Indirect and direct assessment methods have a long standing history in college learning centers. Being more resource-intensive and time-consuming, direct assessment methods are often underrepresented in the literature and in practice. This paper presents a case study of how a pretest-posttest assessment initiative was designed to measure student…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) offer a unique platform through which Extension can provide valuable education. We explored The Meat We Eat, a MOOC designed to create a more informed meat consumer and increase perceptions of transparency surrounding meat production. Compared to pretest respondents (n = 490), students who completed the posttest…

Concern about graduation rates in higher education has led universities to offer courses that help students develop success skills. Scientist Life Skills, a new course for freshman at Florida A&M University, focuses on helping students matriculate into majors via development of growth mindset, grit, and critical thinking. Here, we assessed the…

When young adult women and men engage in sexual encounters, the former have significantly fewer orgasms than the latter. This gendered orgasm disparity, often referred to as an orgasm gap, is theorised to be due to a multitude of societal issues. The purpose of this study was to assess whether a Psychology of Human Sexuality university course,…

This study is the first to explore how skill and effort drive student achievement using a framework developed by Duckworth, Eichstaedt, and Unger (2015). A statistically significant achievement difference, as measured by Comprehensive Business Exam score during the last semester in college, was identified when students were separated by standard…

The current study utilized a single-group pretest-posttest design to evaluate students' self-perceived competence and comfort of using a variety of play therapy techniques and interventions with a range of client populations as a result of taking a one-week intensive course in Play Therapy. In an effort to conduct course evaluation and explore…

Objective: This study examined the sexual health knowledge of female undergraduate college students before and following a peer to peer, sexual health education intervention. Participants: Sixty-nine students participated in the study. Methods: Undergraduate female students from a central Florida private college completed paper-pencil…

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the flipped classroom model on learner achievement and satisfaction for undergraduate learners Background: The context for this research on the flipped classroom was an introductory technology literacy course at a public, research university. Methodology: This study employed a…

The persistence of undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is a national issue based on STEM workforce projections. We implemented a weeklong pre-college engagement STEM Academy (SA) program aimed at addressing several areas related to STEM retention. We validated an instrument that was…

Medical students begin their education inside a laboratory dissecting cadavers to learn human gross anatomy. Many schools use the course experience as a way to instill empathy and some have begun integrating video and recorded interviews with body donors to humanize the experience, but their impact has yet to be measured. This study examines the…

There is continued debate about the changing and varied nature of first year college courses in American higher education institutions; therefore, additional research is needed to inform faculty and administration of the specific areas on which to focus for teaching and learning in these courses. This study is one possible approach to easily…

A laboratory pedagogy interweaving weekly student portfolios with onsite formative electronic laboratory assessments (ELAs) is developed and assessed within the laboratory component of a required core course of the electrical and computer engineering (ECE) undergraduate curriculum. The approach acts to promote student outcomes, and neutralize…

Undergraduate students should be able to identify relationships between agricultural and natural resources (ANR) issues to be prepared for ANR sector jobs. The purpose of this study was to determine if communication courses focused on teaching about ANR issues influenced students' understanding of the relational nature of these issues. A…

Educators struggle with "value-added" teacher evaluation models based on high-stakes student assessments. Despite validity and reliability threats, these models evaluate university-based teacher preparation programs (TPPs), and play a role in state and professional accreditation. This study reports a more rational value-added evaluation…

The use of high-fidelity patient simulators (HFPSs) has expanded throughout medical, nursing, and allied health professions education in the last decades. These manikins can be programmed to represent pathological states and are used to teach clinical skills as well as clinical reasoning. First, the students are typically oriented either to the…