Retaining students, particularly in the 16- to- 24-year-old category, is a constant challenge for adult basic education programs nationwide. Educators need to understand factors that affect adult learners' experiences, have a better understanding of ways to motivate adult students in a nontraditional school setting to enhance their engagement, and…

The purpose of this qualitative dissertation is to explore the lived experience of online students. This study provided real-world accounts of students who graduated from graduate programs offered at both online non-profit and for-profit institutions. The grand research question is "What are the lived experiences of successful graduate…

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model provides a well-researched theoretical framework to understand how learners and teachers interact and learn together in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Most CoI research focuses on asynchronous learning. However, with the arrival of easy-to-use synchronous communication tools the relevance of…

In this article, we show how discussions of creating high-impact learning experiences led to the Undergraduate Videogame Symposium, a public venue where students from all disciplines presented their disciplinary learning to a non-disciplinary audience. After providing an introduction to the learning principles emphasized by the Interdisciplinary…

The research reported in this article explores the relationship between Dörnyei's (2005, 2009) Second Language Motivational Self System (L2MSS) and the L2 proficiency level of Saudi learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Male and female participants (N = 360) responded to a questionnaire relating to the main components of L2MSS, the…

International students represent a significant proportion of the college student population in the United States (Institute of International Education, 2015). They contribute to campus research, diversity, and the economy. In order to maintain these academic, cultural, and economic profits, universities should investigate the factors related to…

From kindergarten classrooms to college campuses, educators are becoming increasingly invested in developing students' character in addition to their intellect. Despite a growing body of scholarship that demonstrates the positive association of character and life outcomes, findings related to the efficacy of programs designed to develop character…

Although qualitative research on the learning experiences of disabled students at university is burgeoning, either/or, medical or social approaches are most often used to study disablement. In this study, I adopted an interpretive phenomenological analysis--which considers the fundamental imbrication of bodies, identities, and environments--to…

This paper employs sociological literature on risk and the commodification of education to explain current schooling practices in a context of increased concerns about students' behaviour and results on standardised tests of achievement. Drawing upon teacher and student learning practices in three school sites in south-east Queensland, Australia,…

A handful of prominent charter school networks that have won praise for their academic performance and unorthodox models are expanding to new parts of the country, in some cases after receiving recruiting pitches from state and local officials determined to bring proven operators into their communities. Until now, organizations such as Aspire…

Recognising assessment as a driver for learning and a key part of the student learning experience, this case study considers the impact of opening the assessment process to active student engagement as well as placing inclusivity at the heart of the assessment task at point-of-design. This case study presents an approach to assessment that both…

Much research supports the benefits that quality professional development plays in impacting teacher quality. Experiences in professional development can affect a teacher's growth, the application of varied instructional techniques, and increase student learning. When professional development is well-planned, it can provide purpose, collaboration,…

In a college algebra course that used flipped/inverted pedagogy, students achieved learning outcomes at a significantly higher rate, as evidenced by results on the final exam. At the same time, student perception on a number of measures decreased significantly, including how interested students were in the course and whether the instructor…

The research question for this study was: "Can the provision of online resources help to engage and motivate students to become self-directed learners?" This study presents the results of an action research project to answer this question for a postgraduate module at a research-intensive university in the United Kingdom. The analysis of…

Gamification of education is a recent trend, and early experiments showed promising results. Students seem not only to perform better, but also to participate more and to feel more engaged with gamified learning. However, little is known regarding how different students are affected by gamification and how their learning experience may vary. In…