Statistics for teacher evaluations in seated and online classes show a glaring difference in both quantitative and qualitative scores. The generalized analysis of the quantitative and qualitative elements of the same course, instructor, assignment as grouped by learning environment provide an opportunity to inform future practice. In this…

Students who are enrolled in developmental courses often persist at lower rates than students who enter college prepared for college-level work. This phenomenon has been attributed to numerous potential factors, including the psychological impact of assignment to developmental courses. This study examines the impact of enrollment in multiple…

This article examines the impact of prison tours on students' understanding of prisons, their ability to empathize and understand the viewpoints of others, and their attitudes toward punishment. The research participants were undergraduate students enrolled in various sections of an introductory criminology course. Students in some sections of the…

This study investigated students' perceptions of the study of evolution in a small conservative Christian college. Students' interest in the subject is influenced by several factors, including prior exposure to the material, students' belief system, and the instructors' attitudes towards the subject. These factors also determine the ability of…

In December 2020, Complete College America (CCA), in partnership with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, launched a rigorous 12- to 18-month project designed to increase student success and completion rates at small liberal arts institutions. The focus was on building and enhancing support systems for first-generation and Pell-eligible students, and…

Traditional service-learning pedagogy assumes that learning occurs when contact between relatively advantaged students and a relatively disadvantaged service population reduces prejudice. However, little is known about how students whose backgrounds are similar to the populations they serve process this learning experience. This study explores the…

Through semi-structured interviews with sixteen faculty members representing a variety of experience levels and departments, this piece illuminates faculty theories and ideas about digital pedagogy through the conceptual lens of TPACK (Mishra & Koehler, 2006), which delineates the overlapping considerations teachers in designing learning…

Critical race courses challenge today's college students to cognitively grapple with issues of justice and the good society. In some instances, these challenges lead to positive, relational growth-fostering attitudes and behaviors. Transformative learning educator Jack Mezirow's approach to facilitating cognitive shifts appears especially…

Arguably, the dilemma for many small college libraries is delivering face-to-face library instruction to satellite students without having the resources and/or staff to do so. In order to channel energies to where they are needed most, this institution conducted a survey of its satellite students to determine what their library instruction…

Written communication skills are one of the most assessed criteria in higher education contexts, especially in humanities disciplines, including teacher education. There is a need to research and develop an assessment grading tool (i.e. criteria sheet or rubric) that would assist students in pre-service teacher education programs to better…

Disciplinary identity, or connection to a particular academic discipline, is constructed through a developmental process across a scholar's academic life course. Using unique data from an online survey of students at four different types of colleges and universities, this study investigates the extent to which disciplinary identity among…

The 2014 Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) report, "Strengthening the STEM Pipeline: The Contributions of Small and Mid-Sized Independent Colleges," demonstrated the critical role this sector of higher education institutions plays in preparing its students for success in obtaining undergraduate and graduate degrees in science,…

Music educator preparation curricula have been studied by several researchers (Killian, Dye & Wayman, 2013; Raiber & Teachout, 2014; Thornton, Murphy & Hamilton, 2004). Preservice educators complete a unique curriculum to meet the requirements of their institution based on the guidelines for teacher certification set by the state…

This chapter demonstrates the complexity of pedagogical and curricular change as it unfolds through several overlapping phases of increasingly coordinated reflection and action around STEM initiatives at Pomona College. It argues for a networked model of research and practice, drawing on theory and lessons from improvement science and highlighting…

Undergraduate biology programs in smaller liberal arts colleges are increasingly becoming focused on health science fields. This narrowing of focus potentially decreases opportunities for these students to explore other sub-fields of biology. This perspectives article highlights how one small university in Connecticut decided to institute a…