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The last day of a course is often viewed as awkward, abrupt, and even antithetical to a course's aims. More often than not, prime opportunities for reflection, reinforcement, reconciliation, and closure are typically subsumed to administrative tasks and end-of-course exhaustion. This paper summarizes the scant end-of-course literature, reviews the theoretical importance of ending a course well, and highlights a few "tried and true" end-of-course activities. Ending a course well may help students connect the dots, transfer learning, and experience academic and emotional closure, while simultaneously helping faculty refine their teaching and regroup in preparation for future iterations of the course. As leisure and learning experience design experts, leisure scholars are in a prime position to lead out in meaningful end-of-course pedagogy.

With the development and evaluation of information technology, virtual reality technology provides opportunities to offer an immersive and interactive experience for supplementing traditional classroom lecture and creating innovative online learning in education curricula and professional training. Given that the arena of 3D entertainment-oriented virtual worlds is creative and quickly evolving, applying a theory-based motivational model to examine the properties of virtual world environments in the context of education remains relatively unexplored territory. Thus, the present study applies the research frameworks of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and hedonic theory to an understanding of how 3D virtual reality technology contexts satisfy or obstruct psychological needs and thus foster or undermine sustained engagement, affecting behavioral intentions. This study extends existing literature in the field by showing that psychological needs and hedonic experience are important components in understanding virtual reality technology and human interaction. The findings are important in explaining the value of 3D virtual reality technology in educational applications that contribute to the overall enhancement of the learner's motivation and learning experience.

In the recreation and leisure field, educators often strive to attain a level of experiential learning in the classroom. As we prepare students for the future, it is unlikely that they will be placed in a quiet room and asked to take an objective test. It is more likely that they will be asked to defend their ideas, collaborate in decision making, and create specific projects. The following discussion outlines theories and definitions that support the use of interactive final exam formats and offers several example exam formats within the context of the field.

Curriculum delivery is becoming increasingly restricted in an era of elevating expectations and declining budgets. As a result, innovative approaches to curriculum delivery are harder to implement though changing student dynamics make them ever more necessary. This article will discuss the differences between the collaborative style of teaching and the dusty old lecture notes by tracking one faculty member's evolution toward a new immersive experience for students. In discussing his evolving teaching philosophy and exploring how it came alive in the new curriculum, this article features how one "old, and distinguished dog" learned some new tricks.

Research findings on optimum use of the first day of class are mixed. Past data gathered from students from various disciplines support a first day designed to distribute the course syllabus and explain class expectations, rules, and policies. Additional literature supports a different approach to the first day; one designed to immediately engage students in the course through activities designed intentionally to accomplish more than introducing students to the scholarly objectives of the class. The purpose of this paper is threefold--to identify feasible goals for the first day of class, to present an overview of the limited research related to first-day goals and expectations, and to provide an example of a Recreation and Leisure Studies discipline-related activity to address first-day goals.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine whether engagement in a serious leisure activity provided older adults opportunities for successful aging. Data were collected through in-depth interviews at shag dance festivals in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. To provide structure for the interview, a general interview guide consisting of open-ended questions was used. A total of 31 interviews were conducted with 25 individuals and 6 couples, between 60 and 82 years of age. During the analysis stage, the constant comparative method was used to analyze the data. Themes that emerged support the idea that shag dancing is a form of serious leisure for older adults and support the role of serious leisure in successful aging. The narratives provided by the informants illustrate the powerful role serious leisure can play in an individual's life and point toward the value of serious leisure as an approach that holds promise for recreators working to help older individuals experience successful aging. (Contains 2 tables.)

Examined age differences and age changes in leisure involvement within framework of abandoment, liberation, and continuity. Data from the 1982-1983 Nationwide Recreation survey of 6,720 persons revealed that neither abandonment nor liberation perspectives were accurate reflections of what happens with aging. A pattern of continuity occurred more often than did other patterns. (Author/NB)

Examined constraints to participation in outdoor recreation across the life span. Life span was considered important for determining who will stop or reduce participation in recreation activities. Suggests constraints to participation are both pervasive, and can be dichotomized into limitors and prohibitors. (Author/ABB)

Leisure and recreation leaders who influence policy must consider social and economic trends that influence recreation participation. Using secondary data is a cost-effective way to accomplish this. This collection of 14 articles demonstrates how data from a variety of sources may be used to make predictions about trends in leisure and recreation. (JL)

The Total Environment Approach was developed to deal with possible constraints in three areas of the environment which limit the older individual's ability to choose leisure activities. The three areas are: the physical environment, the psychological environment, and the social environment. (JN)

The article discusses the peer review process by which work for publications is chosen. The author asks several questions regarding the fairness, educational content, luck, and reviewer selection criteria of the process. The responsibility of the reviewers, the functions of professional journals, reasons for rejection of publication and other related topics are examined. The review process is analyzed, and potential improvements are suggested.