Scientists, science teachers, and serious students recognize that success in science classes requires consistent practice--including study at home. Whether balancing chemical equations, calculating angular momentum, or memorizing the steps of cell division, students must review material repeatedly to fully understand new ideas--and must practice…

This author recently spent a year studying best practices in serving students with learning and other disabilities, and, surprisingly, the experience altered his thinking in significant ways. He came to this study not as a specialist in disabilities but as an academic administrator with years of faculty experience, and that perspective helped him…

Learning Analytics (LA) has been identified as one of the top technology trends in higher education today (Johnson et al., 2013). LA is based on the idea that datasets generated through normal administrative, teaching, or learning activities--such as registrar data or interactions with learning management systems--can be analyzed to enhance…

A 20-year veteran teacher of college Spanish, the author decided to take an intensive First-Year German course during one summer. The author found the German class was not only a great opportunity to acquire another language, but a rich source of insight about the language teaching and the learning process itself. Not only did she take German…

A chief purpose of schooling is for students to master the knowledge and skills contained in the curriculum. Schools, however, can also intentionally build personal competencies that are necessary for students' success in school, the purposeful navigation of life's challenges, and the pursuit of personal interests and ambitions. A personal…

The purpose of the High School Exit Survey was to monitor high school seniors' perception of their high school experiences. Results are used to improve the campus environment and program supports for students. Survey results also are used in the monitoring of the district's strategic plan Goal 3: All students will graduate ready for college,…

Affective teaching plays an increasing significant role in the teaching process; it not only attaches great importance to the teaching of knowledge and skills, but also pays specific attention to students' attitude and emotional needs in the process of teaching, so as to promote students' overall development as well as improving their…

The migration from traditional classrooms to online learning environments is in full effect. In the midst of these changes, a new approach to learning analytics needs to be considered. Learning analytics refers to the process of collecting and studying usage data in order to make instructional decisions that will support student success. In…

Jim Valkenburg's article "Scaffolding and Tutoring Mathematics" that appeared in the Fall 2010 issue of The Learning Assistance Review (TLAR) addressed the characteristics of appropriate communication between a tutor and tutee as they approach their work together in study sessions. One strategy he examines is the use of scaffolding, a concept…

Some educators see the Common Core State Standards as reason for stress, most recognize the positive possibilities associated with them and are willing to make the professional commitment to implementing them so that academic rigor for all students will increase. But business leaders, parents, and the authors of the Common Core are not the only…

The Millennial Generation is a subject of paramount interest for 21st-century educators. It is a generation unlike its predecessors, with some stating it is the most intelligent consumer generation in history. Experts in the fields of neurobiology and psychology have found that Millennial brains may actually be "physically different" because of…

Different approaches to creating out-of-class reading assignments for university general education courses might affect the amount of time students actually spend reading. Five instructors of a required religion/philosophy class used different approaches to assign out-of-class reading. Subsequently, their students (n = 504) were surveyed about…

This article illustrates how coaching students to think about their study processes and to monitor their learning can really pay off. Grazyna Niezgoda, a veteran instructor at New York City College of Technology, is reviewing an algebra quiz in front of a crowded section of developmental mathematics--a noncredit course for students who have failed…

Economists Philip Babcock and Mindy Marks recently assembled time-series survey data on college student time use from a number of sources spanning four decades. Their study, titled "The Falling Time Cost of College: Evidence from a Half Century of Time Use Data," will appear in a forthcoming issue of the "Review of Economics and…

Each new school year brings high hopes, great expectations and challenges for both new and seasoned educators. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has developed a series called "Classroom Tips" to help educators start the year right and anticipate the year ahead. Over the past 40 years, most research studies on homework have found that…