Literature suggests post-secondary students feel disengaged and socially isolated while learning virtually, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we explored whether a sense of belonging is differentially achieved in an inquiry-based course between two different delivery formats: virtual and blended (combination of virtual and in-person).…

Undergraduate research is a "high-impact" educational practice that enriches student learning and facilitates student career advancement. This sequential explanatory mixed methods study, composed of a quantitative online questionnaire followed by qualitative focus group interviews, sought to explore undergraduate student attitudes on…

In this paper, we critically evaluate the use of a weekly "rapid responses (RR) to learning" process in the context of teaching a graduate course on research methods over a three-year period. The RR process involved use of a short set of open-ended questions about key moments in learning that students complete, in writing, during the…

This pilot study explored undergraduate students' experiences with goal setting and time management. We embedded a series of mandatory planning and reflection assignments into two undergraduate courses. Assignments were unique to each course, but emphasized goal setting, planning and time management, and reflection. Qualitative analyses revealed…

Written communication is essential to student success. Mindfulness exercises may improve thoughts and feelings that support written communication. These exercises are typically delivered to students in small groups such as tutorials. However, first year courses that develop written communication skills are often delivered in large classroom…

Students measure out their lives, not with coffee spoons, but with grades on examinations. But what exams mean and whether or not they are a bane or a boon is moot. Senior undergraduates (A. Perrella, J. Koenig, and H. Kwon) designed and administered a 15-item survey that explored the contrasting perceptions of both students (n = 526) and faculty…

The flipped classroom instructional model has emerged as an alternative to the conventional lecture-based teaching that has dominated higher education for decades. In 2013, a cohort of graduate-level public health students participated in a flipped environmental and occupational health course. We present the design, implementation, and evaluation…

This paper examines how post-secondary students understand health, and whether opinions about health are correlated with area of study. We present results from an online survey administered in 2011 to 287 students at one post-secondary institution in Western Canada. Overall, the survey students are more likely to adopt an individualistic, rather…

This article presents a case study of a technology-enhanced face-to-face health sciences course in which the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) were applied. Students were offered a variety of means of representation, engagement, and expression throughout the course, and were surveyed and interviewed at the end of the term to…