of psychology believe about reproducibility and open science practices. Method: We conducted an online survey with participants who were about to start their first course in psychology at a university (N = 239). Results: When asked to indicate how a researcher should conduct her study, most students endorsed several open science practices. When asked to estimate the proportion of published psychological studies that follow various open science practices, participants' estimates averaged near 50%. Only 18% of participants reported that they had heard the term "replication crisis." Conclusion: Despite media attention about the replication crisis, few incoming psychology students in our sample were familiar with the term. The students were nevertheless in favour of most open science practices, although they overestimated the prevalence of some of these practices in psychology. Teaching Implications: Teachers of incoming psychology students should not assume pre-existing knowledge about open science or replicability.

How do you teach fieldwork methods when your students are suddenly prevented from entering the field? This was a pressing question faced by faculty at Guttman Community College who were teaching "Ethnographies of Work," a required first-year course centered on the observation and analysis of real-world workplace dynamics. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the in-person workplace observations that the course was designed around became largely impossible, because previously accessible professional environments were suddenly closed to the public. This article examines the variety of ways in which "Ethnographies of Work" faculty responded to the sudden constraints on the course, shifting instruction to include digital ethnographic fieldwork techniques and changing modality to either online synchronous or online asynchronous. Drawing on faculty syllabi, team meeting conversations, and professional development workshops, we found that faculty created a variety of responses to the in-person ethnographic constraints of COVID-19. Faculty used movies, work-related video clips, library databases, and podcasts as substitutes for in-person observation, allowing students to simulate traditional fieldwork without leaving their homes. These digital techniques have since been formalized and further incorporated into course syllabi by several instructors, providing a range of methods for examining work that happens online. As the shift away from office-based work continues, these digital methods have proven to be increasingly important for capturing the complexities of contemporary professional life, much of which takes place predominantly in virtual spaces.

Background: Despite access to nature-based recreation, many college students do not take advantage of these experiences to improve their mental and physical health. Virtual reality experiences provide a potential pathway to motivate this population to recreate outdoors, but research is needed to determine whether virtual recreation can lead to real-world intent to recreate. Purpose: This study investigated whether virtual reality experiences influence student motivation for nature-based recreation, as measured with the intention and self-efficacy to spend time in nature scales. Methodology/Approach: As part of an introductory parks, recreation, and tourism class, students explored nature through virtual reality. The study incorporated a mixed methods design using pre- and post-experience surveys, interviews with participants, and document analysis of student assignment submissions over Instagram. Findings/Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest that virtual reality can approximate real-world nature environments and provide a potential pathway for this population to access real-world outdoor recreation opportunities. Implications: In situations where real-world field experiences are not possible, educators and practitioners can use the findings of this study to assess whether a virtual recreation experience is appropriate for their audience. While these experiences do not substitute real-world nature, they may be part of a participant's pathway to recreate outdoors.

This paper introduces hands-on curricular modules integrated with research in atmospheric ice nucleation, which is an important phenomenon potentially influencing global climate change. The primary goal of this work is to promote meaningful laboratory exercises to enhance the competence of students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) by applying an appropriate methodology to laboratory ice nucleation measurements. To achieve this goal, three laboratory modules were developed with 18 STEM interns and tested by 28 students in a classroom setting. Students were trained to experimentally simulate atmospheric ice nucleation and cloud droplet freezing. For practical training, this work utilized a simple freezing assay device called the West Texas Cryogenic Refrigerator Applied to Freezing Test (WT-CRAFT) system. More specifically, students were provided with hands-on lessons to calibrate WT-CRAFT with deionized water and apply analytical techniques to understand the physicochemical properties of bulk water and droplet freezing. All procedures to implement the developed modules were typewritten during this process, and shareable read-ahead exploration materials were developed and compiled as a curricular product. Additionally, students conducted complementary analyses to identify possible catalysts of heterogeneous freezing in the water. The water analyses included: pH, conductivity, surface tension, and electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. During the data and image analysis process, students learned how to analyze droplet freezing spectra as a function of temperature, screen and interpret the data, perform uncertainty analyses, and estimate ice nucleation efficiency using computer programs. Based on the formal program assessment of learning outcomes and direct (yet deidentified) student feedback, we broadly achieved our goals to (1) improve their problem-solving skills by combining multidisciplinary science and math skills and (2) disseminate data and results with variability and uncertainty. The developed modules can be applied at any institute to advance undergraduate and graduate curricula in environmental science.

Community college presidents must understand the phenomenon of campus safety. For this mixed-methods study, community college presidents in one state were surveyed, and three presidents from the same community college system participated in in-depth interviews. Descriptive statistics measured the levels community college presidents' knowledge and perceptions on campus safety. The in-depth interviews provided a deeper understanding of the connections between community college presidents and campus safety. Overall, the results show that campus safety is important to community college presidents, who believe that, overall, their institutions are safe. We found that community college presidents believe they should be proactive and reinforce values that promote and prioritize campus safety, follow regulations, and provide sufficient resources to ensure campus safety measures. However, inadequate funding also plays a role in what can be allocated, and community college presidents voiced that they were concerned about promoting safety in the face of declining budgets and resources.

