Background: Leaderboards are among the most popular gamification elements in education. Some studies have implemented leaderboards and reported their individual effects on students' learning. Despite the emergence of relevant empirical studies, most of the existing reviews have only investigated the holistic impact of gamification. No previous…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper reporting an exploratory pilot study is to examine how participant engagement in design thinking varies when playing and fixing (playfixing) three partially complete games (broken games). Design/methodology/approach: The data for this study consist of transcripts of five playfixing sessions with a total of 16…

Higher education institutions (HEIs) invest substantially in their social media presence for marketing, branding, student engagement, and recruitment purposes. To better understand HEIS' current social media strategies, this study developed a mixed-method approach to analyze Facebook content and posting practices of postsecondary institutions in…

Purpose: The purpose of the study would typically involve investigating how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the learning abilities of university students. The study could encompass various factors that may influence students' ability to learn, such as their academic performance, motivation, engagement, mental health, access to resources…

Master-level postgraduate professional development (PPD) programs have grown rapidly in many parts of the world. Being able to complete written assignments successfully is a significant concern for students pursuing PPD studies. Yet the nature of written assignments in such programs has been under-researched. This paper reports a study conducted…

The positive impact of Math Learning Support Centers (MLSCs) on student performance is well-documented in existing literature. However, we argue in this study that many of these evaluations could be improved methodologically. Using a more rigorous approach, we investigated the effect of an MLSC on students' performance and affective variables in…

While the movement for flexibility in higher education can be traced back to the first corresponding courses in the 18th century, the recent pandemic has led to an unprecedented demand for flexible learning, particularly in higher education settings. This review of the literature delves into the evolution of flexible course design and defines…

Research on online learning effectiveness has experienced a shift towards focusing on learner characteristics or differences. However, little attention has been paid to learners' personality traits, especially those that highly match with the environmental characteristics of online learning. Guided by recent active learning approach and Model of…

Current research shows community college students face numerous obstacles that limit their success in developmental mathematics courses. This study surveyed students to determine whether flipped learning produced differences in student engagement or factors related to passing rates compared to that of traditional teaching for different…

Based on the tenets of Flow Theory, the study proposes that in-class activities that have the potential to induce the experience of flow--a state of deep absorption and enjoyment of tasks at hand--among students are likely to increase students' engagement. Specifically, the study examined the effects of three in-class activity factors (i.e.,…

Regional campuses serve a vital role in today's higher education landscape, extending access to college education for underserved locations and populations. The University of Mississippi's university system has five regional campuses. The students at a regional campus, like their traditional main campus counterparts, aspire to attain bachelor's or…

The issues of poor academic outcomes, dismissal, high attrition, and dropout rates among college students have long concerned for many educators and college communities. Several scholars have posited that these problems can be addressed through the development of emotional intelligence and increased student engagement. Considering these problems,…

Black college students are using career services more than any other group, yet they are not experiencing the same rate of college completion and post-graduate employment success as their peers, even as these outcomes are associated with accessing the resources offered by career services. While Black students are using career services, there is…

Purpose: This study aimed to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the digital literacy skills possessed by first-year students and how they impact students' participation in online classes. Design/methodology/approach: This research was conducted using a quantitative method to investigate first-year students' digital literacy and its effect on…

Adult students represent one of the fastest growing student populations within higher education. While their educational goals are similar to traditional students, the challenges and barriers they may encounter differ. Higher education institutions must assess their support services, coursework, and resources to determine if they meet the needs of…