The COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary for instructors to innovate, and some of the innovations will persist and be refined post-pandemic. An economics elective at Claremont McKenna College provides examples. Innovations likely to persist include replacing in-class exams with context-rich assignments and conducting a set of student presentations…

Technology will not inherently make students in any classroom more mathematically inquisitive, however, the use of technology can foster student-centered inquiry. This article explores the impact technology has on mathematics learning when it emphasizes the ways it supports student-centered pedagogies. Through this lens, the authors focus on…

This brief is rooted in the purpose and findings of a qualitative study that explored the experiences and perspectives of African-American/Black community college students in asynchronous online learning environments. A growing number of African-American/Black students are enrolling in California community colleges and online courses. However,…

In spring 2020, the California State University System and its 23 campuses became the first in the United States to commit to a year of remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote instruction separated the system's librarians from their users, whose needs were especially great within the system's ethnically, economically, and…

Increasingly, companies are dropping four-year degree requirements in job postings, favoring skill-based requirements--such as communication and writing--instead. These types of nonacademic "soft skills" are viewed as essential for employment--employers consistently cite these abilities as among the most valuable in job applicants, yet…

The Chemistry Department at Sonoma State University teaches two upper division capstone laboratory courses as culminating experiences for our BS chemistry and biochemistry majors. The courses share complementary learning experiences and have student learning objectives (SLOs) of literature competency, experimental design, development of…

Like many others around the world, the authors have moved their busy lives and research-practice partnership to the planet of distal learning and remote working. While the news about the spreading of the pandemic and the dire economic consequences entered their homes, they did not want to lose what had brought them together in partnership this…

When COVID-19 first disrupted the routines and traditions that constitute school, many teachers grappled for the first time with online instruction, often with little experience or support. The experience of the past months has demonstrated that those who could transition seamlessly to online or hybrid models were already delivering authentic,…

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of digital connectivity for learning--while revealing serious inequities in access to broadband and computing devices. For the 2021-22 school year, California has focused on getting as many students as possible back to the classroom. But digital access at home remains essential. As digital tools for…

Teachers in the US have historically served affective roles of uplift and civic engagement (Fultz, 1995; Gere, 2005), but reforms in the last century privileged technical aspects of the profession (Buchanan, 2015). The COVID-19 crisis, which shifted learning online and isolated students, revealed the limitations of a technical focus in teacher…

An active-learning concurrent preparatory general chemistry course was adopted to replace a prerequisite course that lacked effectiveness in improving student outcomes. Our previous study showed that the concurrent course increased final exam performance and retention in a cohort of students. This paper studies the course modality impact of the…

Faced with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, California's adult education programs found innovative ways to pivot and continue serving students. With the support of the California Department of Education and its state leadership projects, adult educators embraced new technologies, virtual modes of professional development, and adapted…

In light of national challenges brought on by COVID-19, on April 6, 2020 Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) hosted a virtual meeting of State Education Agency and Educator Preparation Program leaders from across the country focused on the following: (1) strategies that preparation program faculty…

This brief focuses on how colleges participating in the Career and Technical Education CoLab (CTE CoLab) Community of Practice are implementing student navigation strategies to improve outcomes for students of color. The CTE CoLab aims to reduce disparities in academic and career outcomes for historically marginalized students--especially students…

Education is an act of love. One may argue however, that because it is such a personal act, it is difficult and nearly impossible to achieve it in an authentic manner beyond the face-to-face interaction of teacher and student. Yet, we now live in a time in which education has been transmitted to a virtual platform. This paper highlights how I…