Since its inclusion as a qualitative research approach in 1993, self-study has offered an opportunity for faculty members to merge two components of their position involved in tenure and promotion decisions: scholarship and teaching. This paper portrays a yearlong self-study of four probationary faculty members, in the same college of education department at a comprehensive regional university, all completed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings include the incorporation of engaging pedagogy in coursework, the impacts of COVID-19 on faculty and students, the importance of relationships with faculty colleagues and students, the incorporation of observation, feedback, and reflection as an avenue to improve faculty confidence and practice, and the frustrations and excitement around the tenure and promotion process. Finally, the authors offer pedagogical practices discovered and utilized during the self-study, in addition to recommendations for those who wish to undertake their own self-study.

Stress is becoming synonymous with the undergraduate student experience. Low amounts of short-term stress can be a motivator for students, but unhealthy levels can create distress, which can cause students to experience burnout and health issues. In this study, students were enrolled in a course and asked to provide feedback on levels of stress to instructors while undergoing the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of qualitative student reflections identified stress-inducing areas that were categorized into themes that contributed to student distress including academic stress, financial/work stress, personal stress, university-related stress, family-related stress, and interpersonal stress. Undergraduate students reported their highest levels of distress related to academic stress. While some students did not believe faculty should be responsible for reducing their stress, others provided tangible strategies for reducing distress. Research indicates that some strategies for reducing students' distress include being more flexible with due dates and assignments, reducing student's unnecessary workload, and coordinating due dates with other faculty in their programs.

The transition to online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented and forced many universities to quickly embrace online distance learning. This context created new challenges, particularly around assessment strategies. Empirical research has demonstrated that formative assessment fosters more active learning in online classrooms. However, formative assessment strategies are not always adapted well to online platforms based on the nature of the subject matter and the size of the class. This qualitative case study sought to understand instructors' experiences and strategies for conducting assessment remotely, specifically for large-size undergraduate courses. The investigation relied on data from semi-structured interviews with University of Maryland, College Park instructors who received a Teaching Innovation Grant from the Provost's Office in Summer 2020 intended to fund sustainable online delivery beyond the emergency response teaching phase. For this analysis, we analyzed the transcripts of 13 interviews, representing a diverse range of programs, schools, and faculty seniority levels at the university. Findings show instructors experienced several successes during course retooling, including significant increases in student performance. Most instructors also indicated that they would continue to keep new online assessment strategies for the future, regardless of whether that future includes online, blended, or in-person delivery. Despite the anticipation that the pandemic would fuel more opportunities for cheating, there was only one experience of academic dishonesty.

In a time when the value of a college degree is under continuous scrutiny and the opportunity for alternate pathways to workforce readiness is ever-increasing, ensuring high-quality credentials is imperative. However, how can we reassure our students, employers, and other stakeholders that what we offer is high quality? To answer this question, we can leverage skills, assessment integrity, and credential frameworks. During the 2023 Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education annual conference in New Orleans, Western Governors University (WGU) presented the importance and value of having a system related to skills, assessment integrity, and credential frameworks that is adequate. In their dialogue session, they explored how institutions can engage in internal conversations to define how psychometrically based assessment practices be used to increase our credentials' quality, value, and trustworthiness. This paper summarizes and expands on the key topics and shares additional resources supporting the presenters' position.

Some university students face barriers to learning in physical classrooms, while others are reluctant to return to in-person learning environments because of COVID-19. Hybrid-flexible (HyFlex) learning environments give students the option to participate in-person or virtually, but there are concerns about student engagement and success. In this pre-pandemic study, we conducted a program-wide survey to explore student perceptions of and experiences with a HyFlex teaching and learning platform (n=238). Our survey data revealed that 86.17% of students find features of this platform helpful when accessing, engaging with, and learning course content. This was particularly true among students who reported having a flexible learning need. We also compared engagement with the HyFlex teaching and learning platform (calculated as a score out of 100 based on attendance and participation in interactive slides) and final grades between students who chose to participate predominantly in-person or online in two HyFlex offerings during the 2019/20 academic year. We found no significant difference in engagement or final grade between in-person dominant and online dominant learners in either course. We found a moderate correlation between engagement and final grade in both courses, such that highly engaged students achieved high grades regardless of their preferred mode of attendance. Our findings suggest that giving students the option to learn in-person or virtually from class to class does not negatively affect engagement or success and may in fact support success among students with flexible learning needs. As Canadian universities emerge from the pandemic, our findings remind us to retain the flexibility that virtual teaching and learning affords to support our diverse student bodies.

This study centered on the lived experiences of five community college students who were formerly incarcerated. Through interviews, the students shared their expectations before entering college, resources they found to be most helpful throughout their enrollment, and what they feel could make them more successful. The research focuses on the areas of academic learning, sense of belonging, and career preparedness. Results showed formerly incarcerated students were very independent when applying for college, but some standard procedures such as, applying for in-state residency for instance, are not streamlined. Formerly incarcerated students experienced difficulty using technology and finding the equipment and a quiet space to study. Active learning, connections with faculty and peers of similar interests, and helpful, trained advisors were all credited as adding to the success of formerly incarcerated students. These findings are discussed in relation to adjustments that can be made by community college administrators.

Upon discovering inequities and foundational issues with the previous practicum projects completed individually by each EdD student, Frostburg State University transformed its practicum into a consultancy-based group project that students complete remotely. In this revised experience, student teams respond to problems of practice as presented by community partners within diverse educational settings. This article explicates the structure, format, and process of the new practicum experience, describes how it aligns with CPED's guiding principles for program design, and provides rich benefits for EdD students and local educational organizations. We also explain how we have continued to revise the practicum to address challenges that have arisen.