Background: Obesity continues to afflict adolescents in underserved communities. It is difficult to understand how adolescents perceive empowerment over their health and the health of their communities. The purpose of our study was to describe the impact of the Healthy Heart Ambassador program on adolescents' perceived empowerment through the…

Biology labs often make use of student teams. However, some students resist working in teams, often based on poor experiences. Although instructors sometimes struggle with student teams, effective teams in biology labs are achievable. We increased student learning and satisfaction when working in research teams by (1) including in the syllabus a…

This qualitative case study explores the experiences of former [Supplemental Instruction] SI leaders who worked at a four-year, private university in the Mid-Atlantic while completing their undergraduate degrees. The insights offered by participants through interviews and graphic elicitation reveal the ways in which serving as an SI leader…

Learning from ethical failures is critical for overall character development as well as an important aspect in the formation of student leaders. This chapter examines types of ethical failure that students often confront in college. The author includes a personal moral failure that occurred when he was a student leader.

While the common suggestion in leader-member exchange (LMX) research is that there is a strong relationship between LMX and performance, a closer look at these studies reveal that the performance measures in the majority of studies are primarily subjective in nature such as performance reviews. Relatively few studies examine the LMX-objective…

Physical activity and sport programs offer great opportunities for youth to develop important life skills, including leadership. High school physical education leadership courses are one way to develop leadership and pedagogy skills in students. Leadership courses are also a great way for aspiring physical education teachers in training to gain…

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…

This article explores the status of student feedback channels and the role of student representatives in the quality assurance and enhancement of Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) programmes. It provides an analysis of 1941 open-ended survey responses, covering 87 EMJMD programmes and involving respondents of 129 nationalities. The…

Asynchronous discussion is one of the most prevalent pedagogical strategies used in online education, yet this frequency of use has meant that its implementation has often not been supported by a robust understanding of how it should be designed and moderated to support students' learning. In particular, the literature has tended to focus on the…

Learning language in the classroom often means interacting with peers in small groups. There is a growing body of empirical research highlighting the factors that have an impact on student interaction and an increasing focus on the social context. This article aims to broaden the focus of research by considering the influence of emergent…

Research indicates that a majority of honors students across the country are able to earn honors credit through the fulfillment of honors contracts. These learning contracts grant honors credit to students who perform additional work in non-honors-designated sections of other courses. Despite their popularity, little has been written on the design…

This chapter describes one university's effort to integrate civic engagement programs and leadership education curriculum, informed by empowerment theory, servant leadership, and community organizing methodologies.

The research suggests there is a gap in the peace studies and conflict resolution literature, with little representation or understanding of Chinese perspectives. In a project to address this gap, the researchers conducted interviews individually with 30 participants identified as "emerging leaders," who came from diverse universities…

English learners in EFL contexts where grammar-based instruction is still dominant often lack opportunities to use the target language both within and outside the classroom. In 2010, we initiated a club-based approach to facilitate students' learning beyond the classroom. It focused on meaningful communication, authentic tasks, student agency,…

Honors educators are privileged to work with exceptional students who are also some of the most engaged and motivated students on campus. These students often seek opportunities within their honors experience to study abroad, join community service organizations, conduct research, participate in internships, and develop their leadership skills.…